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CIES
Conference and New Scholars Workshop
Application for the CIES 2009 New Scholars Workshop
Welcome by the
CIES New Scholars Committee Chair
Welcome and
greetings from the CIES New Scholars
Committee! My name is Linda Furuto, and I
am the CIES New Scholars Committee Chair and
a member of the CIES Board of Directors
(2006-2009). Allow me to introduce myself
and share a vision of the role of new
scholars in CIES.
I recently
completed my Ph.D. at the University of
California, Los Angeles in June 2007, and am
currently working as an Assistant Professor
of Mathematics at the University of
Hawai’i. My dissertation research focused
on international comparative education and
mathematics in the East Asia/Pacific
region. This study built off of my master’s
degree in international education from
Harvard University and bachelor’s degree in
mathematics from BYU. While conducting
dissertation research in Japan, I was
invited to be a Visiting Scholar at the
University of Tokyo to study mathematics
achievement, educational equity, U.S.
cross-national comparisons, and policy
analysis and evaluation.
Over the past
ten years, I have worked with students in
the Boston public school system as a
research-practitioner in Harvard
University’s “Inventing the Future” project,
taught mathematics and music at the L.D.S.
Technical College in Fiji, collaborated with
the East-West Center and Ministry of
Education of Vietnam on the International
Forum for Education 2020 initiative, and
helped to design mathematics educational
programs with the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government. In addition, I have enjoyed
researching and consulting at the U.S.
Department of State, Bureau of Educational
and Cultural Affairs in Washington, D.C.,
UCLA Center for International and
Development Education in Los Angeles,
California, and Pacific Resources for
Education and Learning in Honolulu, Hawaii.
I am very grateful for the privilege I have
had to be a member of CIES, and serve as a
discussant, panel and workshop organizer,
and presenter at various CIES conferences.
At the most
recent CIES conference in Baltimore, a
general meeting was opened to all new
scholars in the field to participate in
creating a shared vision for future
direction. Our shared vision for CIES is
symbolically expressed through the
educational voyages of the Hōkūle‘a, a
double-hulled canoe guided by celestial
navigation (sun, moon, stars, waves). The
Hōkūle‘a, “star of gladness,” is
internationally renowned for the role it has
played in rekindling the Polynesian and
Micronesian customs of traditional
wayfinding techniques. The Hōkūle‘a
embodies the message of mālama, “to care for
each other,” and represents resourcefulness,
inventiveness, wisdom, and courage. It has
completed nine voyages to Tahiti, Aotearoa
(New Zealand), Rapa Nui (Easter Island),
Cook Islands, Marquesas, the west coast of
the U.S., Micronesia, and the Northwestern
Hawaiian Islands, reconnecting with people
of common ancestry and reawakening pride in
rich traditions. In a similar manner, CIES
has crossed oceans as we continue to work
toward cultural harmony, historical
reverence, and a voyaging spirit in the
increasingly interconnected world we live
in.
At a time of
significant global change, where new
regionalisms sometimes parody the old, the
work of CIES is all the more important both
for constructively leading these changes and
for providing clarity for the future by
research and scholarship collaboration. It
is our goal to foster exchanges between new
scholars and senior experts, and to unite
our distinguished past with our dynamic
future. Through this we will expand our
vision of global kinship, perpetuate our
cultural heritage, and encourage
stewardship. This is an exciting point in
time and I am humbled to represent new
scholars on the CIES Board of Directors as
we cultivate our shared commitment to
education as a means for living peacefully
in the world.
“Just as on a
canoe with limited space and resources
sailing the vast ocean, so are we on this
island earth. In the midst of this vast
universe, we must learn to respect and care
for ourselves, each other, our culture, and
educational environment.” - Polynesian Voyaging Society.
Aloha,
Linda Furuto
Member, CIES Board of Directors
Chair, CIES New Scholars Committee
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About CIES
The Comparative and International
Education Society (CIES) was founded
in 1956 to foster cross-cultural
understanding, scholarship, academic
achievement and societal development
through the international study of
educational ideas, systems, and
practices. The Society's members
include some 1,200 academics,
practitioners, and students from
around the world. Their professional
work is built on cross-disciplinary
interests and expertise as
historians, sociologists,
economists, psychologists,
anthropologists, and educators. The
Society also includes 1,300
institutional members, primarily
academic libraries and international
organizations.
Over the last four decades, the
activities of the Society's members
have strengthened the theoretical
basis of comparative studies and
increasingly applied those
understandings to policy and
implementation issues in developing
countries and cross-cultural
settings. The membership has
increased global understanding and
public awareness of education
issues, and has informed both
domestic and international education
policy debate. The Society works in
collaboration with other
international and comparative
education organizations to advance
the field and its objectives.
The principal Society vehicles for
member activities are:
The Comparative Education Review—a
professional, refereed journal
published quarterly (February, May,
August and November) by the
University of Chicago Press
· The CIES Newsletter—an information
document produced three times a year
(January, May and September) by the
CIES Secretariat containing news
updates, announcements, committee
reports and editorials
The CIES Annual Conference—a
gathering of Society members and
interested public usually held in
March of each year and which is
devoted to scholarly and practical
exchange, debate and networking
Standing and Ad Hoc
Committees—appointed and voluntary
groups focused on promoting specific
professional interests of the
Society, strengthening its voice in
policy and intellectual debate,
liaising with counterpart
organizations, and ensuring full and
equal representation to its diverse
membership.
As a registered non-profit [501(c)3]
organization in the United States,
the Comparative and International
Education Society supports the
activities of its members to:
Promote understanding of the many
roles that education plays in the
shaping and perpetuation of
cultures, the development of
nations, and in influencing the
lives of individuals
Improve opportunities for the
citizens of the world by fostering
an understanding of how education
policies and programs enhance social
and economic development
Increase cross-cultural and
cross-national understanding through
educational processes and by the
study and critique of educational
theories, policies and practices
that affect individual and social
well being. |
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