School of Education

Education

• Ph.D. in Education, University of California, Davis
• M.A. in English, TESOL option (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), California State University, East Bay
• B.A. in languages: English and Portuguese, minor in German, Universidade Estadual Paulista (São Paulo State University - UNESP)
• Teaching credentials, English and Portuguese: secondary, Universidade Estadual Paulista (São Paulo State University - UNESP)
  
  

Research interests

Issues related to teaching multilingual learners (MLs) at the K-12 level, including the role of language in learning the content areas, teacher education for MLs, and a functional approach to language development.

Career highlights

• Awards: Leadership through Research and Mid-Career Award (Second Language Research) and Early Career Award (Bilingual Education Research), American Educational Research Association (AERA) (2025, 2017, 2012); Cambridge University Press Top Title: Teaching Young Multilingual Learners (de Oliveira & Jones, 2023); James A. Lydon Distinguished Service Award: New York State Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (NYS TESOL); 2023. David E. Eskey Award for Curriculum Innovation by California TESOL (2011)
• Areas of specialization: Multilingual learners (MLs), content area literacies, second language writing, discourse analysis methodologies, systemic-functional linguistics, qualitative research, teacher education, functional approach to language development.
• Teaching: more than 30 years of teaching experience in K-12, higher education, and foreign language contexts with culturally and linguistically diverse groups.
• Leadership and Engagement: Work with public schools, volunteer and elected positions at different professional organizations, including TESOL International Association, VATESOL, NYS TESOL, INTESOL, and CATESOL.
  
  • President-Elect (2017-2018), President (2018-2019), Past President (2019-2020), TESOL International Association.
  • Member of Expert Advisory Council and ML Advisory Council for iCivics, the educational non-profit founded by retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor and now led by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
  • Engagement work on K-12 schools with a special focus on a functional approach to language development for MLs and a language-based approach to content instruction (LACI).
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Recent publications

Books

de Oliveira, L. C., & Wachter Morris, C. (Eds.) (under contract). Humanizing school counseling for multilingual learners: Equity, collaboration, and transformation. Routledge.

Pereira, N., & de Oliveira, L. C. (Eds.) (under contract). Building high challenge-high support classrooms for high potential multilingual learners. Routledge.

Passoni, T. P., de Oliveira, L. C., & El Kadri, M. S. (under contract). Multilingual education in global contexts: An essential guide for teachers. Emerald Publishing.

de Oliveira, L. C., & Gui, J. (Eds.) (in press). Discourse analysis in practice: Perspectives and lessons learned. Emerald Publishing, part of Innovations in Qualitative Research Series.

de Oliveira, L. C., & Terrell, K. (Eds.) (2026). Preparing antiracist ESOL professionals: Linguistic equity for multilingual learners. Routledge.

Coombe, C., de Oliveira, L. C., & Rafi, A. S. M. (Eds.) (2025). Professional learning and development in global language education. Routledge.

de Oliveira, L. C. (Ed.) (2025). Applying a functional approach to language development in teaching the content areas to multilingual learners in K-12 classrooms. Emerald Publishing, part of Research in Second Language Learning Series.

Trinh, E., de Oliveira, L. C., & Selvi, A-F (Eds.) (2025). Multilingual leadership in TESOL. Routledge.

Zolin-Vesz, F., Banegas, D. L., & de Oliveira, L. C. (Eds.) (2024). Language teacher education beyond borders: multilingualism, transculturalism, and critical approaches. Bloomsbury Publishing.

de Oliveira, L. C. (2023). Supporting multilingual learners’ academic language development: A language-based approach to content instruction. Routledge.

Refereed Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Terrell, K. L., de Oliveira, L. C., & Gui, J. (2025). Transdisciplinarity through a functional approach in the content areas: Commonalities for school teachers. Journal of English Learner Education, 17(2). Retrieved from https://stars.library.ucf.edu/jele/vol17/iss2/4

de Oliveira, L. C. (2025). Experiences of professional development and learning for K-12 English language teaching professionals. Cuadernos de Investigación Educativa, 16. Retrieved from https://revistas.ort.edu.uy/cuadernos-de-investigacion-educativa/article/view/4080/4629

de Oliveira, L. C., & dos Santos, A. E. (2025). Using AI-Text generated mentor texts for genre-based pedagogy in second language writing. Journal of Second Language Writing, 67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2025.101184

Berry, D. N., Taylor, M. L., Nicolai, K. D., Koenka, A. C., Barnes, N., de Oliveira, L. C., & Zumbrunn, S. (2025). Reading and writing feedback perceptions among multilingual and monolingual learners across K-20 contexts: A systematic review. Learning and Instruction, 95, 102022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2024.102022

de Oliveira, L. C., Garrison, A., & Lawrence, J. (2025). Designing elementary curriculum using a functional approach through the teaching and learning cycle. In S. Bhowmik & M. Kim (Eds.), Teaching writing to English language learners in the elementary classroom: Research-based approaches and techniques (pp. 7-30). Routledge.

de Oliveira, L. C., Terrell, K., Gui, J., Willging, T., dos Santos, J. C., & dos Santos, A. E. (2025). Mentoring in a professional learning community of researchers: Perspectives on wellbeing. In B. Kutsyuruba & F. Kochan (Eds.), Mentoring for wellbeing: An interdisciplinary perspective. Emerald Publishing.

Coombe, C., de Oliveira, L. C. & Rafi, A. S. M. (2025). Professional learning and development: Issues and considerations. In C. Coombe, L. C. de Oliveira, & A. S. M. Rafi (Eds,). Professional learning and development in global language education. Routledge

dos Santos, A. E., Boa Sorte, P., & de Oliveira, L. C. (2025). Generative artificial intelligence in writing: ChatGPT and critical questioning for multilingual learners. In C. Wang & Z. Tian (Eds.), Rethinking writing education in the age of generative AI (pp. 138-154). Routledge.

de Oliveira, L. C. (2025). O uso da linguagem disciplinar nas áreas de conteúdo em contextos bi/multilíngues [The use of disciplinary language in the content areas in bi/multilingual contexts]. In A. Megale, M. S. El Kadri, & N. G. Ferreira (Eds.), Educação bilíngue: Caminhos para práticas transformadoras da Maple Bear [Bilingual education: Pathways to transformative practices from Maple Bear]. Pontes.

de Oliveira, L. C., Gui, J., & Vicentini, C. (2025). Leading through publishing: Autoethnographies of mentoring multilingual scholars. In E. Trihn, L. C. de Oliveira, & A. F. Selvi (Eds.), Multilingual leadership in TESOL. Routledge.

Bio

Dr. Luciana C. de Oliveira (Ph.D.) is Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her research focuses on issues related to teaching multilingual learners in K-12. Dr. de Oliveira’s research has focused on a functional approach to language development, one of WIDA’s (2020) Big Ideas, for the past 20 years. She has authored or edited 35 books and has over 200 publications in various outlets. She is the recipient of the 2025 Leadership through Research Award by Second Language Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). With over 30 years in the field of TESOL, she served in the presidential line (2017-2020), as President (2018-2019), and as a member of the Board of Directors (2013-2016) of TESOL International Association. She was the very first Latina to serve as President of TESOL.

Curriculum Vitae