current research projects

book

Dr. Emerson is currently finishing a book titled From Antiracism to Abolition: Professional Learning for Liberating Schools contracted with Harvard Education Press (Fall 2026).

@teachermisery

Drawing upon the Instagram account @teachermisery and focus groups with teachers nationwide, in this side project Dr. Emerson is exploring teachers’ experiences in professional development.

youth activism & social media in educational contexts

Investigating how young people in Puerto Rico use social media to advocate for change in their schools and communities.

publications

appearances

  • Why Use Arts-Based Methods in Curriculum Research?

    Digital Futures Institute @

    Teachers College, Columbia University

  • Art Methodologies for Freedom, Healing, and Understanding in Teaching and Research

    Artivism: Adelphi University and Gottesman Libraries @ Teachers College, Columbia University

  • Education as More-than-Anti-Racist

    Another Education is Possible Podcast with Dr. Jordan Corson

  • Episode 189: From Antiracism to Abolition with Abby Emerson

    Educator Forever Podcast

My 2023 dissertation consisted of two parts: an art exhibition (Moving from Antiracism to Abolition in NYC Schools) and a written manuscript (Entanglements: An Abolitionist and Arts-Informed Curricular Analysis of School-Based Professional Development). Below is a zine briefly summarizing some of the key ideas of those works.

Moving from Antiracism to Abolition in NYC Schools Zine