Research

My research expertise revolves around three areas: (1) the internationalization of education; (2) the impact of internationalization and globalization on urban school systems; and (3) the experiences of teachers amidst systemic transformation. Undergirding these research interests is a commitment to ethno-linguistic minority rights. Focusing on these areas in the Turkish, Kazakhstani, and more broadly, EU and Central Asian contexts, has allowed me to explore the uneven ways social policies are implemented and experienced at various levels of governance and by different populations. Looking through a spatial lens further reveals other factors that contribute to the (re)production of inequality and the structural privileging of certain spaces over others i.e., urban vs. rural, west vs. east, often to the detriment of underprivileged and under-resourced minority communities. Drawing from Henri Lefebvre, Bob Jessop and other critical social scientists, my research interests have since expanded to examine the spatial, scalar, and social aspects of education policy development and implementation processes.