Victor DeAlba
Victor DeAlba is a PhD Candidate and graduate research assistant at The Pennsylvania State University. He was raised in the city of Lompoc, located in the Central Coast of California. He earned his AA in sociology from Allan Hancock College. He then transferred to UCLA where he earned his BA in sociology. He worked as a Community Engagement Specialist for Social Model Recovery Systems in Boyle Heights, CA and the Skid Row community of Los Angeles before deciding to return to academia. He is the coauthor of We are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/o/xs del Maíz: Husks of Hope, Resistance, and Latina/o/x Educational Success. His current research includes the power of critical and transformative pedagogical spaces, amplifying Latina/o/x student voice, promoting educational opportunity for Latina/o/x students, and countering inequity in urban school systems.
Books by Victor DeAlba:

Transforming Education for Social Justice: Empirical Insights from Leadership, Equity, and Research in Action is a powerful anthology that brings together a collection of articles originally published in the Journal of Leadership, Equity, and Research (JLER). These chapters reflect a shared commitment to confronting systemic inequities and transforming PreK–12 and higher education through critical scholarship, equity-minded leadership, and community collaboration. As part of the Myers Education Press Ethnic Studies Revival Series, this volume is organized around three central themes:
- the role of educational leadership and transformative research for education reform and student empowerment,
- countering inequitable disciplinary practices through alternative and transformative approaches,
- the importance of student voice and activism for promoting equity and social justice.
E-books are now distributed via VitalSource
VitalSource offer a more seamless way to access the ebook, and add some great new features including text-to-voice. You own your ebook for life, it is simply hosted on the vendor website, working much like Kindle and Nook. Click here to see more detailed information on this process.

We Are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/os del Maíz: Husks of Hope, Resistance, and Latina/o Educational Success is a collection of empirical studies that explores the complex and multi-faceted journeys of Latina/o/x students. With maíz (corn) as the guiding symbol, this book incorporates indigenous teachings and knowledge to highlight the pillars and resources of support—referred to as “husks”—that nurture Latina/o students' growth, resilience, and achievement as they navigate the U.S. schooling system. This anthology offers examples that underscore the role of schools, families, and communities in shaping Latina/o students’ trajectories from pre-K to higher education.
The volume builds upon the parent book, The Chicana/o/x Dream, by examining the intersectional experiences of Latina/o students in varied educational contexts, the resources they access within educational spaces, and their familial and community support systems. Using the Framework of Atravesada/o/xs Nepantleando (FAN), the authors in this anthology illustrate how Latina/o students become nepantlera/os—change agents who create and foster diverse cultural spaces and advocate for transformation. The book is organized around three themes: planting seeds to foster college access, cultivating students to foster college readiness, and harvesting to support college completion. Through these themes, the volume aims to empower educators, researchers, and policymakers to foster diverse, equitable, and inclusive school and community spaces that amplify Latina/o student voice and center their experiences.
We Are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/os del Maíz is a valuable contribution to the scholarship on the Latina/o/x student experience in the United States. It is the perfect text for a variety of courses in Ethnic Studies and Cultural Studies.
E-books are now distributed via VitalSource
VitalSource offer a more seamless way to access the ebook, and add some great new features including text-to-voice. You own your ebook for life, it is simply hosted on the vendor website, working much like Kindle and Nook. Click here to see more detailed information on this process.