About

Hosun Kang is a science education researcher dedicated to reducing the opportunity gap in science learning for students from historically marginalized communities. She is the principal investigator of an NSF CAREER project titled “Expanding Latinx Opportunities to Develop Complex Thinking in Secondary Science Classrooms through a Research-Practice Partnership,” which aims to enhance educational opportunities and outcomes for Latinx students in science education. Her work involves studying how to improve science learning experiences and promote equity within educational settings.

Research topics

• Political Science
• Sociology
• Computer Science
• Pedagogy
• Psychology
• Mathematics education
• Social Science
• Medical education
• Medicine

Selected publications

• Research on Cheonheungsa Temple Based on Historical Records, Archaeological Sites, and Artifacts

  The Journal of Korean Medieval History · 2025-05-30

  article1st authorCorresponding

  This paper investigates the historical significance of Cheonheungsa Temple (天興寺) through a comprehensive review of previous scholarship and recent archaeological discoveries. According to earlier studies, the temple is believed to have been established by King Taejo(太祖) and later reconstructed during the reign of King Hyunjong(顯宗). Key pieces of evidence supporting this view include the remaining temple ruins, excavated artifacts, the Cheon- heungsa Temple Bell, the gilt-bronze statue of Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva currently housed at Manilsa Temple(晩日寺), and tomb inscriptions of monks from the Beopsaeng sect(法相宗) who were active during the mid-Goryeo period. These sources collectively indicate that Cheonheungsa Temple held substantial religious significance within both the Beopsaeng sect and the broader national Buddhist context during the Goryeo dynasty.Nonetheless, the absence of definitive historical records concerning the temple’s foundation or reconstruction presents interpretive challenges, particularly in assessing its connections with the royal family. Based on the casting date of the temple bell, it is plausible that the temple was either established or underwent a major reconstruction between the reigns of Kings Mokjong(穆宗) and Hyunjong. To further elucidate the temple’s historical role and religious status, continued scholarly investigation is required―especially a critical reassessment of key artifacts such as the gilt-bronze Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva statues currently housed at Manilsa Temple in Chonan and at the University of Tokyo(東京大學) in Japan.

  PublisherDOI

• Culturally sustaining approaches to STEM classroom assessment: Introduction to the special issue

  Journal of the Learning Sciences · 2025-08-08 · 1 citations

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  PublisherDOI

• Individual Awareness to Systemic Action: Expanding Students’ Project with Civic Action Matrix

  The Science Teacher · 2025-03-03

  articleOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Learning to Engage in Climate Activism in High School Classrooms towards Collective and Systemic Changes

  Proceedings. · 2025-06-10

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This qualitative ethnographic case study examines how two school students learn to take collective, informed actions toward systemic change in a year-long climate change course.The data include artifacts produced from students' climate civic action projects and the course activities, 10 video-taped lessons, and interviews.The analysis is guided by two questions: (1) How did the students respond to deliberately designed curricular activities that support their climate activism throughout the year?(2) How did the two students narrate their experiences?Using the notion of 'collective care,' the analysis reveals the processes in which the students connected their personal experiences with the climate issues discussed in the class; turned their anxieties into materialized doings with others to create a more just and sustainable world while navigating politics associated with proposed changes.The implications for supporting students' climate civic actions through formal education are discussed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Buddhist exchanges between Goryeo and Yuan in the 14th century and the publication of Buddhist texts in Hoeamsa Temple(檜巖寺)

  The Journal of Korean History · 2024-09-30

  article1st authorCorresponding

  During the Yuan intervention, the Goryeo people became influential patrons of Yuan Buddhism. Key figures included King Chungseon(忠宣王), Empress Ki(奇皇后), and eunuchs who managed Buddhist services at the Zizhengyuan(資政院). They played a crucial role in supporting and operating Buddhist temples, facilitating the printing of the Tripitaka, and carving Buddhist texts onto woodblocks. Their efforts also fostered strong connections with Goryeo monks in Yuan, promoting a rich exchange of religious and cultural practices. This exchange led to the introduction of Buddhist texts from Yuan to Goryeo, and their circulation in both Goryeo and the Joseon Dynasty.<br/> Hoeamsa Temple, a Seon Buddhist temple, reflects this influence through dedicated spaces for storing and studying Buddhist scriptures, including the Daejeonjeon(大藏殿), Jeondan-rim(栴檀林), and Joongryo(衆寮). Texts published or carved by Goryeo individuals in Yuan, such as Kang Geumgang(姜金剛), were later reprinted and re-carved at Hoeamsa Temple. Among these were works like the 『In-cheon-an-mok(人天眼目)』 which printed by Muhak Jacho(無學自超), a royal preceptor in early Joseon, highlighting the enduring impact of the Goryeo-Yuan Buddhist exchange.

