Professional Biography
María Cioè-Peña is a bilingual/biliterate education researcher and educator who examines the intersections of disability, language, school–parent partnerships, and education policy. Taking a sociolinguistic approach and stance, she pushes and reimagines the boundaries of inclusive spaces for minoritized children. Stemming from her experiences as a former bilingual special education teacher, Dr. Cioè-Peña’s research focuses on bilingual children with dis/abilities, their families, and their ability to access multilingual and inclusive learning spaces within public schools. Her interests are deeply rooted in political economy, raciolinguistic perspectives and critical dis/ability awareness within schools and families.
Dr. Cioè-Peña’s scholarship has won awards from major organizations in the field of bilingual education; first-place winner for Outstanding Dissertation by the National Association for Bilingual Education (NABE) in 2019, and third place winner for Outstanding Dissertation by AERA's Bilingual Education Research SIG in 2020. In 2022, her article “Wanting to Leave; Needing to Stay: Issues for undocumented mothers of children with disabilities” received the Inaugural Outstanding Publication Award from the Council For Exceptional Children's Division for Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Exceptional Learners. She was also awarded the Early Career Award by AERA's Bilingual Education Research SIG in 2022. Prior to arriving at Penn GSE, María was an assistant professor and a Community-Engaged Teaching Fellow at Montclair State University. Her book, (M)othering Labeled Children: Bilingualism and Disability in the Lives of Latinx Mothers, was released May 2021 by Multilingual Matters.
Research Interests and Current Projects
Research Interests
Dr. Cioè-Peña’s line of inquiry explores the educational experiences of the children and families who live at the intersection of disability and multilingualism. Her current research focus examines the exclusion of bilingual Latinx children with disabilities from the inclusion and bilingual education movements within public education.
Current Projects
From Mother to Teacher: The Experiences of Spanish-speaking Mothers of English Language Learners with Disabilities During COVID-19-related Remote Schooling (Principal Investigator)
Using a qualitative design centering Spanish-speaking immigrant mothers of emergent bilinguals with disabilities in NYC, this study aims to uncover how the shift to remote schooling has exacerbated the racialized experiences and educational inequities that arise in placing emergent bilinguals with disabilities in traditional monolingual-English settings, limited access to technology, and school–home disconnects. The results can inform policymakers and school districts around the country on changes needed to effectively support these children and families.
Gentrification of Bilingual Education in NYC (Co-PI with Kate Menken (PI) at Queens College - CUNY & the Graduate Center- CUNY and Ivana Espinet (Co-PI), Kingsborough Community College – CUNY)
Using quantitative data, this study looks at the shifts in bilingual education programing in NYC schools. The aim of this study is to explore if program development is growing in the languages of the community or in prestigious languages. This study is also interested in exploring who has access to bilingual education programs versus transitional bilingual and English as a new language programs.
- `
-
-
-
Envisioning an Interdisciplinary Future for Special Education and Gifted Racial Equity Research
Co-PI with Catherine Voulgarides (PI) at Hunter College-CUNY and Rachel Fish (Co-PI) at NYU
This Spencer-funded conference has a dual focus: to engage in a dialogue on special and gifted education that is interdisciplinary and equity-focused (Artiles 2011, 2019), and to develop a new generation of special and gifted education research that is responsive to the urgency of the four pandemics (Ladson-Billings, 2021). Therefore, the conference aims to articulate a visionary agenda for the future of equity-focused, intersectional special and gifted education research.
Journal Editorial Boards
Journal of Critical Study of Communication and Disability
Advising Editor