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Yolanda Majors

Yolanda Majors

she/her
  • Director, Dean's Initiatives & Senior Lecturer

Contact

yolanda.majors@northwestern.edu

Academic Area

Human Development and Social Policy
Learning Sciences

Research Interests

My body of research is distributed across three interrelated areas of work jointly premised on the idea that academic learning, context, and human development processes are deeply intertwined rather than separate or siloed domains. My work explores how learning environments - whether in formal school settings or informal community macro-contexts - can be structured to leverage disciplinary reasoning, positive and reciprocal relationality, and cultural knowledge and practices, as resources to support the integrated development of the whole child in context.

Biography

I come to this work as a researcher, educator, and scholar who has spent years studying human development across the lifespan. My journey has also led me to found an educational non-profit and serve in leadership roles on nonprofit boards—experiences that taught me how much can be achieved when people come together with purpose, vision, and care for one another.

My expertise is in qualitative research—ethnography and discourse analysis in particular—but what matters most to me is how research connects with real communities. I believe the best insights come from listening closely, engaging deeply, and creating work that has the power to transform how we see learning, development, and each other. I am deeply passionate about teaching and learning, and I strive to lead in ways that make people feel they belong, that they are part of the experience, and that their voices matter.

Education

  • Ph.D. 2002  University of Iowa, Language, Literacy, and Culture