SOE faculty travel to Kenya for co-sponsored international conference on teacher education
The School of Education is co-sponsoring the International Conference on Education with Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya on July 8-10; the theme is “Innovative Teacher Education and Classroom Practice in the 21st Century.” Professor of Mathematics Education Joanna Masingila, Associate Professor of Science Teaching John Tillotson, Assistant Professor of Counseling Melissa Luke, and Dennis Kwaka, doctoral student in Teaching and Curriculum will all be presenting research papers at the conference. Additionally, Tillotson will be one of the keynote speakers at the conference, speaking on “Establishing a New Gold Standard: Redefining Excellence in Teacher Education for the 21st Century.”
In 2000, Syracuse University and Kenyatta University established an institutional linkage through their respective Schools of Education. This linkage was renewed in 2006. The School of Education’s partnership with Kenyatta University can be attributed to the personal involvement of Masingila with Kenya, its culture, and education. A Fulbright Scholar at Kenyatta University in 1998, Masingila has visited Kenya each summer since, leading teacher workshops, bringing shipments of textbooks, and raising funds to build a new primary school and improve health care in rural areas. “In 1998, I was hoping to perhaps recruit some graduate students in mathematics education, and we’ve gotten some,” Masingila explains, “but the bigger connection is a wonderful surprise.”