For the first ten years of my professional life I worked on multicultural and anti-racist education policies at the Ministry of Education in the Canton of Zurich (Switzerland). By virtue of comparing policies in different countries of immigration (U.K., Canada, U.S.A.), I got and stayed involved in comparative education methods and theories. Since then my experience evolved in three directions:

Comparative policy studies in education:

Education sector strategies and reviews in a development context, school reform (curriculum; student, teacher and school assessment; governance and social accountability) and teacher education reform (including teacher salary reform)

Theories and debates in international and comparative education:

Transnational policy borrowing/lending, globalization, education and revolution/political change, disenfranchised minorities and schooling, social and institutional network analysis of international organizations, colonial and postcolonial studies in education

Comparative methodology:

Multiple case study methodology, mixed methods designs, indicator research, applied program evaluation.

Even though I tend to see myself as a topic rather than as an [geographic] area expert, I happened—due to a series of lucky coincidences— to conduct research and initiate applied project mainly in Europe, in the former Soviet Union and in Mongolia. I anticipate getting involved in educational reform in the Middle East.

Iranian by birth, Swiss by upbringing, and U.S. citizen by naturalization, I speak and write English, German, French and Persian.