Tomas de Rezende Rocha

Tomas de Rezende Rocha is Assistant Professor of Philosophy of Education, Justice, and Equity. He studies education through a philosophical lens, often by critically examining how ethical and political concepts—especially justice, equity, solidarity, and human flourishing—collide with the everyday practices, structures, and contradictions of educational life. He is currently writing on the political ethics of teacher unionism and teacher strikes, the role of Latin American testimonio in educational research, and the cultivation of intellectual and character virtues in the face of ecological collapse. He has published work on how climate change education can balance political action and individual flourishing; Plato and Aristotle's conceptions of theoria in contemplative education; the political dimensions of Buddhist-based mindfulness education; how epistemic justice frameworks may improve the design of open educational practices; how the concept of privilege may undermine social justice education; how liberal autonomy may fail to normatively ground social justice education; and whether Paulo Freire's notion of ser mais is appropriately translated in Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 

Rocha is co-editor of Teachers and Philosophy: Essays from the Contact Zone (2025, with Cara Furman), a project that invited pairs of teachers and philosophers of education to co-author essays inspired by Mary Louise Pratt's concept of the "contact zone." From 2014-2024, he served as an associate editor of LÁPIZ, the journal of the Latin American Philosophy of Education Society (LAPES). Within the College of Education, he teaches courses on educational ethics, the philosophy of education, and the philosophical foundations of educational research. He mentors master's and doctoral students in the Social & Cultural Foundations program and frequently advises independent study projects in educational philosophy. He is an Affiliate Faculty member of The Banks Center for Educational Justice and is currently serving a two-year (2024-2026) term on the UW Faculty Senate, including a one-year (2025-2026) position on the UW Faculty Senate Executive Committee.