ECHIDNA GLOBAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM
CENTER FOR UNIVERSAL EDUCATION
ECHIDNA GLOBAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM
The Echidna Global Scholars Program is a visiting fellowship hosted by the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution. The program aims to build the research and analytical skills of NGO leaders and academics from developing countries. Echidna Scholars spend four to six months at Brookings pursuing research on global education issues, with a specific focus on improving learning opportunities and outcomes for girls in the developing world. Upon completion of their fellowship, CUE supports the scholars in implementing an action plan that applies their new skills and expertise to share with their home institutions.
During their residency at Brookings, Echidna Scholars work with CUE staff to develop a research project. They draw upon Brookings’ intellectual capital and convening power, as well as the extended public policy community in Washington through meetings and conferences, and through networking with the broader international development community.
This program is made possible by the generous contribution of The Echidna Giving Fund.
The Echidna Global Scholars Program is now accepting applications for the 2016 program. The deadline is October 31, 2016. Please visit the Jobs and Internship page for more information and email globalechidna@brookings.edu for questions.
August – December 2016 Echidna Global Scholars
Ellen Chigwanda | ZimbabweProject Manager for the DFID Girls Education Challenge Fund Project (IGATE: Improving Girls Access through Transforming Education) and Country Office Gender Focal Point with CARE International in Zimbabwe
In the past she has also worked as an independent Gender and Social Development Advisor/Consultant for organizations such as the SADC Parliamentary Forum and UN Women, and has worked in various capacities on girls’ and young women’s empowerment with local NGOs. Ms. Chigwanda holds a Masters in Development Studies degree from the University of the Free State (South Africa) and is working toward a Ph.D. in Development and Management with North West University (South Africa).
Ms. Ellen Chigwanda’s research will focus on examining the relationship between girls’ education and climate change in rural Zimbabwe, more specifically the impact of drought on girls’ education outcomes. Her goal is to develop and make the case for a model for resilience in education programs that will help to keep girls in school during times of extreme climate crisis.
Ganga Gautam | NepalAssociate Professor of English Education at Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal
Although his focus has been primarily English language instruction and teacher training, his passion for girls’ education motivated him to develop and implement a girls’ empowerment program that reached 75 girls in 15 schools in three remote districts in Nepal. Mr. Gautam holds a B.Ed., an M.Ed., and an M.A. of English Language Teaching. He has collaborated with the U.S. Embassy, British Council, the Nepalese Ministry of Education, the Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA), among others.
Mr. Ganga Gautam’s research will focus on examining the impacts of his program with the aim to design an evidence-based girls’ empowerment program that can be implemented in some of Nepal’s hardest-to-reach communities.
Joyce Kinyanjui | KenyaProgram Manager and the previous Executive Officer at Women Educational Researchers of Kenya (WERK)
Ms. Joyce Kinyanjui has been involved in CUE’s Learning Metrics Task Force and works closely with ministry officials and those involved in CUE’s current Learning Champion collaborations. Ms. Kinyanjui holds a B.A., M.Ed. and is completing her Ph.D. from South Africa where she is studying financial literacy skills of women entrepreneurs in Kenya.
Ms. Joyce Kinyanjui’s research entails an 11 county landscape analysis of the life skills and mentorship programs being implemented in government schools and their impact on retention and learning outcomes for girls.
Christine Okudi | UgandaEducation Quality Manager at Promoting Equality in African Schools (PEAS)
Ms. Christine Okudi is an active member of the education community in Uganda, and has over 20 years of experience in education and development. Having worked with many agencies in various capacities in the past. Ms. Okudi holds a B.A. and M.A. in Development Studies from Uganda Martyrs University.
Her research will focus on the role of the Senior Woman Teacher (SWT) within Ugandan schools, with an eye toward providing recommendations for ways to strengthen the impact and effectiveness of the position as a key role in skill development for girls.
