I am a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Stanford Language to Literacy Research Lab. I work on a literacy intervention for 41 Bay Area schools, analyzing data and outcomes to share best practices with school districts, teachers and improve student experience and performance.
Current papers under initial review:
Salia, R.F. “Filtered Visions: The Role of Textbook Imagery in Constructing Memory in Contemporary American History Textbooks.”
Salia, R.F., Rivera-Orellana, J., Kuo, A.C. & Paras, X. (2026). “Conducting the Classroom Orchestra: Dialogic Teaching Strategies for Engaging Multilingual Learners in a Language and Literacy Curricular Intervention.”
Silverman, R., Proctor, P., Kuo, A.C., Rivera-Orellana, J., Keane, K., Salia, R.F., Toyama, Y. (2025). “Applying Implementation Science to Language and Literacy Instruction for Multilingual Learners: Lessons from a Study of a Supplemental Program.”
My work combines qualitative content analysis and critical theoretical frameworks with quantitative analysis of global educational trends to understand the interplay between education, memory, and national identity. I am currently adapting my three-paper dissertation into a book.
Contested Memory: History Curriculum And The Legacy Of State Violence In Comparative Perspective
Paper 1: From Silence to Denial: The Armenian Genocide and Its Shifting Narrative in Turkish History Textbooks, 1934-2018
Analyzes Turkish history textbooks over time to track narrative shifts in portrayal of Armenian Genocide using qualitative content analysis methods.
Paper 2: Filtered Visions: The Role of Textbook Imagery in Constructing Memory in Contemporary American History Textbooks
Examines visual content in American history textbooks to assess how imagery represents and sanitizes the history of slavery using critical race theory and theories of visual representation.
Paper 3: Crafting National Memory: The Impact of Conflict and Globalization on History Education, 1945–2020
Quantitative analysis of longitudinal data to explore how conflict and political changes affect history curriculum and patriotic content in schools over time.