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(revised October 26, 2007 )
Full-Time Faculty
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Photo by Jon Crispin |
Front Row: Cristine Smith, Jacqi Mosselson, Gretchen Rossman |
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Emeritus & Retired Faculty |
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Cristine Smith (Ed.D. UMass, 1997) cristine@educ.umass.edu
Cristine Smith brings to CIE the benefits of years of exp
erience in literacy, adult and nonformal education both domestically and internationally. Cristine's doctorate focussed on adult literacy programs both internationally and in the U.S. Her area of expertise is in women and girls' literacy programs in Asia; in the U.S., she specializes in professional development and training for adult literacy teachers. Since 1988, she has worked for World Education, a non-profit organization in Boston involved in training and technical assistance for non-formal education in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
For the past 10 years at World Education, she has been working with the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL), the U.S. Department of Education's only research center focused on adult basic education. Since 2001, she has been the Deputy Director of NCSALL, and (with the help of other CIE alums Judy Hofer, Marla Solomon, and Marilyn Gillespie) she directed a five-year study of how teachers change after participating in different models of professional development. She has been a co-author on a number of studies published by NCSALL.
In the 90s, she directed World Education's literacy programs in South Asia, including girls' and women's integrated literacy programs (health and literacy, literacy and livelihoods, literacy for adolescent girls) in Nepal and India. She is currently the Principal Investigator of the Adult Transitions Longitudinal Study (ATLAS), a $1 million, five-year social research project in New England funded by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation Cris has lived in the Amherst area since 1990.
Joanie Cohen-Mitchell (Ed. D. UMass, 2004) joanie@educ.umass.edu
Joanie finished her dissertation and graduated from UMASS in 2004. Joanie’s dissertation
focused on market women in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala and explored the tension inherent in the transition they and their families were making from a Mayan language to using Spanish for economic and cultural survival.
While at CIE, Joanie worked on many adult and family literacy initiatives, and served as the training and research coordinator for the COMAL project in Guatemala.
Currently Joanie serves as an evaluator for the Massachusetts Department of Education family literacy programs in Northampton, Greenfield and No. Quabbin, MA and also teaches at the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont. Joanie teaches the undergraduate Introduction to International Education course for CIE at UMass. We are delighted to have her back working at CIE.
Joanie’s research interests focus on the context of literacy and learning and exploring how program developers and practitioners can cultivate environments in educational programs for families and communities were multiple languages can be sustained and nurtured.
Dr. Cohen-Mitchell has worked as a consultant throughout Latin America and Haiti developing programs in early childhood education, adult literacy, gender and non-formal education.
David R. Evans (Ph.D., Stanford, 1969) dre@educ.umass.edu
In my 40 years at the Center for International Education, I have been involved in a wide variety of academic and practical activities. During this time period I have been directly involved in the design and management of dozens of educational projects in Latin America,
Asia and Africa. I have also been a consultant on education projects. My extended field experience is largely in anglo-phone Africa, with over five years of experience as a teacher and researcher in Uganda. My most recent experience has been in Malawi, Afghanistan and Southern Sudan. Over the years I have developed an understanding of the development philosophy and the procedures used by the major development agencies like UNESCO, IBRD, USAID, UNICEF as well as international NGOs like CARE and Save the Children.
My academic & research interests have centered around the following topics: theory and practice in nonformal & popular education; educational planning in developing countries; teacher education in third world countries; use of spreadsheet-based models for educational planning; gender issues & girls' education in developing countries; and educational policy formulation and implementation for developing countries. Other interests have included: simulation and gaming for NFE learners; models and simulations for education system management; and cross-cultural training. Current research interests center around alternative approaches to systems of teacher education in low-resource contexts; the political economy of educational statistics; the challenges of policy formulation in decentralizing national systems.
