Areas of interest

Dr. Laitsch's scholarship and teaching are based in the social foundations of education, and the critical role professional educators play in advancing a just and equitable society. The social foundations of education are action oriented and interdisciplinary, bringing together diverse disciplines including political science, economics, education studies, and education policy studies. His scholarship focuses on two strands within education policy studies: examination of the neoliberal and economic forces shaping inequities in education systems; and social change through advancement of educator professionalism as informed by research utilization. More recently, he has used self-determination theory to help challenge change approaches that often exacerbate inequities through competitive extrinsic reward and punishment systems, instead focusing on intrinsically driven change that can help build capacity and resist inequities brought about by competition.