School of Education — International and Multicultural Education

Shabnam Koirala-Azad, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, International and Multicultural Education

Shabnam Koirala-Azad explores social and educational (in)equities through a transnational lens. Through ethnography and participatory research, her work critically examines the experiences of South Asian students and families in schools and society, as they experience shifting identities and navigate through structural inequities in various geographic, social and political spaces. By examining their realities in both home and host country contexts, she offers new ideas for transnational social action and highlights methodologies that directly address concerns with power and representation. As a mother-scholar, she is also interested in scholarship with an asset-based understanding of how mothering enriches careers in academia.

Education

Ph.D., Education - Social and Cultural Studies, University of California, Berkeley
M.A., Education - Social and Cultural Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Teaching Credential, Massachusetts Educator Certificate, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA
B.A., Psychology and Education, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA

Research Areas

Globalization and transnationalism; immigration and education; global citizenship; social and cultural theory; international comparative education; gender, education and social change; qualitative approaches to research.

Teaching
  • Immigration & Forced Displacement
  • Participatory Critical Pedigogy Research
  • International Perspectives on Area Studies Education
  • Gender and Globalization
Publications

Peer-Reviewed Journal Publications

Koirala-Azad, S. & Fuentes. E. (eds.) (Forthcoming 2012). Human Rights Education Praxis. Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 24 (1).

Koirala-Azad, S. & Fuentes, E. (Forthcoming 2012).  Graduate Studies in Human Rights Education: Extending the Social Justice Discourse in higher education. Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice, 24 (1).

Koirala-Azad, S. & Blundell, J. (2011). Examining concepts of choice and motivation in the discourse on the globalization of higher education." Intercultural Education, 22(3), p135-148.

Koirala-Azad, S. & Fuentes E. H. (eds.) (2010). Activist Scholarship: Possibilities and Constraints of Participatory Action Research. Social Justice, vol.36, no.4.

Koirala-Azad, S. (2010). "Exploring the intersection of philanthropy, research and scholarship in a 'third world' context." In Koirala-Azad & Fuentes (eds.) Activist Scholarship: Possibilities and constraints of Participatory Action Research. Social Justice, vol.36, no.4, p. 84-98.

Koirala-Azad, S. (2008). "From traitor to collaborator: Nepali social action in the context of immigration, transnationalism and Diaspora." Social Justice, vol. 35, No.4, p.107-122.

Koirala-Azad, S. (2008). "Unraveling our realities: Nepali students as researchers and activists." Asia Pacific Journal of Education, vol. 28, no.3, p. 251-265. 

Stern, D. & Koirala, S. (2003). Nonformal Education for Working Children. Paper presented at the National Academy of Sciences' (NAS) Committee on International Labor Standards Conference in April 2003. Published in NAS handbook.

Invited Book Chapter

Koirala-Azad, S. (2011). Changing definitions of student learning and achievement in post-conflict Nepal. In J.A.C. Hattie (Ed.), International handbook of student achievement. London: Routledge.

See CV (download above) for complete list of publications, presentations, teaching, and service.