Students

Current Masters Students

Name: Maria A. Aguirre
Hometown: Cartagena, Colombia
Geographic areas of interest: Latin America
Research/Professional interests: Inequality in Education, Education in Emergencies, Gender and Race Equity in Education, Education Policy

Name: Ming Cai
Hometown: Wenzhou, China/ Philadelphia, PA
Geographic areas of interest: China, Japan, Korea
Research/Professional interests: Educational Psychology, Mental Health & Counseling, Adolescent Development, Second Language Acquisition

Name: Josh Cleveland
Hometown: Broadview Heights, OH
Geographic areas of interest: Sub-Saharan Africa
Research/Professional interests: Education for All, Rural Education Policy, Indigenous Languages in Education, Health and Education, Education as Community Development

Name: Molly Crofton
Hometown: Lower Gwynedd, PA
Geographic areas of interest: Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa
Research/Professional interests: ICT and other technology integration in education especially in rural and distance learning, STEM education, Education for Women and Girls

Name: Amy Descovich
Hometown: Glen Mills, PA
Geographic areas of interest: Central and Eastern Europe (spec. Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Research/Professional interests: Teacher Education and Capacity Builidng, Child-Centered Curriculum Develepment, Multiethnic Education

Name: April R. Evans
Hometown: Indianapolis, IN
Geographic areas of interest: Sub-Saharan Africa & India
Research/Professional interests: Comparitive International Education, Organizational Leadership, Curriculum Development, Capacity Building and Public Health.

Name: Naoko Asano Enomoto
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
Geographic areas of interest: South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa
Research/Professional interests: Literacy for youth and adult in non-formal settings, ICT4D, education policy

Name: Yurun Feng
Hometown: Chongqing, China
Geographic areas of interest: East and Southeast Asia
Research/Professional interests: Migrant children, early childhood development, education policy, and community development

Name: Adilene Flores
Hometown: Guerrero, Mexico & Los Angeles, CA
Geographic areas of interest: Central America
Research/Professional interests: Economic/social development strategies, Multilingual Education, Community Engagement, Entrepreneurship
Read Adilene's student blog here!

Name: Samantha Nicole Griggs
Hometown: Brick, New Jersey
Geographic areas of interest: East Africa
Research/Professional interests: Quaker organizations, programs for survivors of sexual violence, gender and education policy, post-conflict community building, civic engagement

Name: Kamiah A. Hodge
Hometown: Road Town, British Virgin Islands
Geographic areas of interest: Carribean
Research/Professional interests: Policy planning, implementation and analysis, government administration, curriculum development, and teaching in diversified classrooms.

Name: Laura Humphrey
Hometown: London, UK
Geographic areas of interest: Southeast Asia & Africa
Research/Professional interests: Early Childhood Development, Emergency/Conflict Zones, Human Rights, Policy Evalulation and Development

Name: Jung Il Sun
Hometown: Korea
Geographic areas of interest: South Asia
Research/Professional interests: International Development Organizations, Education Policy and Reform, Program Design and Implementation, Social Entrepreneurship, Literacy

Name: Ashelyn N. James
Hometown: Goldsboro, NC
Geographic areas of interest: Non-specific
Research/Professional interests: Inequality in Education, Global Learning for Socially/Economically Disadvantaged Populations, Student Motivation and Achievement, Community Engagement

Name: Justin P. Jimenez
Hometown: San Jose, CA
Geographic areas of interest: SE Asia (Philippines) and Near East (Turkey)
Research/Professional interests: Participatory Action Research, Aesthetic Education, Neoliberalism, Educational Opportunity and Equity, Transformative Learning, and Education Innovation

Name: Akashi Kaul
Hometown: Srinagar, India
Geographic areas of interest: Non specific
Research/Professional interests: Education in post war/ conflict zones, Role of communications, advocacy and community engagement in educational development, Inequality in education, Education as a tool for development, International developmental agencies, Educational policy formation and analysis
Read Akashi's student blog here!