Ash Hartwell, (Ed.D. UMass, 1973) ash@educ.umass.edu
I grew up in Hawaii, and was a surf lover until banished to a New England college where skiing had to take the place of surfing. But skiing was expensive, and I had to work to make it through college, so I began to teach skiing. I found that teaching others to learn
was as much fun as the sport itself. That has led to a life-long passion to understand how people learn, and to support the process of learning in various cultures and contexts. Living and working in Ethiopia, Uganda, Lesotho, Botswana and Egypt for extended periods, I have grown to believe in a deep, innate human love and capacity for learning (and playing), which is not inevitably deadened as youth fades into adulthood. I hold that every child - and potentially every adult - is a genius. My work seeks to support individual and community learning - which I believe to be the process of transformation that leads to greater capacity, and opportunity, to participate in society. Learning is connected to our personal meaning, and to our relationships to others. I have been involved in specific projects in Egypt, Ghana, Uganda, Malawi that apply learning principles to classroom, school, community programs, and I also work towards supporting and financing national policies that are built from local successes.
Since I returned to the USA after working 25 years in Africa, I have served as an education advisor to USAID's Africa Bureau, as well as to UNICEF, CARE and the World Bank. I have served on the Board of Trustees of the 21st Century Learning Initiative, a transnational program to synthesize the best of research and development into the nature of human learning and implications for education, work and the development of communities worldwide.
In 2002 I joined the faculty at the Center for International Education, where I focus on Learning in Post Conflict Situations, Educational Policy and Planning, and Alternative Forms of Education. I also continue as an advisor on education systems for the Global Learning Group of the Education Development Center, Inc.
Jacqueline Mosselson (Ph.D., Columbia University, 2002) jmosselson@educ.umass.edu
Jacqueline Mosselson earned her Doctor of Philosophy in comparative education and developmental psychopathology from Columbia University in 2002. She received her
Masters of International Affairs (economic and political development) also from Columbia University in 1997, and her B.A. in International Relations (specialization international humanitarian law) from Tufts University in 1994. Her doctoral dissertation, Roots and Routes: Re-imagining the Reactive Identities of Bosnian adolescent Female Refugees, explored the ways adolescent refugees understand their national and self-identities in the context of flight and relocation and the impact of education on the refugee condition. This work will be published as a book in 2005 by Peter Lang Press as part of the book series, Intersections in communications and culture by Cameron McCarthy and Angharad N. Valdivia. Jacqi’s most recent research examines the political and cultural impact of education in transitional, post-conflict states, specifically how youth may effect change through education and non-governmental organizations to heal the tragedies of war for future generations.
Jacqi has worked for the International Rescue Committee, primarily on regional desks but also as a consultant examining the gender-impact of IRC programming, on health-related issues in the Republic of Georgia, on escapees from the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, and as part of an evaluation team examining the Afghan refugee school programs in Pakistan. She has also worked as a consultant for Unicef in Mongolia. Jacqi’s regional experience includes Asia, Eastern Europe and East Africa. She joins us as an assistant professor in the Center for International Education.
Gretchen B. Rossman (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, 1983) gretchen@educ.umass.edu
Dr. Rossman is currently a Professor of Education in the Department of Educational Policy, Research and Administration, and is associated with the Center for International Education. She served as Visiting Professor at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and spent a recent sabbatical as Visiting Scholar at the University of Hong Kong. Her domestic research interests focus on the close examination of the school- and district-level elements necessary to create collaborative, responsive learning settings. She has conducted multisite studies of systemic change in high schools; of inclusion initiatives for students with disabilities in rural, suburban, and urban districts; and of teachers' roles in systemic reform. In recent international work she served as the Research and Evaluation Specialist for a project called Strengthening the Education of Girls in India. She is currently the Co-Principal Investigator on the Malawi project at CIE.Gretchen also has strong interests in qualitative research design and methods: her book, Designing Qualitative Research, now in its third edition, helps students develop sound dissertation proposals. Her most recent book, Learning in the Field (co-authored with Sharon Rallis) is an introductory text.
