Dr. Kevin D. Lam, Assistant Professor of Urban and Diversity Education in the School of Education, published an article in the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement (University of Texas, San Antonio) in December 2012. This article analyzes the relationship between educational experiences, street life, and gang formation for Vietnamese American youth gang members in Southern California. Using a critical narrative methodology, Lam substantiated the life a Los Angeles area gang member. Themes from the narrative have larger implications for schooling and how we think about space, urban education, immigration, inter-ethnic relations, and social/public policy issues.
Dr. Lam was born in Vietnam and grew up in Los Angeles, CA. He received his BA degree in Sociology with a specialization in Asian American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles and his MA in Educational Foundations at Cal State University, Los Angeles. He did his graduate studies in Educational Policy Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Prior to pursuing a Ph.D. degree, he worked as a K-12 teacher and gang prevention youth worker in Los Angeles for six years. His research and teaching interests include Asian American youth gangs, critical studies of racism, critical pedagogy, urban education, and political economy. He has taught at the University of Southern California, University of California, Riverside, and Ohio University and was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Education at Muskingum University.