Name: Kavita Kothari
Hometown: Washington, DC
Geographic areas of interest: Central and Eastern Europe
Research/Professional interests: Early Childhood Care and Education, Maternal Education, Gender Equity

Name: Cindy K. Le
Hometown: El Monte, CA
Geographic areas of interest: Southeast Asia and Latin America
Research/Professional interests: Curriculum development, indigenous education, intercultural and multilingual education, literacy, and community based development

Name: Ximeng Serena Li
Hometown: Beijing, China
Geographic areas of interest: Non-specific
Research/Professional interests: Microfinance, Women's empowerment

Name: Mengxi Liu
Hometown: Beijing, China
Geographic areas of interest: East Asia (Mianland China and Hong Kong)
Research/Professional interests: International and comparative studies in higher education; International education/Study Abroad.

Name: Laura McAdams
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Geographic areas of interest: North Africa (spec. Morocco) and the Middle East
Research/Professional interests: Education Policy and Reform, ICT in Education, Gender Equality in Education

Name: Amos Prophete
Hometown: Cap-Haitien, Haiti
Geographic areas of interest: Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa
Research/Professional interests: Education Policy, Curriculum Development, Multicultural and Multilingual Education, Inequality in Education, Post-colonial Societies, Socio-economic Development.

Name: Jon Roberts
Hometown: Mechanicsville, VA
Geographic areas of interest: Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically East Africa
Research/Professional interests: Systems and design, community based strategies, curriculum development, indigenous education, non-profit leadership, policy evaluation, and gender equity

Name: Akoss Schuppius
Hometown: Rockville, MD
Geographic areas of interest: Africa, Asia and Latin America
Research/Professional interests: I am interested in workforce development, education policy reform, literacy, inequality in education and economic development

Name: Yukyoung Seol
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
Geographic areas of interest: East and South Asia
Research/Professional interests: Curriculum development, Education policy, International education, Second language education

Name: Rodney L. Smith
Hometown: Rahway, New Jersey
Geographic areas of interest: Sub-Saharan Africa (Horn, East, South, West)
Research/Professional interests: Human Rights, ICT4D, Indigenous knowledge systems and language publishing, Libraries and Literacy, Policy Analysis, Program Design and Implementation, Social Entrepreneurship

Name: Sean Snyder
Hometown: Lansdale, PA
Geographic areas of interest: Non-Specific
Research/Professional interests: Curriculum Development, Project Management, and Microfinance

Name: Chunchun Tang
Hometown: Shenyang, China
Geographic areas of interest: East Asia and the United States
Research/Professional interests: Comparitive education, international schools, TESOL, and educational entrepreneurship

Name: Auken Tungatarova
Hometown: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Geographic areas of interest: Post-Soviet Union, Central Asia (the world really)
Research/Professional interests: Post-colonial education and educational policies, language policies, politics of education, education in multicultural settings, national identity and education

Name: Beza Wossene
Hometown: York, PA
Geographic areas of interest: East Africa
Research/Professional interests: Higher education, gender equity, vocational training and employment, economic and social development strategies

Name: June Wui
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Geographic areas of interest: Francophone African countries, Middle East
Research/Professional interests: Higher Education and Administration in Africa, Relationship Between Efficiency of Education Policies and Programs (Both Governmental and Non-Governmental) and Religious Color/Identification of General Population in Different African Countries Francophone African countries, Middle East

Name: Shan Yin
Hometown: Beijing, China
Geographic areas of interest: Non-Specific
Research/Professional interests: Strategic managment of non-profits, social entrepreneurship, ledership and social change, comparitive eduction, and gender equity

Name: Xinyi Zhou
Hometown: Changzhou, China
Geographic areas of interest: East and Southeast Asia
Research/Professional interests: International education organizations, NGOs, education equality, early childhood development, and gender equity

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International Education Doctoral Concentration

International Educational Development Program – Doctoral Concentration

The International Educational Development Program - Doctoral Concentration (IEDP-D) is a unique cross-programmatic and interdisciplinary concentration for both Ph.D. and Ed.D. students. It has been designed for doctoral students who wish to develop both strong skills in a disciplinary area (e.g., human development, educational linguistics, ethnography in education) as well as cross-cultural and international skills based on field experience.