Given these interests, Gretchen teaches courses in qualitative research methods, qualitative research design, and participatory action research methods. Other courses offered in International Education include cross-cultural perspectives on educational management. Regarding her courses, Gretchen says:
I delight in seeing students grow in confidence and competence. In my courses on research methodology, I try to create learning environments that foster complex reasoningskills and thoughtful decision-making, and build the knowledge and skills that enable students to conduct research competently and ethically. I am intrigued with the growth of students as they inquire about topics or phenomena of interest to them. I hope that they become persistent inquirers into their own lives and those of others - the ultimate goals of social science - and become committed to more socially just organizations and societies. To encourage this learning, I structure my classes to foster the engagement of students with the materials, one another, and their own research interests. My goal is to create learning experiences that are rigorous and involving. Within this structure, there is considerable choice - and with this choice, I elicit students' personal or professional interests as catalysts for their learning. Drawing on personal interest and experience captures the passion that should be present in sustained, thoughtful inquiry into the social world.
The metaphor of the dance comes to mind. Dancers practice diligently to learn movement and disciplined steps that constitute 'the dance.' They must immerse themselves in this practice to develop levels of understanding, insight, and new creativity. They can then imbue 'the dance' with their own understanding and interpretation - they express 'the dance' in unique ways. I hope to accomplish this with my students: As they practice (learn) diligently and with discipline, they are able to reach levels of insight and interpretation that reveal new understandings.
Learning takes place in a number of venues; the classroom is just one. In working with advanced graduate students, I follow the precepts outlined above. Focusing on their interests and commitments, I create a structure for inquiry that is disciplined and rigorous. As we work within these parameters, I have the privilege of seeing students grow in intellectual sophistication and subtle reasoning, as they deepen their understanding of the topics that capture their imaginations. To bear witness to this growth is a privilege, a responsibility, and a calling.
Prior to 1991, when I enrolled at the Center for International Education (CIE), I worked in my home country, Bangladesh, with Friends in Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB) as a senior Material Developer and Training Coordinator for Functional Literacy Program. During the1980s, I developed basic adult literacy primers and wrote a series of post-literacy follow-up books that are still being used by over 100 NGOs. I designed a Training of Trainers (TOT) curriculum and wrote a several hands-on manuals for literacy program facilitators. At the end of my work in Bangladesh, I began a new position as Training Coordinator and set up a residential training center for literacy professionals.
While at CIE, I worked as a Network Coordinator for the University Linkage Project organizing an International Network of Literacy Professionals and developing Action Learning Manuals. Among many other interesting projects, I co-designed the Cambodian Village Development Project and was the Coordinator for the Materials Development Spring Institute for Pakistani Educators and the Training Institute for Botswana Educators.From 1995 to 2001, I took a leave of absence from CIE and became Co-Country Representative of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) program in Laos, along with my partner Dr. Hollyn Green. In Laos, I designed an Integrated Rural Development Program with a focus on community organization, non-formal education and local capacity building process. During these years, I introduced an action research-based planning process involving local INGO staff that evolved into the first Lao Training Center specializing in locally developed curriculum - which is thriving today.
In the summer of 2003, I worked as a training consultant for UMass/CIE project based in Kabul, Afghanistan. I facilitated accelerated learning-based, rapid teacher training activities with the Afghan University of Education faculties and Ministry of Education personnel. In 2004, I took a position with the Institute for Training and Development (ITD) as Acting Vice-President. My responsibilities included designing training programs in areas such as Inter-ethnic and Religious Tolerance, Youth Advocacy Organization and NGO Development and Library Management for participants from the Georgia, Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Since 2002, I have been an Adjunct Faculty at the School of Human Services, Springfield College teaching courses on Organizational Transformation, Program Evaluation and Issues in Research.
My academic interests include Human Resource Development, Capacity Building Process, Self-management for Local Development Workers, Cultural Aspects of Action Research and Learner Generated Materials. My non-academic social interests include writing regular
We recently heard from Bob Miltz with an update on what he has been doing since his official retirement from CIE.
Since my retirement going on 5 years now, all of my time has not been spent building around the house and playing golf with George Urch and Ash Hartwell! During the first couple years of retirement I spent considerable time working with the CIE graduate students on the dissertation committees that I chaired. It was a successful time as 18 of our very talented people completed their dissertations.
