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Dr. Rachel Ranschaert

Assistant Professor

University of North Texas

Department of Teacher Education and Administration

(940) 565-2920

Email: Rachel.Ranschaert@unt.edu

Education

  • PhD, University of Georgia, 2022
    Major: Educational Theory and Practice
    Specialization: Teacher Education
    Dissertation: Conceptualizing Justice with First-Year Teachers
  • MEd, University of Notre Dame, 2014
    Major: Social Science
    Specialization: Secondary English Education
  • BA, University of Notre Dame, 2012
    Major: English & Spanish

Professional Memberships

  • Literacy Research Association. (2024 - Present).
  • American Educational Research Association. (January 1, 2018 - Present).
  • American Educational Studies Association. (2018 - Present).
  • Association of Teacher Educators. (2018 - Present).
  • National Council of Teachers of English. (2012 - Present).

Development Activities

  • Workshop, Civil Discourse in Teaching Workshop, Teaching Hub, Faculty Success & Faculty Senate. Denton,TX,United States of America. (October 27, 2025).
  • Workshop, Research BREAKS-Faculty Research and Student Mentorship, Division of Research and Innovation, University of North Texas. Denton,TX,United States of America. (October 9, 2025).
  • Workshop, Research BREAKS: Understanding GRAMS and Pre-Award Processes, Division of Research and Innovation, University of North Texas. United States of America. (September 11, 2025).
  • Tutorial, Cash Handling Training, University of North Texas. United States of America. (August 2025).
  • Workshop, Faculty Supervisor Training, Office of the Provost and Equal Opportunity & Title 9. United States of America. (March 6, 2025).
  • Workshop, Tenure and Promotion Workshop, UNT Faculty Success. Denton,TX,United States of America. (February 28, 2025).
  • Workshop, Find Funding Opportunities-Pivot Overview, UNT Research and Innovation. Denton,TX,United States of America. (February 11, 2025).
  • Workshop, d/Deaf Connect Faculty Training, UNT - Office of Disability Access. United States of America. (August 2023).
  • Other (Asynchronous Online Course for New Faculty), Faculty First Flight, University of North Texas. United States of America. (August 2022 - May 2023).
  • Workshop, What Inclusive Instructors Do: Creating Welcoming, Equitable Learning Environments, UNT - DSI CLEAR. United States of America. (May 9, 2023).
  • Workshop, Inclusive Feedback to Guide Student Learning in Online Courses, UNT - DSI CLEAR. United States of America. (April 21, 2023).
  • Workshop, 1) Beyond the Mental Health Crisis in Higher Education: What We can Learn from Disabled Academics About Collective Care, UNT Faculty Success. United States of America. (March 1, 2023).

Teaching

Teaching Experience

    University of North Texas

  • EDCI 4010 - Classrooms as Communities, 2 courses.
  • EDCI 4060 - Content Area Reading, 1 course.
  • EDCI 4070 - Teaching Diverse Populations, 1 course.
  • EDCI 6220 - Conceptual Models of Curriculum Development, 1 course.
  • EDCI 6910 - Special Problems, 1 course.
  • EDEE 4890 - Practice Based Research, 1 course.
  • EDLL 6900 - Special Problems, 1 course.
  • EDLL 6950 - Doctoral Dissertation, 2 courses.
  • EDRE 4840 - Linguistically Diverse Learners, 1 course.
  • EDRE 4850 - Teaching the Tools and Practices of Reading Across the Curriculum, 4 courses.
  • EDRE 4860 - Teaching the Tools and Practices of Writing across the Curriculum, 10 courses.
  • EDRE 5370 - Advanced Reading Theory/Practice, 2 courses.
  • EDRE 5550 - Literacy Instruction in Our Culturally Diverse Society, 1 course.
  • EDSE 5004 - Literacy for All, 1 course.
  • EDUC 6120 - Theoretical Foundations for Educational Studies, 1 course.