The IEDP-D is open to all students who have been admitted to a doctoral program in GSE. Students who are interested in the IEDP-D may add the IEDP-D concentration after joining PennGSE.

The requirements for the IEDP concentration are designed to complement existing program requirements in other GSE degree programs.

The IEDP-D will provide opportunities to:

•   conceptualize, design and engage in international research;
•   undertake applied research projects in international settings;
•   participate in conferences, and develop and publish research in international education;
•   engage with a strong group of IEDP Masters and Doctoral students with similar interests.

IEDP-D students will maintain their principal academic advisor within their existing doctoral program, and will have an additional IEDP-D mentor to guide a specialized concentration of work while at PennGSE.

For more information on the IEDP Doctoral concentration, please contact Dr. Alex Posecznick, IEDP Program Manager at alpos@gse.upenn.edu.

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Alumni

Khaing Zah Lynn, IEDP '12

During my summer 2012 internship with UNESCO Bangkok, I conducted desk reviews and did web research on effective education projects/programs on literacy and Non-formal Education (NFE) to reach unreached children and youth in the Asia-Pacific Region. My research focused on various equivalency primary programs and financial literacy programs. In addition, I worked on the curriculum proposal in equivalency programs in Papua New Guinea selecting appropriate, exemplary curriculum frameworks in the region for UNESCO, Hamburg’s Institute of Lifelong Learning (UIL) office. I also assisted with organizing and preparing for the Asia-Pacific Annual Review Meeting on the Japanese Funds-in-Trust in the Field of Education, and Regional Expert Meeting on Inclusive Education through Quality Teacher Education in Asia-Pacific, and participated in the meetings for the minutes.

Upon my graduation from the IEDP program, I found work as an Education Officer with UNICEF, Yangon Myanmar. My job here is to engage a new national program called Comprehensive Education Sector Review (CESR). I work closely with UNICEF's Chief Technical Advisor.

Hannah Weitzer, IEDP '11

Hannah Weitzer I came to graduate school fresh off five years of international work with grassroots bi-national Palestinian-Israeli NGOs that run youth educational and empowerment programs. I was looking for a both a change of pace and an opportunity to broaden my horizons beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. IEDP at GSE appealed to me as a great way to build on my past experiences and expand my perspectives. Within IEDP, I was able to focus my studies around my interest in the intersection of education, civil society and grassroots activism as tools to promote human rights and social change. The knowledge I gained through coursework and research at GSE gave me tools and language to translate amorphous ideas I had previously held about education, development, and grassroots movements into more concrete thoughts and arguments. After graduating from GSE, I joined the staff of a small international education organization, Global Nomads Group, as the Project Manager for Youth LINKS, a US-Afghan virtual youth exchange program, which fosters cultural exchange, media literacy and civic engagement. This is an exciting position that utilizes many of my skills and knowledge from GSE as well as my previous work experiences.

Meg Ferrigno, IEDP '10

Meg Ferrigno I have been working on educational development projects in India, Nepal and Tibet for the past decade. My passion for sustainable development was ignited on an undergraduate research trip to the Himalayas. Upon completion of my thesis at Hampshire College, I moved to Asia where I studied and volunteered for the next seven and a half years. In 2008, due to nation-wide political unrest, I was forced to leave Tibet and moved to Philadelphia. Longing to build my skills and do better work in the field of international development, I joined the IED program at GSE. While enrolled in the program, I worked with Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships, providing insight into the Global South issues within my new home of West Philadelphia. During my time at Penn, I also interned with UNICEF India. These experiences helped reaffirm my beliefs in grassroots development initiatives, leading me to start my own nonprofit, The Pureland Project, with Tibetan Nomadic Communities. Currently I am pursuing my doctorate in Sustainability Education through Prescott College, where I am also designing and facilitating a study abroad program in the Himalayas for the Eco-League of Colleges.