August – December 2015 Echidna Global Scholars
Musammat Badrunnesha | Bangladesh
Founder and Chairperson, Empowerment and Human Development Society
Ms. Musammat Badrunnesha has over 15 years of experience on girls’ empowerment efforts as a career-oriented administrator, social scientist, and entrepreneur. She is the CEO, founder, and chairperson of Empowerment and Human Development Society and the founding principal of Captain Academy, based in Sylhet, Bangladesh. In the last three years, Ms. Badrunnesha has worked with 300 madrasas providing workshops and trainings for teachers, administrators, youth, and women. She is an alumna of the Community Solutions Program (CSP)—a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State for community leaders implemented by IREX. During her CSP fellowship, Ms. Badrunnesha worked at the Girls Inc. YWCA in West Central Michigan where she was involved in girls’ education programming. She holds a M.Ed. in education from Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology and a M.A. in history from Bangladesh National University as well as a B.Ed. in education and a B.A. in social science from Bangladesh National University
Musammat Badrunnesha | BangladeshFounder and Chairperson, Empowerment and Human Development Society
Ms. Musammat Badrunnesha has over 15 years of experience on girls’ empowerment efforts as a career-oriented administrator, social scientist, and entrepreneur. She is the CEO, founder, and chairperson of Empowerment and Human Development Society and the founding principal of Captain Academy, based in Sylhet, Bangladesh. In the last three years, Ms. Badrunnesha has worked with 300 madrasas providing workshops and trainings for teachers, administrators, youth, and women. She is an alumna of the Community Solutions Program (CSP)—a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State for community leaders implemented by IREX. During her CSP fellowship, Ms. Badrunnesha worked at the Girls Inc. YWCA in West Central Michigan where she was involved in girls’ education programming. She holds a M.Ed. in education from Ahsanullah University of Science and Technology and a M.A. in history from Bangladesh National University as well as a B.Ed. in education and a B.A. in social science from Bangladesh National University
Ms. Musammat Badrunnesha’s research at Brookings will focus on current approaches to and challenges in providing girls’ education through madrasas in Bangladesh. She will examine potential strategies for reducing the girls’ drop-out rate and ways of improving quality schooling in madrasas.
Dileni Gunewardena | Sri LankaProfessor of Economics, University of Peradeniya
Dr. Dileni Gunewardena is a professor of Economics at the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka and has previous research experience in empirical analyses of poverty, child nutrition, and gender and ethnic wage inequality. She is a Global Development Network Research Award winner, a Fulbright Research Scholar Alumnae at the University of California-Riverside, and has consulted for the United Nations Development Program, the World Food Program, and the World Bank. Dr. Gunewardena serves on the scientific committee of the Partnership for Economic Policy research network and is a regional co-coordinator for South Asia of the academic steering committee of Global Association of Master’s in Development Practice Programs. She holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from American University and a B.A. economics from the University of Peradeniya.
While at Brookings, Dr. Dileni Gunewardena will explore why Sri Lanka has been unable to translate its impressive achievements in girls’ education into greater female labor force participation.
Jamila Razzaq | PakistanEducation Adviser, Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan
Dr. Jamila Razzaq is the education adviser at Aga Khan Foundation Pakistan (AKFP). She leads AKFP’s education program and projects on strengthening teacher education, early childhood development, and educational development as well as improvement projects in multiple regions in Pakistan. Before joining AKFP, Dr. Razzaq was working as a research associate at the school of education at the University of Glasgow. She has 23 years of teaching and research experience, during which she has focused on issues of educational reform such as policy and practice, teacher professionalism, educational development, Pakistani education system, and gender issues. Dr. Razzaq has conducted research and presented on a variety of topics including gendered views on career choices, girls’ education, and women’s access to health facilities in Pakistan as well as educational change management and experiences of school leaders in the implementation of educational reforms. Dr. Razzaq holds a Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow, a M.A. in educational planning and management from Allama Iqbal Open University, a M.A. in English Literature from Bahauddin Zakariya University, and a B.A. in psychology from Government College from Women.
