Marhefka holds a Ph.D. in Education, Curriculum and Instruction. Marhefka's appointment involves teaching courses in Educational Studies, Exploring Teaching, and Elementary Methods. Her research employs qualitative research methods with a phenomenological lens of learning through lived experiences. She is interested in the intellectual labor of teaching and how teacher agency relates to critical and creative place-based curricular approaches.
In partnership with UNH’s Center for the Humanities she has collaborated on grants funded by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), as well as the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Her work integrates critical pedagogies in spaces for preservice and in-service teachers to center their local stories, through collaborating with community organizations and experts.
Courses Taught
- EDUC 402: Into to Educational Studies
- EDUC 500: Exploring Teaching
- EDUC 610: Ed Studies Field Experience
- EDUC 703M/803M: Teaching Elem Social Studies
Research Interests
- Educational Innovation
- Curriculum theory and philosophy of education
- Field-based qualitative research design and methods
- Environmental Education
Selected Publications
Honwad, S., Jablonski, E., Abrams, E., Middleton, M., Hanley, I., Marhefka, E., . . . Varner, R. (2019). Connecting Formal Science Classroom Learning to Community, Culture and Context in India. In SCIENCE EDUCATION IN INDIA: PHILOSOPHICAL, HISTORICAL, AND CONTEMPORARY CONVERSATIONS (pp. 143-162). doi:10.1007/978-981-13-9593-2_8
