Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot: Pioneering Sociologist

Over the course of her life as an author, educator, researcher, innovator, and public intellectual, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot earned numerous accolades that speak to her significance and legacy in the field of education, in the discipline of sociology, in the panoply of social science research methodologies, and in the public sphere. One of Lawrence-Lightfoot’s most singular achievements is her creation of the social science method of portraiture, her practice of it, her teaching of it, and its continued use and evolution in social science research. This chapter will describe the origins and purposes of portraiture; its unique contributions as a social science research method, specifically in the field of education; the empirical insights and theoretical advancements of its development by Lawrence-Lightfoot over the years; and its evolution into the present and future of scholarship motivated by her sustained commitment to challenge hierarchies and inequalities in society and her devotion to the project of social justice.