  PublisherDOI

• Teacher educators’ understanding of and activities for preparing preservice teachers to Teach for social transformation in K-12 educational settings

  Teaching and Teacher Education · 2024-07-16 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  This study explores teacher educators' (TEs) understanding of and pedagogical activities for preparing preservice teachers to teach for social transformation in K-12 educational settings. The participants were 17 TEs at a university-based teacher education program in the United States. Data were interviews, teaching artifacts, and observations. Using ideology-in-pieces framework (Philip, 2011), TEs' complex sensemaking and their enactments are analyzed focusing on cognitive, social and structural dimensions. The analyses reveal TE's uneven attention to structural dimension as well as the roles of their professional interactions and membership. Implications for providing programmatic, intentional, and coordinated experiences for preservice teachers are discussed. • There were substantial variations in teacher educators' attention to structural dimension as well as their own racial identities when they made sense of a teacher education program's commitment to promote equity and social justice. • When teacher educators made sense of the program's commitment while attending multiple dimensions, including identities, agency, and structure, they tended to support PTs to approach teaching in a complex way with multiple goals. • Teacher educators' interactions and professional memberships shaped their sensemaking and enactment of the program's commitment.

  PublisherDOI

• The Operation and Role of Buddhist Temple in Ganghwado Island During the Era of Gang-do Capital

  The Journal of Korean Medieval History · 2023-02-28

  article1st authorCorresponding

  In 1232, due to the war with the Mongols, the move of the capital from Kaegyeong to Ganghwa Island was very urgent. From this time until returning to Kaegyeong, Gang-do(江都) became the capital of Goryeo. Gang-do was modeled after Kaegyeong and took on the shape of a capital. Ensuring that life in Kaegyeong could be maintained on Gang-do was the principle that constituted Gang-do, and it was in the same vein that many temples were built. In order for Gang-do to establish its status and function as a capital such as Kaegyeong, Buddhist temple was an essential facility. Important temples of Kaekyung were built on Gang-do, and national Buddhist rituals were also held. Private temples of bureaucrats were also built, and monks traveled between Gang-do and the land to conduct various Buddhist rituals and to manage temples. In addition, the temples on Gang-do reflect the characteristics of the times during the war with the Mongols and the power of the Choi Family’s Military Regime.

  PublisherDOI

• Teacher Responsiveness as a Core Feature of Justice- and Equity-Centered Instruction

  The Science Teacher · 2023-05-01

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Additional informationNotes on contributorsHosun KangHosun Kang (hosunk@uci.edu) is associate professor in School of Education at the University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA. Lindsay Fay is secondary science teacher on special assignment (TOSA) at Tustin Unified School District, Tustin, CA.Lindsay FayHosun Kang (hosunk@uci.edu) is associate professor in School of Education at the University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA. Lindsay Fay is secondary science teacher on special assignment (TOSA) at Tustin Unified School District, Tustin, CA.

  PublisherDOI

• “We need to step it up—We are basically the future”: Latinx young women co‐construct science storylines in high school chemistry

  Journal of Research in Science Teaching · 2023-12-08 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract Researchers and practitioners in the United States increasingly promote phenomena‐based instruction in science that supports the development of a coherent storyline throughout the unit. Questions about who is constructing the science storyline and how still remain. Employing a qualitative ethnographic case study approach, we explore how three Latinx female students authentically contribute in their high school chemistry class and change the science storyline originally developed by the teacher. Data include over 950 min of video recordings, student artifacts, and interviews collected from a unit about reaction rate, which was contextualized by students' experiences with a local wildfire. The analysis points to three instructional moves that appear to play an important role in shifting the collective storyline: connecting to Latinx students' personal concerns, moving across multiple figured worlds, and recognizing students' epistemological contributions. Implications for supporting minoritized students are discussed.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Modeling Students’ Performances in Physics Assessment Tasks Using Epistemic Network Analysis

  Communications in computer and information science · 2023-01-01 · 2 citations

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• CAREER: Expanding Latinxs' Opportunities to Develop Complex Thinking in Secondary Science Classrooms through a Research-Practice Partnership

  NSF · $1.6M · 2019–2026

Frequent coauthors

• Mark Windschitl

  University of Washington

  9 shared

• Edna Tan

  University of North Carolina at Greensboro

  6 shared

• Angela Calabrese Barton

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  6 shared

• Jessica Thompson

  4 shared

• Mary Lundeberg

  Michigan State University

  4 shared

• Robert C. delMas

  University of Minnesota

  4 shared

• Jasmine Nation

  3 shared

• Bjørn H. K. Wolter

  Alaska Department of Education and Early Development

  3 shared

Awards & honors

• NSF CAREER project