Then Fredi Munger and I worked together in Washington to develop a program to prevent child trafficking and the end result was a quite significant project in Cambodia. This past summer I had the opportunity to actually see that project in
action when I did an assessment for USAID in Cambodia. The assessment focused on youth, labor and the job market. We were attempting to look for ways that the labor market could meet the needs of the rapidly growing youth population in Cambodia (almost 60% of the population is under 24 years of age). Quite a challenge but we did come up with a number of recommendations. The trip also gave me the opportunity to return to Cambodia and see the changes that have taken place since our CIE project which ran from 2001 to 2005. While there have been a number of changes many issues remain the same, mainly the issues of land mines, continuing poverty and malnutrition. One positive side was seeing the effort of reducing child trafficking being taken seriously and many organizations focusing on this issue. One of the leaders in this field is World Education with a very successful project being headed by our own David Kahler.
So I continue to enjoy retirement doing a little bit of everything, enjoying the grandchildren and bumping into CIE members not only around town but also on the various travels that Linda and I have been enjoying. Linda and I send our greetings to you all and you never know we may give you a call when we are in your neck of the woods. [October 2006]
As many of you
know, 30 years ago I came to the University to be one of the coordinators
for the teacher education programs at the School of Education. International
Education was only of a passing interest at that time as my hands were
clearly full coordinating 21 separate teacher education programs as well
as directing the microteaching clinic. In the early 70's I received an
offer from UNESCO to spend two years in Nigeria basically to help reconstruct
Biafra at the end of that civil war (I've since had the suspicion that
this offer was planted by a CIE member in a subversive move to get me
to switch allegiances within the school of education). It was in Nigeria
that I developed my interest in rural development and related fields of
materials development (out of necessity as we had to make our own teaching
aids out of locally available materials) and training (after all, you
need to find ways to use the materials, in this case mostly in health
and agricultural training).
Upon my return I found myself spending 50% of my time with teacher training
and 50% with CIE. Apparently this was not enough for died-in-the-wool
CIE'ers as I soon received another offer from UNESCO to spend two years
in Lesotho helping to build educational programs that reached into the
community. This experience allowed me to develop my interests in project
management and the use of technology in development.
In the end, of course, I joined CIE full-time and for the past 20 years
I have spent time working on projects in Somalia, Swaziland, Thailand,
Cambodia, and the Philippines. I have also had the most enjoyable task
of working with all of our students here at CIE exploring issues of nonformal
education, training, rural development, materials development and technology
(hey, sometimes even technology works; you are reading this on the web
page are you not?). Most rewarding of all is watching all of the CIE members
grow into leaders in their field and looking forward to continuing this
relationship for many years into the future.
Sally Habana-Hafner (Ed. D. University of Massachusetts) srhabana@educ.umass.edu
Since retiring, Sally has been active in building relationships with her home region in the Philippines. In Fall of 2006 she was awarded a Fulbright to do research in the Philippines.
The focus of my Fulbright research was to study the Madrasah education system through the perspectives of 28 madrasah teachers and administrators who participated in the U.S. study tour sponsored by ITD in 2005. My research was both timely and necessary. For despite its proximity and affinity to Muslim Mindanao, Madrasah
Education is the least understood educational system in the Philippines. Of course, there are many historical and geopolitical reasons for that, but I delved more into the practices and challenges of the 28 madaris as they institute change according to the current Madrasah Education Reform government policy
Needless to say, I learned so much from my Muslim colleagues. For one, they believe that the Madrasah system is essential to the survival of Islam and the preservation of the Muslim culture. They considered it an institution equally important to the mosque within their community. Without these two institutions, they firmly believe that the younger generation, vulnerable to external influence from the West, will not embrace Islam as their religion and the Muslim way of life. I was amazed at the extent to which their passion and determination to sustain their madrasah against all odds made them more adaptable and resilient to changing times. Now, I have even a greater admiration and respect for my fellow Muslim educators.
