Daniel Castner

My scholarship is primarily interested in advancing democratic education through practical curriculum theorizing. I conduct research to understand how curriculum leadership operates in early childhood settings, and I examine how dedicated teachers with strong personal and professional commitments experience and negotiate challenging conditions of schooling.

I am currently accepting doctoral students in Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies, especially those with research interests related to the education and care of young children and/or curriculum policy and practice.  

Selected Publications

Castner, D. J. (2020). Translating the implementation gap: Three versions of early childhood curriculum leadership. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48(4), 429-440. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-01006-7

Castner, D. J. (2021). Reconsidering early childhood curriculum leadership in light of reconceptualization: Moving beyond DAP technologies. The International Critical Childhood Policy Studies Journal, 8(2).

Castner, D. J. (2022). Fidelity in teaching young children: Two stories of professional integrity. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 36 (2), 239-254.

Castner, D. J., Butera, G. Fajerstein, L. (2022). The good within you: A case study of early childhood curriculum practice. Early Childhood Education Journal, 60 (6), 1047-1058. DOI: 10.1007/s10643-021-01243-9

Castner, D. J., & Kraus, A. (2023). Discussing the Emperor’s New Clothes- the Metaphysics of Neoliberal Policy and Educational Conversation. Vierteljahrsschrift für wissenschaftliche Pädagogik, 99, 229-245.

Michael Luna, S., & Castner, D. J. (2023). Removing the guardrails of democracy: Silencing critique of early childhood policy and practice. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 24(4), https://doi.org/10.1177/14639491231155971

Pfrang, A., & Castner, D. J.  (2024). Rediscovery of forgotten dimensions of pedagogical practice from a Continental perspective. Educational Theory. 74(2). 183–200. https://doi-org.proxyiub.uits.iu.edu/10.1111/edth.12631

Kessler, S.,  & Castner, D. J. (2024). Curriculum Theory and DAP. International Journal of Early Years Education. 32(3). 565-579.

Michael Luna, S., & Castner, D. J. (2025). Rising Authoritarianism Practice in Early Childhood Curriculum: A Case Study. Cultural Studies Critical Methodologies. Published online