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Dr. Sonia Kline

Professor
Teaching and Learning
Office
DEG Degarmo Hall 310a
  • About
  • Research

Biography

Sonia Kline is a professor of elementary and literacy education whose research and teaching center on Critical Humanizing Writing Pedagogy, teacher education, and advancing equity, belonging, and joy in classrooms.

Current Courses

TCH 224.003 Developing Readers Through Writing

TCH 465.091 Disciplinary Literacies

TCH 599.010 Dissertation Research

TCH 264.001 Language Arts Instructional Strategies

TCH 264.012 Language Arts Instructional Strategies

Teaching Interests & Areas

Dr. Kline advocates for approaches to teaching that involve valuing the social, cultural, and linguistic resources of students and that highlight issues of power, equity, and social justice. She strives to engage learners in critical inquiry, deep reflection, and collaborative learning, and she strives to make visible for learners the complex processes involved in literacy teaching and learning. Originally from England, Sonia brings her full self to her work as a former elementary teacher, proud mother of a brilliant young adult with (dis)abilities, and advocate for agency, equity, belonging, and joy in education.

Research Interests & Areas

The overarching purpose of Dr. Kline's research is to illuminate broad and disrupt narrow understanding of literacy. Her research focuses on Critical Humanizing Writing Pedagogy in teacher education and elementary classrooms. She is Lead Co-Editor of Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, and Co-editor of the forthcoming book, Kang, G. Y., & Kline, S. M. (Eds.). (2026). Writing reimagined: Bridging critical theories and pedagogical practices in elementary classrooms. Bloomsbury.

Journal Article

Tracy, Kelly N.; Scales, Roya Q.; Myers, Joy; Scales, David; Kline, Sonia M.; Wall, Amanda; Ikpeze, Chinwe;Raskauskas, Jenn; McQuitty, Vicki; Kang, Grace Y.; and Smetana, Linda D. (2024) "A Study of TeacherCandidates’ Changing Perceptions of Confidence within Writing-Focused Methods Courses," LiteracyPractice and Research: Vol. 49: No. 1, Article 4.
Kline, S., & Kang, G. (2022). Reflect, Reimagine, Revisit: A Framework for Centering Critical Writing Pedagogy. Language Arts, 99(5), 300-311.
Myers, J., Tracy, K., Wall, A., Smetana, L. D., Ikpeze, C. H., Kline, S. M., Raskauskas, J., Scales, R. Q.,McQuitty, V., & Hickey, P. (2022). The Teacher’s Role in Writing: A Study of Teacher Candidates’Perceptions. Reading Horizons: A Journal of Literacy and Language Arts, 61 (3).
Raskauskas, J., Kline, S., Wall, A., Kang, G., Ikpeze, C., Myers, J, Scales, R., Smetana, L., & Tracy, K. (2022). “I think writing is….” A Multi-State Study of Teacher Candidates’ Changing Beliefs about Writing. Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teaching Education, 11(3), 3.
Kaczorowski, T. L., & Kline, S. (2021) Teachers’ perceptions of preparedness to teach students with disabilities. Mid-Western Educational Researcher, 33(1), 36-58. Retrieved from https://www.mwera.org/MWER/