Carol Mullen recognized with Fulbright scholarship to study in China
Carol A. Mullen, a professor of educational leadership in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, has received a Fulbright Scholar Award to research educational leadership, administration, and social and global issues in China.
She will study at Southwest University, Beibei District, Chongqing, from May to June 2015. Her focus will be on how educators in China think about learning in the 21st century and support for a more creative, critical, and inclusive approach.
Titled “Radical Interventions for Learning in China that Shape Education Policy and the Civic Society,” Mullen’s program will explore:
- learning and mentoring, including peer mentoring and research apprenticeships;
- characterizations of learning and mentoring processes and ideas related to education, education policy, laws, and regulations, as well as global issues;
- and theories and research on learning and mentoring for children, youth, and in higher education.
“This is an invaluable opportunity to study Chinese universities’ approaches to learning and mentoring,” Mullen said. “I hope to discover ideas about mentoring and creativity outside high-stakes testing and compare these with prevailing goals such as achieving high test scores for college placement and employment.”
After her Fulbright month, Mullen will extend her China itinerary by two weeks supported with funding from the Virginia Tech Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment’s Global Issues Initiative (ISCE-GII). She will give a series of addresses at universities in Shanghai, Nanjing, Jinan, and Beijing on topics within the scope of the Fulbright project.
As part of the ISCE-GII grant, a Chinese-speaking graduate student in education at Virginia Tech will accompany Mullen for the first month of her travels.
Mullen specializes in mentoring theory and practice in educational settings and values-oriented approaches to developing education professionals and systems. She recently served as president of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration and is currently on the Kappa Delta Pi Presidential Commission.
Mullen has authored and edited 20 scholarly books and more than 200 refereed journal articles and juried book chapters. Her most recent books, with coauthors, are “The Leadership Identity Journey: An Artful Reflection” (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2014) and “Shifting to Fit: The Politics of Black and White Identity in School Leadership” (Information Age Publishing, 2014).
She holds a doctoral degree and a master's degree from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto and a bachelor's degree from York University in Toronto.
The Fulbright program, established in 1946 by legislation sponsored by Sen. J. William Fulbright, is America's flagship international education exchange activity. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs.
The program is designed “to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” Recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
