Aguirre recognized for ‘excellence in advocacy’ in mathematics education

Julia Aguirre, Professor in the UW Tacoma School of Education and Faculty Director for Teacher Certification programs, has been honored with the 2024 Karen D. King Excellence in Advocacy Award from the Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators (AMTE). The award will be presented at the AMTE conference in Reno this week. 

The award, which is only given out once every three years, recognizes a colleague who has made a unique contribution in advocacy with a significant and lasting contribution to mathematics teacher education. AMTE defines advocacy as “the process of publicly supporting ideas or plans and/or influencing decisions.” 

"Dr. Aguirre is an internationally recognized scholar in equity-conscious approaches to mathematics education," says Dr. Rachel Endo, Dean and Professor in the School of Education. "This well-deserved recognition is a testament to her deep commitment to humanizing mathematics education for all children through culturally relevant approaches to mathematics learning and pedagogy." 

Dr. Aguirre’s work focuses on critical equity studies in mathematics education, teacher education, culturally responsive mathematics pedagogy, and mathematical modeling. She joined the UW Tacoma faculty in 2007.  

She is co-author of four books: The Impact of Identity in K-12 Mathematics: Rethinking Equity-Based Practices (2024); Cultivating Mathematical Hearts: Culturally Responsive Mathematics Teaching in Elementary Classrooms (2024); Transforming Mathematics Teacher Education: An Equity-based Approach (2019); and The Impact of Identity in K-8 Mathematics: Rethinking Equity-based Practices (2013).  

She is currently working on a grant-funded project focusing on advancing equity and strengthening teaching with elementary mathematical modeling (www.eqstemm.org).