Tomas Rocha
Accepting new graduate students
Email
trocha@uw.edu
Office
Miller 207
Area
Educational Foundations, Leadership & Policy

Research Interests

Equity Studies
Historical & Philosophical Foundations of Education

Tomas de Rezende Rocha

Assistant Professor
Social and Cultural Foundations

Tomas de Rezende Rocha studies education from a philosophical perspective, often by identifying and addressing problems of educational justice and equity. He is currently focused on problems that emerge in the contexts of contemplative education, teacher strikes and teacher unionization, qualitative methodology, and climate change education. He has also examined how epistemic justice frameworks might improve the design of open educational practices; how the concept of privilege may undermine the goals of social justice education; whether liberal autonomy offers sufficient normative grounds for social justice education; and whether Paulo Freire's notion of ser mais is appropriately translated in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Rocha is co-editor of Teachers and Philosophy (SUNY Press, 2025), a forthcoming volume that paired teachers with academic philosophers of education to co-write essays inspired by Mary Louise Pratt's notion of the 'contact zone'. He is also an associate editor of LÁPIZ, the journal of the Latin American Philosophy of Education Society (LAPES).

Education
PhD in Philosophy and Education, Columbia University
MPhil in Politics, Development and Democratic Education, University of Cambridge
BA in Education Studies, Brown University
Courses Taught
EDLPS 525: Introduction to Educational Inquiry - Part One (Autumn quarter)
EDLPS 526: Introduction to Educational Inquiry - Part Two (Winter quarter)
EDLPS 520: Education as a Moral Endeavor (Winter quarter)
EDLPS 521: Philosophy of Education (Spring quarter)
EDLPS 524: Seminar in Philosophy of Education (every other year)

Philosophy of Education Resources

Academic Communities

  • Philosophy of Education Society (PES)
  • Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain (PESGB)
  • Philosophy of Education Society of Australasia (PESA)
  • Canadian Philosophy of Education Society (CPES)
  • North Eastern Philosophy of Education Society (NEPES)
  • Ohio Valley Philosophy of Education Society (OVPES)
  • Southeast Philosophy of Education Society (SEPES)
  • American Educational Research Association - Philosophical Studies in Education SIG
  • Latin American Philosophy of Education Society (LAPES)
  • Asociación Latinoamericana de Filosofia de la Educación (ALFE)
  • Sociedade Brasileira de Filosofia da Educação (SBFE)
  • John Dewey Society

Centers and Programs

  • The Center for Ethics & Education - University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Justice in Schools - Harvard Graduate School of Education
  • Center for Philosophy for Children - University of Washington
  • National High School Ethics Bowl (NHSEB)
  • Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO)
  • Portal de Filosofia e Educação (PFE)

Note: This list is a living document and does not reflect the full range of communities, programs, and resources dedicated to the philosophy of education. Please contact me with suggestions for links to add.