Jackson Matos

  • Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education
  • Director of Middle, Secondary and the Arts Teacher Licensure Programs
Jackson Matos

Jackson Matos is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Education and the director of middle, secondary, and the arts teacher licensure programs. They serve as the program director of ¡Científicas Presente!, a summer STEM program for girls in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Matos is interested in the role of equality and liberation in learning communities. Matos' research has two distinct areas. In the first area, they examine the assets that Latinx students, families and communities bring to the classroom and how those strengths can be utilized to enhance the system of public education in the U.S. In the second area, they examine the longitudinal effects of a community based STEM program for girls in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Matos has worked with diverse populations of college students as a hallmark of their career and has served as director of multicultural affairs at Simon’s Rock, assistant dean of ALANA and GLBTQ students at Clark University, and assistant dean of students and advisor to Latinx students at Dartmouth College. Prior to their teaching appointment at Mount Holyoke, Matos taught at Our Lady of the Elms College, the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and the Smith College School for Social Work.

Areas of Expertise

Latinxs in education, women's education, social justice education, LGBT2Q issues in education

Education

  • Ed.D., University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • B.A., M.A.T., Smith College

HAPPENING AT MOUNT HOLYOKE

Recent Campus News

This year, Convocation celebrated the start of the 鶹ý academic year and the 10-year anniversary of its inclusive admission policy.

Mount Holyoke Assistant Professor of Psychology and Education Jackson M. Matos weighs in on Care.com about how adults can prevent bullying.

When Ansley Keane graduates from Mount Holyoke in May of 2023, she will be ready to teach history to children — including the child of the director of undergraduate early childhood and elementary licensure programs at the College.

Recent Grants

Received a fellowship from the Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation for their project, "Comparison of Educational Values of Irish Mothers in Ireland to Educational Values of Puerto Rican Mothers in Puerto Rico." 

Recent Publications

Matos, J.M. (2021) Utilizing Latinx Cultural Capital for the Retention and Graduation of Latinx Students in Higher Education, Journal of Latinos and Education, DOI: 10.1080/15348431.2021.1941030

Matos, J.M.M. (2019). La familia and other secret ingredients to Latinx student success. New York: Peter Lang.

Matos, J.M.D. & Norskey, G.E. (2018). “Choosing Each Other: Love, Friendship, and Racism” in M.R. Hall & K. Smith (Eds.), Uncommon Bonds: Women Reflect on Race and Friendship. New York: Peter Lang.

Matos, J.M. (2018). Book Review: Why are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations about Race (Beverly Tatum, 2017, Basic Books), for Humanity and Society DOI: 10.1177/0160597618761471

Matos, J.M.D. (2015). La Familia: The Important Ingredient for Latina/o College Student Engagement and Persistence, Equity & Excellence in Education, 48 (3), 436-453.

Recent Honors

Was a Hispanic Heritage Month speaker at San Bernadino Valley College. Matos offered a virtual reading from their book, La familia: And other secret ingredients to Latinx student success.

Was invited to be a Wesleyan University College of Education Colloquium speaker to read from her book La familia: And other secret ingredients to Latinx student success on April 14, 2021.

Was elected to the South Hadley School Committee in the local election on April 13, 2021.

Was invited to speak at the UMass Amherst College of Education with Carmen Yulín Cruz on "Transformation through Collaboration: Two Communities Collaborate to Learn from Each Other" about the 鶹ý STEM program in San Juan, Puerto Rico on March 31, 2021. 

Presented research on facilitating dialogues on race in college courses at the POD Network Conference, November 13-17, 2019. Pittsburgh, PA.

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