María Leija, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching
Contact
Bio
Dr. María G. Leija is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood and Elementary Education in the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching at The University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Leija holds a doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Bilingual/Bicultural Education. As a former middle school and elementary bilingual teacher, she has experience teaching K-8th grade in mainstream, 80/20, and 50/50 dual language contexts. She has worked in the field of Bilingual/ESOL education for over 20 years, serving as a bilingual elementary and middle school teacher, supervisor of teacher candidates, and university instructor in the preparation of pre-/in-service teachers in Texas, Idaho, and Oregon. Her research interests include culturally sustaining biliteracies, community cultural wealth and funds of identities, and critically conscious teacher education. She has presented at local and national conferences and published in professional journals such as the Reading Research Quarterly, Early Childhood Education Journal, Theory into Practice, Bilingual Research Journal, Urban Education, The Reading Teacher, and Social Studies and the Young Learner.
Honors and Awards
- 2025 Outstanding Graduate Mentor Award, UTSA Graduate School
- 2025 Teaching Excellence Award Nominee
- 2021 Early Career Reviewer Award, Bilingual Research Journal
- 2021-2023 Professional Dyads and Culturally Relevant Teaching (PDCRT), National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
- 2018-2020 Cultivating New Voices Among Scholars of Color (CNV) Fellow, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE
