College of Education and Human Development

Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development

Comparative and international development education

We are a community of scholars who research education policy and practice in complex, rapidly changing international and intercultural contexts. Our students and faculty examine formal, non-formal, and informal education from global, interdisciplinary, and comparative perspectives. We look at how cultural formations, political institutions, and economic systems influence our educational philosophies and infrastructures. We also dedicate ourselves to enhancing and fostering the understanding of important issues and trends that affect education, such as gender relations, human rights, international relations, and migration.

Students who join our Comparative and International Development Education (CIDE) community represent the future scholars, policy analysts, educators, and researchers active in a complex, ever changing, international field. They come from a wide array of educational backgrounds, including history, geography, political science, sociology, economics, education, anthropology, and intercultural studies. They also come from many countries, such as Bahrain, Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Japan, Kenya, Pakistan, South Korea, Thailand, the U.S., Venezuela, and Zambia. Our students care about social justice and equity, intercultural competence, and contextually-relevant education reform. They are also concerned about the internationalization of education and how students and scholars make sense of their international experiences.

A distinctive feature of our program is the close collaboration between faculty and students in both research and development projects in the U.S. and abroad. Several of these research projects have involved fieldwork by our students in diverse countries and over multiple years. This intensive, hands-on experience in conducting policy-relevant research has contributed to the impressive success of our alumni across the nation and globe in a diverse range of positions in important international and intercultural organizations.

LIIE program alum Deanne Seun at 2018 Commencement

Programs

International education graduate minor

A coordinated set of courses designed for students who wish to enter careers in research, consulting, administration, teaching, law, public health, public policy, or many other fields and who desire an international education foundation to supplement their graduate majors or professional fields of study.

Comparative and international development education PhD

This track program prepares you to conduct research and provide sophisticated consultation into how schools and educational systems across the world reflect varied cultural, economic, and political contexts, and how forces like globalization, internationalization, and intercultural and educational exchanges influence individual and community learning and experiences.

Leadership for intercultural and international education PhD

This cohort-based doctorate program option for international educators and those interested in leadership in international/intercultural contexts, is oriented toward working professionals and is specifically designed to meet the needs of leaders working in highly diverse organizational settings.

Program faculty

Roozbeh Shirazi Roozbeh Shirazi

  • Associate Professor; Coordinator of Graduate Programs in Comparative and International Development Education
  • 612-624-2367
  • shir0035@umn.edu

Coming to the field of comparative and international education from a background in political science, I have always sought to understand the social, political, and cultural labor that schools perform, with particular attention to how knowledge is…

Image
Roozbeh Shirazi
Please specify content to reference

Noro Andriamanalina Noro Andriamanalina

  • Affiliate faculty, CIDE; Assistant Vice Provost for Graduate Student & Postdoctoral Initiatives, Graduate School
  • she/her/hers
  • andri002@umn.edu

Noro Andriamanalina, PhD, is affiliate faculty in the comparative and international development education program at University of Minnesota-Twin Cities' Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development.

Image
Please specify content to reference

Gerald Fry Gerald Fry

My background is Amish, although as a city-reared Kansas boy I was the only member of my extended family who didn’t speak Amish. Maybe that’s what prompted my interest in learning languages.

Image
Gerald Fry
Please specify content to reference

Meixi Meixi

Spring 2022: OLPD 8087 - Culture, Learning, and Human Development Fall 2022 & 2023: OLPD 5122 - Indigenous Education ( course site ) Spring 2023: OLPD 8103 - Comparative Education From mangrove forests to highland mountains, I grew up navigating…

Image
 Meixi
Please specify content to reference

Elizabeth Sumida Huaman Elizabeth Sumida Huaman

OLPD 5122 Indigenous Education: Research, Policy, and Practice OLPD 5080 (Special Topics) Qualitative research design: Applied Indigenous methods DSSC 8111 Ways of Knowing OLPD 8101 International development and education OLPD 5132 Intercultural…

Image
Elizabeth Sumida Huaman
Please specify content to reference

Marina B. Aleixo Marina B. Aleixo

  • Affiliate faculty, CIDE; Director, International Initiatives
  • 612-624-9671
  • aleix001@umn.edu

Marina B. Aleixo, PhD, is affiliate faculty in the comparative and international development education program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities' Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development.

Image
Please specify content to reference

Joan DeJaeghere Joan DeJaeghere

As the oldest daughter of parents who had to leave secondary school due to financial needs, I am committed to concerns related to educational equity and wellbeing.

Image
Joan DeJaeghere
Please specify content to reference

Christopher Johnstone Christopher Johnstone

Christopher Johnstone is an Assistant Professor of Comparative and International Development Education.

Image
Christopher Johnstone
Please specify content to reference

Matthew Schuelka Matthew Schuelka

I have experience at all levels of education, from kindergarteners to graduate students. I have also lived and taught in several countries around the world: Bhutan, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

Image
Matthew Schuelka
Please specify content to reference

Bhaskar Upadhyay Bhaskar Upadhyay

As a former science teacher, I am interested in research and teaching that addresses issues of science teaching and learning in the high-poverty urban schools.

Image
Bhaskar Upadhyay
Please specify content to reference

Begin your journey