Directed Student Learning

  • Dissertation Committee Chair, Teacher Education and Administration. (2025).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, Teacher Education and Administration. (2025).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, Teacher Education and Administration. (2025).
  • Other (Initial Doctoral Advisor), Teacher Education and Administration. (2025).
  • Dissertation Committee Chair (Initial Doctoral Advisor), Teacher Education and Administration. (2024).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, Teacher Education and Administration. (2024).
  • Dissertation Committee Member, Teacher Education and Administration. (2024).
  • Dissertation Committee Co-Chair, Teacher Education and Administration. (2024 - 2025).

Awards and Honors

  • Illinois Qualitative Dissertation Award (2nd Place), International Congress for Qualitative Inquiry.
  • Nominated for Outstanding Dissertation Award, AERA Division K: Teaching and Teacher Education.

Research

Published Intellectual Contributions

    Book Chapter

  • Murdter-Atkinson, J., Ranschaert, R., Ashcraft, C. (2025). “It’s on a banned book list”: Moving through a landscape of book censorship in literacy classrooms.. Teacher Civic Literacy Learning. National Council of Teachers of English. https://publicationsncte.org/content/books/9780814102435
  • Dresden, J., Erica, G., Nylin, A., Burgum, A., Ceron, I., Fasig, M., MacMillan, T., Ranschaert, R., Waldrip, P. (2022). Stories of possibility: A partnership creates a summer learning community. PDS and Community Schools: The Nexus of Practice. Information Age Publishing.
  • Ranschaert, R., Sharma, A., Harman, R. (2022). Teachers as superheroes: Ethical Jeopardy and Progressive Neoliberalism. Progressive Neoliberalism in Education. 78-92. Routledge.

    • Journal Article

  • Hughes, H.E., Ranschaert, R., Benson, K., Murphy, A., Brody, D. (2025). Becoming Trustworthy in Ethically Engaged, Relational Feminist Inquiry. Qualitative Inquiry. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004251387077
  • Murdter-Atkinson, J., Ranschaert, R., Ashcraft, C., Redding, L. (2025). “We can't use that book!”: Navigating preservice teacher's text selection under the specter of censorship discourses. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.1177/23813377251358197
  • Ranschaert, R. (2025). The role of sociopolitical discourse in teachers’ talk. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. 1-20. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2025.2502062
  • Ranschaert, R., Hughes, H., Murphy, A., Benson, K. (2024). Creating virtual third-spaces that foster students' well-being. Middle Grades Research Journal. 13 (3) 29-43. Information Age Publishing.
  • Ranschaert, R. (2023). Engaged pedagogies in the middle grades: A case study of justice-oriented teachers in COVID times. Middle Grades Review. 9 (3)
  • Ranschaert, R. (2023). When shutting the door won't do: Teaching with the specter of community backlash and the implications for teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education. 74 (4) 371-382. Sage.
  • Hughes, H., Benson, K., Brody, D., Murphy, A., Ranschaert, R. (2022). A case study: Enacting courage and collaboration in equity and justice-oriented educational leadership. Middle School Journal. 53 (2) 5-11.
  • Ranschaert, R. (2021). Neutrality and narratives: Situating middle grades preservice teachers in broader educational discourses. Middle Grades Review. 7 (1)
  • Ranschaert, R. (2020). Authority and carnival: Preservice teachers' media literacy education in a time of truth decay. Educational Studies. 56 (5) 519-536.
  • Ranschaert, R., Murphy, A. (2020). Developing preservice teachers' critical consciousness and understanding of community contexts. School-University Partnerships Journal. 13 (3) 85-101.
  • Schmeichel, M., Garrett, J., Ranschaert, R., McAnulty, J., Thompson, S., Janis, S., Yagata, S., Bivens, B. (2018). The complexity of learning to teach news media in Social Studies education. Journal of Media Literacy Education. 10 (2)

Presentations Given

    Panel Presentation

  • Murdter-Atkinson, J. (Author & Presenter), Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), National Council of Teachers of English Annual Conference, What Counts as “Good” Literacy Instruction? Policy, Platforms, and Public Narratives in the Science of Reading Era., National Council of Teachers of English, Philadelphia, United States of America. (2026 - 2026).

