Pedro E. Nava is an Associate Professor of Education in the Educational Leadership Program at Santa Clara University.
Pedro completed his Ph.D. from UCLA’s Graduate School of Education in the Urban Schooling division. His dissertation was titled Sin Sacrificio No Hay Recompensa: Apoyo as (Im)migrant Parental Engagement in Farmworking Families of the California Central Valley. In his thesis, using critical race and political economy theory, he explored this process by conducting a qualitative case study examination through life histories and in-depth interviews of families in an agricultural community in California’s San Joaquin Valley. For this research, Pedro was recognized and supported by both the Ford Foundation and the University of California Office of the President in the form of dissertation fellowships, and by the Institute of American Cultures at UCLA through a research grant.
His research and teaching focus on urban and rural schooling inequality, critical pedagogy and critical race theory, immigration and education, family-school engagement, and participatory action research. Pedro has been published in Race Ethnicity & Education, The Urban Review, Latino Studies Journal, Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, Journal of Leadership, Equity, and Research, Journal of Hispanics in Higher Education, and other venues. Prior to his time at UCLA, he completed a Master’s degree at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education with a specialization in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy, and a Bachelor’s degree from California State University at Fresno in Liberal Studies and Chicano Studies.
Education
Ph.D. in Urban Schooling, University of California Los Angeles
M.Ed. in Administration, Planning, & Social Policy, Harvard University
B.A. in Liberal Studies & Chicano/Latino Studies, California State University, Fresno
Publications
Lundell, R. J., Nava, P., & Montoya, J. (2025). Transformative Solidarity: Confronting Neoliberal
Hegemony in Urban Schools with Constructivism and Critical Pedagogy. The Urban Review, 1-27.
Nava, P., & Martinez, R. (2023). Critical Junctures along the Chicanx/Latinx Educational Pipeline:
Interdisciplinary and Intersectional Perspectives. Association of Mexican American Educators
Journal, 17(2), 4-10.
Nava, P. (2023). Interview with Dr. Julie Figueroa: A Journey of a First-Generation Faculty and
Mentoring across the Educational Pipeline. Association of Mexican American Educators Journal, 17(2),
124-138.
Lara, A., & Nava, P. E. (2022). Undocumented Chicanx/Latinx Graduate Students: Illuminating
Home-Based Sources of Support. Journal of Leadership, Equity, and Research, 8(2), 37-59.
Covarrubias, A., Lara, A., Nava, P., & Burciaga, R. (2021). Critical Race Quantitative
Intersectionality: A Toiling Movement-Building Paradigm That Refuses to “Let the Numbers Speak
for Themselves”. In Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education (pp. 279-295). Routledge.
Covarrubias, A., Nava, P. E., Lara, A., Burciaga, R., & Solórzano, D. G. (2018). Expanding
educational pipelines: Critical race quantitative intersectionality as a transactional methodology.
In Understanding critical race research methods and methodologies (pp. 138-149). Routledge.
Lara, A., & Nava, P. E. (2018). Achieving the dream, uncertain futures: The postbaccalaureate
decision-making process of Latinx undocumented students. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education,
17(2), 112-131.
Nava, P. E. (2017). Abuelita storytelling: From pain to possibility and implications for higher
education. Storytelling, Self, Society, 13(2), 151-169.
Nava, P. E., & Lara, A. (2016). Reconceptualizing leadership in migrant communities: Latina/o
parent leadership retreats as sites of community cultural wealth. Association of Mexican American
Educators Journal, 10(3), 90-107.
Rodríguez, L. F., Mosqueda, E., Nava, P. E., & Conchas, G. (2013). Reflecting on the institutional
processes for college success: The experiences of four Chicanos in the context of inequality. Latino
Studies, 11(3), 411-427.
DIGITAL MEDIA PUBLICATIONS
Nava, P.E. (Producer). (2023, September). Dr. Julie L. Figueroa: From 1st Generation Student to
Cultivating Teaching & Mentoring Excellence [Video podcast] Episode #1 (40 listens) Retrieved
from https://youtu.be/ImJl0sZKPcA
FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS AND AWARDS
Institutional Challenge Grant, WT Grant Foundation $650,000 (2024-2027): Strengthening a
Holistic, Community-Based Pre-Collegiate and Collegiate Support System to Enhance College Matriculation,
Persistence, and Success among Latinx Students in East San José, California: Preparing Racially Minoritized
Students for College During Uncertain Times
SCU ECP Faculty Research Grant $30,000 (2023-2024): An Examination of TFHE Student and
Family Supports and Wrap-Around Services, Santa Clara University
Trefethen Faculty Award, Mills College 2018-2019
Associated Students at Mills College Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award, Mills College
(2018)
Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, University of California Los Angeles (2010-11)
University of California Office of the President (UCOP) Dissertation Year Fellowship,
University of California Los Angeles (2010-11)
Courses
EDUC 372: Communities, Schools, & Critical Social Theory
EDUC 366: Community Leadership & Inclusive Schools
EDUC 369: Action Research
EDUC 450: Dissertation Research
EDUC 434: Dissertation Proposal
Watch this video to learn more about Dr. Nava