Cara Elizabeth Furman

Cara E. Furman, PhD, is associate professor of early childhood and former New York City public elementary school teacher.

• Phd in Philosophy and Education, Teachers College Columbia
• MA in Elementary Education, Teachers College Columbia
• BA in History, Haverford College

She teaches a range of courses including research methods, educational foundations, and literacy methods for both undergraduate and graduate students.

She integrates writes about teacher development with a focus on Descriptive Inquiry, inquiry, asset-based inclusive teaching, and progressive literacy practices. She integrates qualitative and philosophical research methodologies to focus on teacher decision making and ethics.

Selected and Recent

• Furman, C. (2024). Teaching from an Ethical Center: Practical Wisdom for Daily Instruction. Harvard, MA: Harvard Educational Press.
• Furman, C. & Rocha, T., eds. (Forthcoming). Teachers and Philosophy: Essays From a Contact Zone. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
• Furman, C. & Traugh, C. (2021). Descriptive Inquiry in Teacher Practice: Cultivating Practical Wisdom to Create Democratic Schools. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Furman, C. & Karno, D. (2023) Teacher Talk in an Early Educator Blog: Building Culture Circles for Exploring Ethics. Ethics and Education.
• Furman, C. (2023). “Eavesdropping Books as Testimony: Witnessing Secondhand Crimes Against Humanity with Young Children.” Educational Theory.
• Furman, C. (2022). “How I Became a Better Teacher:” Expanding Assessment Practices Rooted in Ethical Ideals. The New Educator.
• Furman, C. & Traugh, C. (2022). “To Ask Questions of the Universe: Confronting Habitus for Racial Equity with Descriptive Inquiry.” Studies in Philosophy of Education.
• Furman, C. & Larsen, S. (2021). “Interruptions as Collaborative Grappling with Time.” Curriculum and Pedagogy.

• Trustee Professorship, University of Maine at Farmington