Education Reform and Policy

A gathering on the dynamic realm of education policy and reform, with three guest speakers. Teklu Abate Bekele, PhD, is an associate professor of International and Comparative Education at the Department of Educational Studies, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, AUC. Employing qualitative and quantitative methodologies, and including policy and practice dimensions, Bekele has been studying the field of higher education for over a decade. His study on the contextual production of knowledge received the 2019 Outstanding Author Contribution Emerald Literati Award on International Perspectives in Education and Society. He serves as an editorial board member in international academic journals and as a Board Member and Awards Committee Chair for the Higher Education SIG, CIES. His current research project interrogates emerging university-society engagements in Africa. Laura Valdiviezo, EdD, is a dedicated scholar focusing on reshaping schools as catalysts for social justice. Her research delves into diversity, pluralism, and knowledge production within institutional policies, aiming to understand and challenge the reproduction of inequality. Drawing from sociocultural and comparative perspectives, she explores language policy, multicultural education, and Indigenous schooling. As an education ethnographer, she conducts participant observation in culturally diverse public schools worldwide, examining the intersections of language, pedagogy, and equity. Cliff Meyers, EdD, is the interim Director of the Center for International Education, UMass Amherst. Cliff worked for UNICEF in Asia and the Pacific on early childhood development and basic education for 23 years after completing his doctorate at UMass. He speaks on the tensions and disconnects between donor demands at the macro level and the interests of national leaders, with examples from the Lao PDR.