Dustin Christopher Webster Program: Literacy, Culture, and International Education Division, Ph.D.

Anticipated Graduation: May 2023

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Professional Biography

Dustin is a PhD student in Education, Culture, and Society at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate School of Education. Dustin has a professional background in K-12 education, and has served in a variety of roles, including in after school programs, teaching English in South Korea, and teaching 5th grade at a school for children with learning disabilities. He has long been interested in philosophy for children and the teaching of pre-college philosophy, and he is trained by the Institute for the Advancement of Philosophy for Children in the Lipman-Sharp Community of Inquiry method.

Dustin received his M.A. in Philosophy and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, and his B.A. in Political Science from the University of San Diego. He also holds a Masters in Law from Penn Law.

Research Interests and Current Projects

Dustin's interests broadly include character and virtue education, educational ethics, and pre-college philosophy. His research is currently focused on the ethical costs of tasking education with providing economic mobility for disadvantaged students, as well as how conceiving of education in this way changes to meaning and purposes of education for students based on their economic backgrounds--particularly in how character and character education is understood and implemented.

Publications

Webster, D. (2021). Beyond Academics: How Teachers Flourish through Students' Ethical Education. Educational Theory, 71(3), 409-429.

Interest Categories

K-12 Education
Teaching
School & Society

Education

M.A. (Philosophy and Education) Teachers College, Columbia University, 2017.
B.A. (Political Science) University of San Diego, 2012.

Faculty Advisors

Sigal Ben-Porath
Professor

Areas Of Expertise

Philosophy of Education

Profile information is provided directly by the student