Juan A. Freire

Dr. Freire is an Associate Professor at Brigham Young University and a former elementary school teacher. He taught for four years in schools in Spain and for three years in a Spanish–English dual language bilingual program at an urban school in Utah.

He is a founding and governing board member of Esperanza Elementary, a 90:10 dual language bilingual school in Utah.

Dr. Freire’s research focuses on equity in dual language bilingual education. He has presented his work at numerous national and international conferences, including invited and keynote presentations. His scholarship has been published in multiple peer-reviewed journals. He is the lead editor of The Handbook of Dual Language Bilingual Education (2024, Routledge) and co-editor of Overcoming the Gentrification of Dual Language, Bilingual, and Immersion Education: Solutions-Oriented Research and Stakeholder Resources for Real Integration (2024, Multilingual Matters). He currently serves as co-editor of the International Journal of Multicultural Education and as a board member of the Bilingual Research Journal and the Journal of Language, Identity, and Education.

Dr. Freire has received several recognitions for his work, including the 2023 Nancy Peery Marriott Excellence in Scholarship Award from the McKay School of Education at Brigham Young University and the 2023 Early Career Award from the Bilingual Education Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association. He also received the 2024 Early Career Reviewer Award and an honorable mention in 2026 from the Bilingual Research Journal.

Dr. Freire teaches educational issues to undergraduate and graduate students. He enjoys working with students in research projects and master's thesis.

Dr. Freire's research interest is equity in dual language bilingual education (aka dual language immersion), especially issues related to language education policy, programs, and planning, as well as teacher research.