Cara Kronen
Associate Professor
Deputy Chairperson
Teacher Education
EMAIL: ckronen@bmcc.cuny.edu
Office: S-616G
Office Hours:
Phone: +1 (212) 776-5621
Cara Kronen was raised and attended public schools in the Bronx. After earning a BA from Hunter College, she was accepted to the New York City Teaching Fellows program, and earned an MA in Secondary Education from City College. Before joining the faculty at BMCC, Professor Kronen worked as a teacher, student adviser, and professional developer in a Bronx high school. Later, she began work as an adjunct instructor at Lehman College. Realizing that she could affect more change in our city’s schools by training and mentoring future teachers, pursued a career in post-secondary education. She earned her PhD at Rutgers University-Newark in Urban Systems, specializing in Urban Education Policy. While at Rutgers University, she taught in the Urban Teacher Education Program and worked closely with the Newark Schools Research Collaborative.
Professor Kronen is the Deputy Chairperson for the Teacher Education Department. She is also the Program Coordinator for the Secondary Education Programs and the Co-director of the Comprehensive Educator Empowerment Program.
Expertise
Education Policy, Urban Public Schooling, Social Foundations of Education, Sociology of Education, School Desegregation and Gentrification, Social Studies Education, Teacher Education, Teacher Certification, Schooling K-12
Degrees
- B.A. Hunter College/CUNY, Latin American and Caribbean Studies,2002
- M.A. City College/CUNY, Secondary Education,2004
- Ph.D. Rutgers University, Urban Systems, Specialization in Urban Education Policy,2014
Courses Taught
- This course provides an overview of the social context of schooling within the diversity of American society. It focuses on the historical, philosophical, social, and political foundations of education, especially in urban settings. The following topics are explored in depth: the notion of schooling, multicultural education, tracking, funding, school reform, and issues of inequality and privilege. Students participate in a minimum of 15 hours of course-related fieldwork.
Prerequisite: EDU 201 or EDS 201
Course Syllabus - This course provides an overview of the social context of early care and education. It focuses on the historical, philosophical, sociological, and political foundations of programs for young children, birth to eight years. The following topics will be explored in depth: Historical and contemporary theories of early childhood education, multicultural and social ecological factors in early care and schooling, particularly for diverse urban settings; early childhood programming; family and community involvement; advocacy, trends and current issues in early childhood practice. This course requires 30 hours of fieldwork. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 110
- This course links theories and research on learning and development to teaching practices for urban adolescent populations. Students will explore techniques and strategies that foster independence, community, self-regulation and well-being during adolescence. In addition, approaches and classroom applications, related to adolescent development will be covered: learning styles, intelligence, motivation, affect, parenting styles, cultural competence, classroom communication, management strategies and development (cognitive, social emotional, linguistic, and physical). This course includes 15 hours of field work in junior or senior high school classrooms.
- This course focuses on children's physical, cognitive, linguistic and socio-emotional development, and the related implications for learning. Within the context of race, class and culture, the following topics are explored in depth: the nature of intelligence, gender identity, attachment and other psychosocial attributes (typical and atypical). Students participate in a minimum of 15 hours of course-related fieldwork.
Prerequisites: PSY 100
Course Syllabus - This is a fieldwork course focusing on the observation and assessment of young children. It requires supervised participation in an assigned early childhood education setting (preschool to second grade) and attendance at a weekly seminar. Students will learn the appropriate use of assessment and observation strategies to document the development, growth, play and learning of young children; and how authentic assessment methods can be used to tailor curriculum to promote children?s success. Recording strategies, rating systems, child studies/portfolios, and various assessment tools are explored. Students spend a minimum of 60 hours in the field. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 210 and ECE 211
- This capstone fieldwork course is designed to (1) reflect a strength-based stance toward children and families and affirm the identities and cultural and linguistic diversity of all learners, (2) develop practical and evidence-based knowledge for supporting language and literacy development, and (3) enable students to demonstrate their competencies teaching young children. It requires supervised participation in an early childhood education setting (preschool to second grade) and participation in a weekly seminar. Students will explore principles, methods, and materials, informed by current research, for supporting young children’s language and literacy development. Students will utilize practical classroom experiences to make connections between theory and practice, develop professional behaviors around working with children and families, and build a comprehensive understanding of the role of language and literacy in an integrated curriculum. Students will design, implement, and evaluate learning experiences that integrate language and literacy learning for young children with diverse learning styles and needs, with strong emphasis on child centered, play-oriented approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, as well as knowledge of curriculum content areas. Students spend a minimum of 90 hours in the field.
Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 311 and ECE 312
Research and Projects
- Comprehensive Teacher Empowerment Program
Publications
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Garte, R. & Kronen, C. (2022) Community College Students Make Great Future Teachers: Where’s the Support?. Teachers College Record.
- Kronen, C., Makris, M. V., & Huang, T. S. (2020). Young men of color in privately-owned public spaces: unexpected findings. Journal of Cultural Geography, 1-16.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08873631.2020.176000
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Garte, R., & Kronen, C. (2020). You’ve met your match: Using culturally relevant pairing to cultivate mentoring relationships during the early practicum experience of community college preservice teachers. The Teacher Educator, 55(4), 347-372.
- Garte, R. & Kronen, C. (2020) From the Margins of the Classroom to Mattering: How Community College Education Students Develop Future Teacher Identities. The Educational Forum.
- Kronen, C. (2018) I’m a Sinner, I’m a Saint: A Teacher’s Perspective on Moonlighting. Blair, E. (Ed.) By the Light of the Silvery Moon: Teacher Moonlighting and the Dark Side of Teachers’ Work. Meyers Education Press.
- Garte, R. & Kronen, C. (2017). From the margins to mattering: New perspectives on pre-service teacher education. Proceedings of the World Congress on Education WCE-2017. , World Congress on Education
- Kronen, C (2016) Selling Out: Parenting, the Realities of Urban Education, and the Hidden Curriculum in Schools. The Social Foundations Reader: Critical Essays on Teaching, Learning, and Leading in the 21st Century. Blair, E. & Medina, Y (Eds.)
- Sadovnik, A., Coughlin, R., Ferguson, C., Kronen, C., & AB Rosenblum, E. Post-Secondary Outcomes of Newark Public School Graduates (2004-2011).
Honors, Awards and Affiliations
- 2016 PSC CUNY Grant B
- 2016 Kellogg Foundation Grant
- 2018 Community College Research Grant
- 2022 CITE
