Bio


Antero Garcia is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University and Vice President of the National Council of Teachers of English. His research explores the possibilities of speculative imagination and healing in educational research. Prior to completing his Ph.D., Garcia was an English teacher at a public high school in South Central Los Angeles. He has authored or edited more than a dozen books about the possibilities of literacies, play, and civics in transforming schooling in America. His recent books include All Around the Town: The School Bus as Educational Technology and Civics for the World to Come: Committing to Democracy in Every Classroom. Antero currently co-edits La Cuenta (lacuenta.substack.com), an online publication centering the voices and perspectives of individuals labeled undocumented in the U.S. Antero received his Ph.D. in the Urban Schooling division of the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Academic Appointments


Administrative Appointments


  • Assistant Professor, Stanford Graduate School of Education (2017 - Present)

Professional Education


  • BA, University of California, Los Angeles, English (2004)
  • MEd, University of California, Los Angeles (2006)
  • PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, Education-Urban School (2012)

Research Interests


  • Civic Education
  • Literacy and Language
  • Secondary Education
  • Teachers and Teaching
  • Technology and Education

Current Research and Scholarly Interests


Antero's current research focuses on learning practices in gaming communities; critical literacies and civic identities in ELA classrooms; youth participatory action research; and sociocultural approaches to care and healing in classrooms.

2023-24 Courses


Stanford Advisees


All Publications


  • All hands on deck: exploring how Latinx families in California supported child learning during the initial Covid-19 shutdown JOURNAL OF FAMILY STUDIES Robillard, S. M., Reigh, E., Garcia, J. E., Suzara, M., Garcia, A. 2023
  • One text, two worlds, third space: Design principles for bridging the two-worlds divide in teacher education TEACHING AND TEACHER EDUCATION Trepper, K., Levine, S., Lomeli, K., Garcia, A. 2023; 129
  • Other suns: Designing for racial equity through speculative education JOURNAL OF THE LEARNING SCIENCES Garcia, A., Mirra, N. 2023
  • Shifting pedagogy, shifting practice: teachers' perceptions of project-based learning in English language arts ENGLISH TEACHING-PRACTICE AND CRITIQUE Trepper, K., Boardman, A., Garcia, A. 2022
  • "I Don't Think Kids Nowadays Feel Like They Have a Lot of Power": Exploring Teacher Civic Commitments in a National Online Letter Writing Project JOURNAL OF TEACHER EDUCATION Gargroetzi, E. C., Garcia, A. 2022
  • Platform Studies in Education HARVARD EDUCATIONAL REVIEW Nichols, T., Garcia, A. 2022; 92 (2): 209-230
  • Datafcation Meets Platformization: Materializing Data Processes in Teaching and Learning HARVARD EDUCATIONAL REVIEW Pangrazio, L., Stornaiuolo, A., Nichols, T., Garcia, A., Philip, T. M. 2022; 92 (2): 257-+
  • Expanding digital citizenship education to address tough issues PHI DELTA KAPPAN Mirra, N., McGrew, S., Kahne, J., Garcia, A., Tynes, B. 2022; 103 (5): 31-35
  • Guns, Schools, and Democracy: Adolescents Imagining Social Futures Through Speculative Civic Literacies AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL Mirra, N., Garcia, A. 2022
  • Beyond fake news: Culturally relevant media literacies for a fractured civic landscape THEORY INTO PRACTICE Mirra, N., Kelly, L., Garcia, A. 2021
  • How youth use scientific argumentation in civic participation on climate change: polar bears, the Great Barrier Reef, and 'your job as president' INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENCE EDUCATION PART B-COMMUNICATION AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT Zummo, L., Gargroetzi, E., Garcia, A. 2021
  • Bus riding leitmotifs: making multimodal meaning with elementary youth on a public school bus ENGLISH TEACHING-PRACTICE AND CRITIQUE Garcia, A., Robillard, S. M., Suzara, M., Garcia, J. E. 2021
  • Futures bound: re-designing literacy research as a conduit for healing and civic dreaming INTERNATIONAL STUDIES IN SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION Garcia, A., Mirra, N., Digital Democratic Dialogue 3d Tea 2021
  • Continuity and Change? Reading Young Adult Literature Through a Technology-Focused Critical Lens JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY Glazer, J., Seglem, R., Garcia, A. 2021

