Note to doctoral students who wish to work with me

I find that advisement is a gratifying experience when a student and I share interests and when we have a clear understanding of our responsibilities and expectations for each other. For that reason, on this page I outline my interests and my expectations for doctoral students. Please read these carefully when deciding whether to select me as your advisor.

Interests

In general, I tend to advise doctoral students with whom I share a disciplinary, methodological, topical, or geographical interest. In other words, I feel I can properly advise students who work in at least one of the following areas:

Anthropology and sociology; comparative education

Qualitative research methods

Sociocultural studies of language and literacy; Race, class, and schooling; Critical pedagogy and critical literacy; Peace Education; Social theory

Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States

Expectations

1) Students should become familiar with my work by taking at least one topics course and a doctoral seminar with me (see my course list on this website). Students should also read some of my work, which is listed on my CV on this website.

2) Students should organize their academic and professional work to
insure a timely completion of the doctoral program. Students should: a)
take the certification exam the semester following the completion of
both ITSF 4090 and 4091; b) take the specialization exam the semester
following the successful completion of the certification exam; c) write
and defend the dissertation proposal the semester after completing the
specialization exam; d) conduct the dissertation research in the year
following the completion of the certification process. Further, I
strongly encourage my advisees to participate in a doctoral writing
group through the completion of the doctorate.

Students should be prepared to submit a one-page progress report to me
on the last day of class at the end of every semester. The report should be submitted via email, using the subject header “Progress Report [your last name, semester, year]. The report should describe the progress they have made toward major goals in the program, such as completion of the requisite
coursework before taking the certification exam, the completion of the
certification exam or specialization exam, the defense of the
dissertation proposal, or the completion of fieldwork. It should also
explain how they intend to meet their next goal during the upcoming
semester. Students should also report awards or honors they have
received. This report gives me a chance to ascertain whether a student
is making satisfactory progress in a timely manner. Students who are not
making such progress will need to find another advisor.

If I do not receive a report from a doctoral student at the end of each
semester, I will assume this student is no longer an active advisee of
mine.

3) Regarding recommendation letters: When requesting a recommendation letter, students should send me a single email with the subject line “Recommendation Request [your last name]” at least two weeks prior to the deadline. The email must include all of the following information: 1) the title and name of the person to whom I address the letter; 2) the institutional name and address to which I send the letter; 3) a brief description of the funding source or job for which I am recommending you; 4) a four or five-sentence paragraph describing your project and its significance (especially its significance in light of the priorities of the funder or employer for whom I am writing the letter); 5) list of bullet points that you wish for me to address in the letter; 6) the due date of the recommendation; 7) whether I should mail the recommendation directly or leave it in our program office for you to pick up. If feedback on a funding proposal is sought in conjunction with a letter of recommendation, then students must give me the proposal at least three weeks prior to the deadline. If requests are not submitted with two-three weeks notice, or if students do not include all of the information requested above in a single email, I will not be able to write the recommendation.

4) Regarding feedback on other written documents, such as dissertation proposals or dissertation chapters: I need at least two weeks to read and provide feedback on these documents. If more than one 30-page chapter is submitted at a time, then the turnaround time will increase accordingly.

Teachers College, Columbia University.