    • Paper

  • Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), Murdter-Atkinson, J. (Author & Presenter), American Education Research Association Annual Conference, Scripted literacy: Power, perspective, and the politics of curriculum in the elementary classroom, American Education Research Association, Los Angeles, United States of America. (2026 - 2026).
  • Murdter-Atkinson, J. (Author & Presenter), Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), National Council of Teachers of English Assembly of Research, Navigating censorship: Preservice teachers' awareness and agency in the era of book bans, National Council of Teachers of English, Columbia, SC, United States of America. (2026 - 2026).
  • Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), Association for Middle Level Educators Annual Conference, News Media in the Middle: Exploring Teacher Preceptions and Practices, Association for Middle Level Educators, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America. (2025 - 2025).
  • Hughes, H.E. (Author & Presenter), Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), Association of Middle Level Educators Annual Meeting, Becoming Trustworthy: Relational Ethics and Research Responsiveness in Middle Level Research, Association of Middle Level Educators, Indianapolis, IN, United States of America. (2025 - 2025).
  • Hughes, H.E. (Author & Presenter), Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), Murphy, A.S. (Author), Benson, K. (Author), American Educational Research Associaton Annual Meeting, Rethinking trustworthiness as a materially ethical activity in qualitative inquiry, American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO, United States of America. (2025).
  • Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), Murdter-Atkinson, J. (Author & Presenter), Ashcraft, C. (Author & Presenter), American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Contextualizing Censorship: Legislative and Media Discourses on Book Banning in the United States, American Educational Research Association (AERA), Denver, CO, United States of America. (2025 - 2025).
  • Murdter-Atkinson, J. (Author & Presenter), Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), Ashcraft, C. (Author & Presenter), Moore, E.C. (Author & Presenter), Haynes, C. (Author & Presenter), Hoffman, J.V. (Author), American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Mentoring in a pilot residency program: The influence of co-teaching and co-learning in teacher education, American Educational Research Association (AERA), Denver, CO, United States of America. (2025 - 2025).
  • Murdter-Atkinson, J. (Author & Presenter), Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), Ashcraft, C. (Author), Literacy Research Association (LRA) Annual Conference, Necessary Trouble: Navigating pre-service teacher's text selection under the specter of censorship discourses., Literacy Research Association, Atlanta, GA., United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Ashcraft, C. (Author & Presenter), Murdter-Atkinson, J. (Author & Presenter), Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), Literacy Research Association (LRA) Annual Conference, Examining the impact of censorship discourse on pre-service teacher's text selection., Literacy Research Association, Atlanta, GA., United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Ranschaert, R. (Author), American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Iterations of thirdspaces in virtual middle grades instruction, American Educational Research Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvannia, United States of America. (2024).
  • Ranschaert, R. (Author), Vickery, A.E. (Author), Ashcraft, C. (Author), Haynes, C. (Author), Hoffman, J.V. (Author), Krutka, D.G. (Author), Morton, K.L. (Author), Murdter-Atkinson, J. (Author), A Critical Turn in Teacher Residencies: Dreaming New Ways Forward in School, University, and Community Entanglements, Growing a Teaching Residency Centered on Community, Inquiry, Identity, Advocacy, and Activism, Georgia State University: CREATE Teacher Residency Project, Atlanta, GA, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Murdter-Atkinson, J. (Author & Presenter), Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), Ashcraft, C. (Author & Presenter), National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research, “Can I Use That Book?”: PTs Instructional Decision Making against the Backdrop of Book Banning, National Council of Teachers of English, Austin, TX, United States of America. (2024 - 2024).
  • Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Justice-oriented teaching and the spectre of community backlash: Implications for teacher education, American Educational Research Association, Chicago, Illinois, United States, United States of America. (2023 - 2023).
  • Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Justice-oriented teaching and the spectre of community backlash: Implications for teacher education, American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL, United States of America. (2023).
  • Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), American Educational Studies Association Annual Conference, Justice beyond theory: The role of sociopolitical contexts in teachers’ thinking about justice, American Educational Studies Association, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America. (2022 - 2022).
  • Phillippo, K. (Discussant), Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), Seifert, S. (Author & Presenter), Desai, S. (Author & Presenter), American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Changing educational systems through external funding, American Educational Research Association, San Diego, California, United States, United States of America. (2022 - 2022).
  • Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Equity focused coaching supports in virtual environments, American Educational Research Association, San Diego, California, United States, United States of America. (2022 - 2022).
  • Hughes, H.E. (Author & Presenter), Brody, D. (Author & Presenter), Benson, K. (Author & Presenter), Murphy, A. (Author & Presenter), Ranschaert, R. (Author & Presenter), American Educational Studies Association Annual Meeting, Vulnerability, courage, and collaboration: Exploring humanity in middle level educational leadership, American Educational Studies Association, San Diego, California, United States, United States of America. (2022 - 2022).