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jaal.1151

    View details for Web of Science ID 000636552000001

  • Civic dimensions of critical digital literacies: towards an abolitionist lens PEDAGOGIES Garcia, A., de Roock, R. 2021; 16 (2): 185-199
  • Chapter 1: "I piss a lot of people off when I play dwarves like dwarves": Race, Gender, and Critical Systems in Tabletop Role-Playing Games TEACHERS COLLEGE RECORD Garcia, A. 2021; 123 (13)
  • Digital platforms aren't mere tools -they're complex environments PHI DELTA KAPPAN Garcia, A., Nichols, T. 2021; 102 (6): 14–19
  • Writing Toward Justice: Youth Speculative Civic Literacies in Online Policy Discourse URBAN EDUCATION Garcia, A., Mirra, N. 2020
  • "Electric Word Life": Methodological Dignity in Equity-Driven Research EQUITY & EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION Garcia, A. 2020; 53 (3): 399–411
  • When technology goes unnoticed: teacher beliefs and assumptions about technology use in three 9th grade English classrooms PEDAGOGIES Garcia, A., Kelly, M., Stamatis, K. 2020
  • Youth voice on climate change: using factor analysis to understand the intersection of science, politics, and emotion ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION RESEARCH Zummo, L., Gargroetzi, E., Garcia, A. 2020
  • "I Hesitate but I Do Have Hope": Youth Speculative Civic Literacies for Troubled Times HARVARD EDUCATIONAL REVIEW Mirra, N., Garcia, A. 2020; 90 (2): 295–321
  • In Search of the Meaning and Purpose of 21st-Century Literacy Learning: A Critical Review of Research and Practice READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY Mirra, N., Garcia, A. 2020

    View details for DOI 10.1002/rrq.313

    View details for Web of Science ID 000558041400001

  • Glimmers of Care: Attending to the Affective Everyday in Ninth-Grade Literacy Classrooms READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY Garcia, A., Guggenheim, A., Stamatis, K., Dalton, B. 2020

    View details for DOI 10.1002/rrq.296

    View details for Web of Science ID 000512486100001

  • Introduction: A Once and Future Pedagogy WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT PEDAGOGY: TEACHING, LEARNING, AND COMICS Kirtley, S. E., Garcia, A., Carlson, P. E., Kirtley, S., Garcia, A., Carlson, P. E. 2020: 3–19
  • The Potential of Participatory Literacies to Challenge Digital (Civic) Divides STORIES FROM INEQUITY TO JUSTICE IN LITERACY EDUCATION Mirra, N., Garcia, A., Morrell, E., Rowsell, J. 2020: 87-109
  • THE TRANSFORMATIONAL RESISTANCE OF MS. MARVEL IN AMERICA MS. MARVEL'S AMERICA: NO NORMAL Carlson, P. E., Garcia, A., Baldanzi, J., Rashid, H. 2020: 133–51
  • Gaming Literacies: Spatiality, Materiality, and Analog Learning in a Digital Age READING RESEARCH QUARTERLY Garcia, A. 2020; 55 (1): 9–27

    View details for DOI 10.1002/rrq.260

    View details for Web of Science ID 000505297100002

  • Civic Writing on Digital Walls JOURNAL OF LITERACY RESEARCH Kalir, J. H., Garcia, A. 2019; 51 (4): 420–43
  • Centering Analog Literacy in an Era of Digital Harm RESEARCH IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH Garcia, A. 2019; 54 (2): 192–94
  • "Dear Future President of the United States": Analyzing Youth Civic Writing Within the 2016 Letters to the Next President Project AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL Garcia, A., Levinson, A., Gargroetzi, E. 2019
  • "Signifying Nothing": Identifying Conceptions of Youth Civic Identity in the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards and the National Assessment of Educational Progress' Reading Framework BERKELEY REVIEW OF EDUCATION Garcia, A., Mirra, N. 2019; 8 (2): 195–223

    View details for DOI 10.5070/B88235831

    View details for Web of Science ID 000475884600004

  • A Call for Healing Teachers: Loss, Ideological Unraveling, and the Healing Gap* SCHOOLS-STUDIES IN EDUCATION Garcia, A. 2019; 16 (1): 64–83

    View details for DOI 10.1086/702839

    View details for Web of Science ID 000466385200005

  • Invisible Potential: The Social Contexts of Technology in Three 9th-Grade ELA Classrooms RESEARCH IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH Garcia, A., Stamatis, K., Kelly, M. 2018; 52 (4): 404–26
  • The Politics of Reading, Agency, and Participation JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY Garcia, A., Christensen, L. 2018; 61 (6): 701–3

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jaal.746

    View details for Web of Science ID 000430810300014

  • Fitting Into the Franchise: Texts, World Building, and the Possibilities of Creative Expansion JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY Garcia, A. 2018; 61 (5): 585–88

