James D. Kirylo

James D. Kirylo
James D. Kirylo presiding at a university Faculty Senate meeting
Born	Livorno, Italy
Occupation	University Professor, Author
Nationality	North American
Subject	critical pedagogy, curriculum theory, liberation theology, multiculturalism, literacy

James David Kirylo (born 1958 in Italy) is a university professor who teaches courses that examine concepts associated with critical pedagogy, teacher leadership, diversity and literacy. He is the author and editor of numerous publications. His latest book is Teaching with Purpose: An Inquiry into the Who, Why, and How We Teach. Along with other books, Kirylo is also the author of Paulo Freire: The Man from Recife, which is one of the most comprehensive texts in English on the life and thought of Paulo Freire, significantly contributing to Freirean scholarship.

Kirylo was raised in a Mediterranean seaside community called Tirrenia, between Livorno and Pisa in the Tuscany region of Italy. After his high school studies, he moved to the United States and studied education at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Upon receiving his degree in elementary education in 1981, Kirylo went on to teach elementary school for 18 years in a variety of public and private school settings in three states, including working with the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity in Holy Trinity, Alabama.

He later conducted his graduate work at the University of New Orleans, receiving two M.Ed. degrees and a Ph.D., focusing his studies on curriculum theory, critical pedagogy, liberation theology, and literacy. Kirylo is a faculty member in the College of Education and Human Development at Southeastern Louisiana University, where he has served as president of the faculty senate. He has also taught at the University of South Alabama, Universidad Evángelica del Paraguay, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.