Dr. Jamila Razzaq will explore contextualized, flexible, and adaptable community-based education models as possibilities for girls’ education in Pakistan.
Suman Sachdeva | IndiaTechnical Director of Education, CARE India
As a strong promoter of quality education with a passion for ensuring the provision of quality education to children, especially girls from marginalized settings, Dr. Suman Sachdeva has been working as the technical director of education at CARE India since 2010 leading the Girls Education Program. Her interests focus on out-of-school girls, leadership, and early grade reading in children. She has over two decades of experience with time spent as a practitioner in elementary education, pedagogy, and research in the areas of gender, child development, and community mobilization. In the past she has worked with the UNICEF Education Section and led an innovative life-skills project with a national NGO in the South Asia working for children in difficult circumstances. Dr. Sachdeva has planned and implemented an integrated education program with a focus on quality education for street and working children, and provided technical support at the country and state levels to programs including Education for All. She holds a Ph.D. in education, a dual master’s (M.Ed. and M.Phil.) in education gender studies/child development, and a B.Ed. in education focusing on/child development/mental health/gender studies from the University of Delhi.
As an Echidna global scholar, Dr. Suman Sachdeva will explore and understand more intensely the various social, pedagogical, and policy barriers that hinder girls in tribal settings from accessing a quality early grade reading program in the primary government schools.
August – December 2014 Echidna Global Scholars
Mayyada Abu Jaber | JordanCEO and Founder, World of Letters
Ms. Abu Jaber has over 10 years of experience in education strategy, advocacy and development. She is the founder and CEO of World of Letters, a social enterprise dedicated to promoting quality education in the Arabic language by providing innovative program solutions and consultancy services to the education sector. Additionally, she was the founding CEO of Jordan Education for Employment, which she continues to support as a member of the board of directors. In 2004, she contributed to the Education Reform for Knowledge Economy Support project at the Jordanian Ministry of Education, where she provided national teacher training and was instrumental in the development of the Management Information Stream curriculum. Moreover, she has also worked as an education consultant to Queen Rania Abdullah II of Jordan, and collaborated closely with USAID on projects related to youth and environmental education. Ms. Abu Jaber attained her M.Sc. in Environmental Geology from Duke University, and her B.Sc. in Geology and Mineralogy from the University of Jordan.
During her residency at Brookings, Ms. Abu Jaber’s research focused on the relationship between gender bias in the education curriculum and the role of women in Jordanian society as an economic provider and social contributor. More specifically, her research examined the gender sensitivity of the education system by assessing the manner in which gender concepts are framed in national textbooks for grades 1-10.
Relebohile Moletsane | South AfricaProfessor and J.L. Dube Chair in Rural Education, University of KwaZulu–Natal
As the J.L. Dube Chair in Rural Education at the University of KwaZulu–Natal, Professor Moletsane has extensive experience in educational development, curriculum studies, and other issues at the intersection of gender and education. She acted as the director of the Gender and Development Unit at the Human Sciences Research Council until 2010, and was formerly a senior lecturer at the University of Natal. The author of several articles and book chapters, her publications have concentrated on the applicability of digital technologies to quality education, developmental strategies, and poverty alleviation within rural contexts. In addition, she sits on several editorial committees, including those for the Journal of International Education and Leadership and the International Journal of Girlhood Studies. Professor Moletsane received her Ph.D. and M.S. in Education from Indiana University Bloomington, and her B.Ed. from the University of Fort Hare.
Professor Moletsane’s work examined the barriers that confront girls in South Africa as they pursue their primary and secondary education. With a central focus on the effects of unplanned pregnancy on girls’ participation and attendance in schools, her research will identify possible interventions for rectifying this issue.
ECHIDNA GLOBAL SCHOLARS PROGRAM
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