Department of Learning, Teaching and Curriculum

Dr. Shanan Fitts (she/ her/ ella) is a professor in the Department of Learning, Teaching, and Curriculum. She began her career as an elementary teacher in New Mexico, which is a multilingual state. Before moving to North Carolina, she taught in a bilingual teacher preparation program at Cal State Fullerton.

At App State, her research focuses on community-based programs for supporting language and identity, and the complexities of the immigrant experience. She is a member of the National Association of Bilingual Education, TESOL International, and Dual Language/Immersion (DL/I) North Carolina Committee.

Her most recent publications can be found in Professing Education, Linguistics and Education, and Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education. In 2021, Dr. Shanan Fitts and Dr. Greg McClure received $19,269 in grant funding from the North Carolina Humanities Council, as well as $50,077 in matching funds from App State, in support of the digital storytelling project — Roots and Routes.

Selected Publications

• McClure, G. S., Fitts, S., & Martinez, L. (2022). La voz inmigrante: Engaging Latinx families through popular education. Professing Education, 20(1), 38-50. https://societyofprofessorsofeducation.files.wordpress.com/2022/04/professing-education-20-1-fall-2021-and-spring-2022-10th-intl-conf-on-educ-and-social-justice-final.pdf
• McClure, G., & Fitts, S. (2018). “My family history is simple”: Testifying and justifying the immigrant experience. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education: Studies of Migration, Integration, Equity, and Cultural Survival. 12(1), 14-27. DOI: 10.1080/15595692.2017.1381950

Dr. Fitts' curriculum vitae.