Dr. Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen, Assistant Professor of Music Education at UCLA, received a Faculty Career Development Award for the 2026 to 2027 academic year. This award is given by the UCLA Office of Inclusive Excellence.
For Gamboa-Kroesen, the award will support her project, “Beyond Graduation: Extending Music Teacher Education Through Belonging and Communities of Inquiry.” This research supports educators as they make the transition between university preparation and professional teaching through fostering a sense of belonging in the profession and developing an environment of inquiry where educators can reflect on their teaching practice.
“My goal is twofold,” Gamboa-Kroesen said, explaining that she wanted “not only to study professional belonging, but to enact it.”
Through connecting teaching professionals of various levels in their career, the project aims to build a community beyond graduation, addressing current needs for teachers’ support in the education sphere.
Congratulations to Dr. Gamboa-Kroesen on her Faculty Career Development Award!