Dean Watzke's Full Biography

Dr. Watzke's work has focused on the development and support of teaching communities, teacher performance assessment, professional development and educational policy. His published research includes numerous articles and books, including publications in the journals Teaching and Teacher Education, The Teacher Educator, Modern Language Journal, Foreign Language Annals, Journal of Religion and Education, and Catholic Education and the policy books Lasting Change in Foreign Language Education (Preager 2003), Beyond Alternative Teacher Education (ACE Press 2007) and the edited volumes Readings and Language Studies Volume 1: Language across Disciplinary Boundaries (ISLS 2008) and Readings in Languages Studies Volume 2: Language and Power (ISLS 2010). Affirming the belief that theory should be connected to practice, he maintains his teacher certification in foreign language education.



Dr. Watzke is a founding member of the International Society for Language Studies, a 501c(6) non-profit, organized in 2002 by scholars united in their goal to create an interdisciplinary society of scholars and practitioners from fields such medicine, law, the arts and social sciences engaged in language studies. He currently serves as CEO of the society and is serving a five-year term as Editor of its journal, Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, published by Taylor & Francis. Dr. Watzke's current projects have investigated the preparation of teachers to integrate cultural studies into language classrooms and have taken him into schools in Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles to investigate beginning teacher professional and personal identity formation within the contexts of urban public, Catholic and Jewish Day schools. This work holds insights into teacher retention and professional growth.



Dean Watzke comes from a family of award-winning educators. He is the parent of three school-aged daughters, which keeps the preparation of teachers and school leaders grounded both in the community and at home. Students, parents, and alumni can interact with him about news and happenings around the Portland community and in the School of Education on its Facebook site, where he is an active participant.