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jaal.722

    View details for Web of Science ID 000426067800014

  • Listening, Literature, and the Sound of Text JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY Garcia, A. 2018; 61 (4): 465–68

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jaal.709

    View details for Web of Science ID 000431036900014

  • SCHOOLS FOR COMMUNITY ACTION Public School Design As a Revolutionary Act POWER, EQUITY, AND (RE)DESIGN: BRIDGING LEARNING AND CRITICAL THEORIES IN LEARNING ECOLOGIES FOR YOUTH Garcia, A., Gomez, M., Briggs, K., Mendoza, E., Kirshner, B., Gutierrez, K. D. 2018: 131–47
  • Smoldering in the darkness: contextualizing learning, technology, and politics under the weight of ongoing fear and nationalism LEARNING MEDIA AND TECHNOLOGY Garcia, A., Philip, T. M. 2018; 43 (4): 339–44
  • "DUDE UR GUNNA BE A GREAT TEACHER YO": Cultivating Diverse Englishes Through Chatroom Discussions Between Preservice Teachers and Urban High School Youth READING & WRITING QUARTERLY Garcia, A., Seglem, R. 2018; 34 (4): 291–305
  • Looking at the Next 20 Years of Multiliteracies: A Discussion with Allan Luke THEORY INTO PRACTICE Garcia, A., Luke, A., Seglem, R. 2018; 57 (1): 72–78
  • Changing Literacies and Civic Pathways: Multiliteracies in Inquiry-Driven Classrooms THEORY INTO PRACTICE Seglem, R., Garcia, A. 2018; 57 (1): 56–63
  • Worlds of Inclusion: Challenging Reading, Writing, and Publishing Science Fiction- and Fantasy-Based Young Adult Literature JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY Garcia, A. 2017; 61 (2): 221–24

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jaal.676

    View details for Web of Science ID 000408944000014

  • Player professional development: A case study of teacher resiliency within a community of practice TEACHING AND TEACHER EDUCATION Garcia, A., Gomez, M. 2017; 66: 349–59
  • Transmedia: Redefining Where and How Stories Are Told JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT & ADULT LITERACY Garcia, A. 2017; 60 (6): 715–17

    View details for DOI 10.1002/jaal.639

    View details for Web of Science ID 000400382900014

  • Privilege, Power, and Dungeons & Dragons: How Systems Shape Racial and Gender Identities in Tabletop Role-Playing Games MIND CULTURE AND ACTIVITY Garcia, A. 2017; 24 (3): 232–46
  • Alternate Reality Games and the Cusp of Digital Gameplay Conclusion ALTERNATE REALITY GAMES AND THE CUSP OF DIGITAL GAMEPLAY Garcia, A., Niemeyer, G., Garcia, A., Niemeyer, G. 2017; 5: 311–22
  • Privilege, Power, and Dungeons & Dragons: How Systems Shape Racial and Gender Identities in Tabletop Role-Playing Games Mind, Culture, and Activity Garcia, A. 2017; 24 (3): 232-246
  • Alternate reality games and the cusp of digital gameplay Garcia, A., Niemeyer, G. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. 2017
  • Alternate Reality Games and the Cusp of Digital Gameplay Introduction ALTERNATE REALITY GAMES AND THE CUSP OF DIGITAL GAMEPLAY Garcia, A., Niemeyer, G., Garcia, A., Niemeyer, G. 2017; 5: 1–26
  • Wobbling With Writing: Challenging Existing Paradigms of Secondary Writing Instruction and Finding New Possibilities Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice Garcia, A., O’Donnell-Allen, C. 2016; 65 (1): 348-364
  • The council of youth research: Critical literacy and civic agency in the digital age Reading & Writing Quarterly Garcia, A., Mirra, N., Morrell, E., Martinez, A., Scorza, D. 2015; 31 (2): 151-167
  • Revolutionizing inquiry in urban English classrooms: Pursuing voice and justice through youth participatory action research English Journal Mirra, N., Filipiak, D., Garcia, A. 2015: 49-57
  • Pose, wobble, flow: A culturally proactive approach to literacy instruction Garcia, A., O'Donnell-Allen, C. Teachers College Press. 2015
  • Teaching in the connected learning classroom Irvine, CA: Digital Media and Learning Research Hub Garcia, A., Cantrill, C., Filipiak, D., Hunt, B., Lee, C., Mirra, N., O’Donnell-Allen, C., Peppler, K. 2014
  • Critical foundations in young adult literature: Challenging genres Garcia, A. Sense Publishers. 2013
  • Reading YA with ' Dark Brown Skin ': Race, Community, and Rue's Uprising ALAN Review Garcia, A., Haddix, M. Submitted