Contracts, Grants, Sponsored Research

    Grant - Research

  • Vickery, A.E. (Principal), Ranschaert, R. (Co-Principal), "UNT Teacher Residency Program," sponsored by Fort Worth Education Partnership, Local, $300000 Funded. (2024).
  • Ranschaert, R. (Principal), "Dissertation Research Grant," sponsored by American Educational Research Association Division G: Social Foundations of Education, National, $4000 Funded. (2021 - 2022).

Service

University Service

  • Other (Designer and Presenter), Teacher Education Program ELAR Certification Exam Review. (August 25, 2025 - Present).
  • Committee Member, Secondary Curriculum Committee. (August 2025 - Present).
  • Committee Member, College of Education Scholarship Committee. (September 2024 - Present).
  • Other (Course Lead), Course Lead: EDRE 4860. (September 2024 - Present).
  • Other (Course Lead), Course Lead: EDRE 5370. (August 2023 - Present).
  • Other (Course Lead), Course Lead: EDRE 5653. (May 2023 - Present).
  • Faculty Advisor, Online M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction. (January 17, 2023 - Present).
  • Other, Peer Evaluation of Teaching Redesign. (2023 - Present).
  • Other (Oral Comprehensive Exam Scorer), Online M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction. (September 24, 2022 - Present).
  • Other (Interviewer), Teacher Education Program Interview Panel. (October 2025).
  • Member, UNT-Denton ISD Residency Vetted Application Working Group. (November 2024 - January 2025).
  • Committee Member, Former Teacher Education and Administration Library Committee. (May 2024 - August 2024).
  • Other (Site Coordinator), UNT-Denton ISD Residency. (May 2023 - May 2024).
  • Member, Search Committee. (2023 - January 2024).
  • Other, Lesson Plan Redesign Team. (May 2023 - December 2023).
  • Member, Block B Seminar Design Team. (2023).
  • Other (Reviewer), Teacher Education Program Applicant Review. (2023).
  • Other, First Flight. (August 16, 2023).
  • Member, Educator Preparation Program Guidebook Committee. (May 2023 - July 2023).

Public Service

  • Workshop Organizer, Denton Independent School District. Denton, Texas. (August 1, 2023 - March 2024).

Professional Service

  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Teaching Education. (December 2025 - Present).
  • Committee Member, Edward Fry Book Award Committee. (December 2024 - Present).
  • Committee Member, Middle Level Education Research SIG Award Committee. (October 2024 - Present).
  • Committee Member, Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group Executive Committee: American Educational Studies Association. (April 2024 - Present).
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper, American Educational Research Association. (September 2022 - Present).
  • Committee Member, American Educational Studies Association Critic's Choice Book Award Committee. (2022 - Present).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, School-University Partnerships. (2022 - Present).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Teacher Education Quarterly. (2021 - Present).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Multicultural Perspectives. (2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Teaching and Teacher Education. (2024 - 2025).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Education Sciences. (2024).
  • Session Chair, American Educational Research Association. Philadelphia, PA. (April 2024).
  • Session Chair, American Educational Research Association. Philadelphia, PA. (April 2024).
  • Discussant, American Educational Research Association (AERA) Division G: Social Foundations of Education. (2023).
  • Reviewer, Conference Paper, American Educational Studies Association. (2019 - 2023).
  • Reviewer, Journal Article, Educational Studies. (2021).