Morever I gained a deeper understanding and broader knowledge of the Muslim culture and community as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the Madrasah system in Muslim Mindanao. Understanding Islam, in some ways, is essential in our efforts to develop a more peaceful and democratic society. Also, unless we change our worldview about Muslims in general, we will never achieve peace in Muslim Mindanao. The emphasis Islam places on the most fundamental values of equality, freedom, and justice holds a high esteem to make a democratic and pluralist society. I learned that cultural and religious diversity in beliefs, customs, and practices divides the Muslim communities in Mindanao although this is no different from any other community. Majority of them are more moderate in their religious practice and political stance. However, the traditionalists and the progressives are the ones that influence politics of the day.
My Fulbright experience in conducting a PAR methodlogy, for the first time, in my home culture was quite unique and different in character. I was able to collaborate with communities of individuals with whom I share a common national identity while at the same time working with some individuals with whom I did not share an ethnic and religious identity. It is interesting that my field research, in many ways, is tied to notions of cultural, religious, and ethnic loyalty and allegiance. This research study is, perhaps, one of the most rewarding professional and academic activities that I have ever done since it is closest to "home". [March 2007]
George E. Urch (Ph.D. Univ. of Michigan, 1967) geurch@educ.umass.edu
A recent communication from George for all of those who wonder how he is doing in retirement. George has kept active academically by serving on several dissertation committees and attending an occasional Tuesday meeting.
Greetings to all Center members near and far. Just a short update on what has been happening in my small world since retirement. Life in the slow lane does have its advantages. My wife and I now have the time to wander the globe at a nice pace and this Fall we're off to see Turkey. Several years ago we purchased a small condo on the gulf side of Florida where we spend about five months of the year enjoying golf, surf and sun. Ash Hartwell involved me in a couple of research projects which helped to keep my wits alive and I also managed to research and write a short genealogical study of both my Mother's and Father's side of the family. (If your travels take you to England be sure to visit Urchfont). I continue to miss the Center and all the good people as well as the opportunity to be surrounded by intellectual stimulation and exciting ideas. If your travels bring you to Amherst be sure to give me a ring. The door is always open. [July 2006]
George E. Urch
is Professor Emeritus in the Center for International Education. He continues
to maintain a professional interest in internationalizing U.S. education
through Global Education, and in education on the African continent. He
has taught, consulted and directed educational development projects in
over a dozen African countries. His interests include both formal and
nonformal education. George continues to work with graduate students in
the Center.
Among his publications are: Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Source
Book (Garland Press); "Nonformal Education and Rural Development in
Ghana" in International Journal of Educational Development; "Kenya: The
Emergence of an Educated Elite: in Praeger; "Education in Tanzania: A
New Direction?" in African Journal, Vol.XVI; and "Global Education: The
Time is Now" in Educational Horizons.
As you exit the elevator (for those of you who don't take the stairs!) and head East down the CIE second floor corridor one is immediately aware that these halls are different. This place is different. The history of the Center is rich because of the people who have walked these corridors, not as individuals but as part of a community. A community where the faces may change but the philosophy and heart remain constant. Philosophically, it is the age old discourse, which came first, the chicken or the egg; the Center or the staff? Does staff arrive at the Center great or is it the Center that enables the staff to be great? Maybe some of both?
Currently, Center staff consists of Barbara (BGW) Gravin Wilbur and Monica Andreas. BGW has been around since 1985 and continues to thrive on the work and its many challenges. Monica Andreas, who joined CIE in October of 2004. Her contribution to the Center is invaluable as not only is she knowledgeable in general standardized business practices and accounting requirements, she's got a green thumb and is operating a plant hospital out of her office.
You can rest assured if there is something you need, question answered, information requested, any of these folks will be happy to assist you.
Barbara GravinWilbur bgw@educ.umass.edu
Yes, Barbara (BGW) continues steadfastly although from a different vantage point. She is now located right across from 285 and next door to the very active Publications and Program Development room. BGW, fiscal administrator since 1985, looks hither and yon in search of sources and or mechanisms by which to fund Center needs.