SOE Contributes to Global Exchange on Educational Issues

The School of Education at University of Michigan-Dearborn is participating in myriad ways in efforts to improve knowledge and practice in education around the world. We do so through academic programs of interest to international students, faculty and student participation in international conferences and publications, and hosting visiting scholars and practitioners from other countries.

The online Master of Education in Special Education Inclusion Specialist program has served students from many countries, including Canada, Colombia, England, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lebanon, Norway, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, and Venezuela.

Several SOE faculty members – Mesut Duran, Susan Everett, Paul Fossum, Ed Silver, and Karen Thomas-Brown – have recently published articles or book chapters in international publications. Martha Adler presented several papers at the International Reading Association 23rd World Congress in Auckland, New Zealand in July 2010; and Dara Hill is presenting a paper at the European Conference on Reading in Belgium in July 2011.

In addition the SOE has recently hosted visits from two visiting international scholars. Dr. Ali Yilmaz is Professor in the College of Education at Ondokuz Mayis University in Samsun, Turkey. He is spending the winter 2011 term at UM-Dearborn, and he is collaborating with Mesut Duran and colleagues on the FI3T project. Dr. Beverly Derewianka is Professor of Language Education and Director of the Centre for Research in Language & Literacy in the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongon, New South Wales, Australia. She is internationally known for her research on children's writing development, particularly from the perspective of how they "learn to mean" through writing. On March 15, 2011 she presented a colloquium to the UM-D SOE, “Reading and writing for a purpose.” Her visit to UM-Dearborn was coordinated by Martha Adler and Ross Groover, an SOE doctoral student and principal of Snow Elementary School in Dearborn.

Stay tuned for further developments in our efforts to expand the global reach of the UM-Dearborn School of Education!