Sabic-El-Rayess, Amra (as2169)

Systemic Corruption in Education

Course Description

Today, one third of the world’s population sees its educational institutions as corrupt (Transparency International, 2011). Systemic corruption in education has adversely impacted development for decades, but institutional efforts to better understand and address the impact of corruption and its social implications have emerged only in recent years. In fact, organizations – such as Transparency International, International Institute for Educational Planning, and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – have all increased their efforts in this arena. The focus of this course is on understanding systemic corruption in education, its social implications, and to what extent the actors and types of corruption vary throughout different educational contexts. The survey course provides students with a venue to critically analyze key corruption trends and anti-corruption efforts in corruption-prone settings. Research studies by OECD (Integrity of Education Systems Program ‘s case studies) and work by other international actors to critically examine and better understand severity of corruption’s impact on development.

This course examines questions of why corruption occurs in education, when it becomes systemic, how it impacts societies, and what preventive and punitive measures can be used to lessen its presence in education today. By the end of the course, students are well versed in the issues surrounding corruption and ways in which the same could be better addressed in a variety of educational settings participants may later encounter in their professional careers. In the process, students gain knowledge on a variety of issues, including:

1. Educational corruption taxonomies,

2. Educational corruption’s impact on educational quality, labor market dynamics, development, mobility, teacher/student conduct/behavior/reactions…etc.

3. Facilitators of corruption and assessment of corruption proneness,

4. Prevention/anti-corruption planning and policies.

Education and Economic Development

Course Description

This course surveys the links between education and economic development. We examine differentials in educational attainment and schooling investments across the globe. We additionally look at the factors that influence primary and secondary school enrollment in developing countries; the role of higher education in economic development; and the nature of inequities in educational outcomes on the basis of income, gender, race, and ethnicity. The course then moves to understanding the demand for educational investments, the supply and costs of educational inputs, and the theory and measurement of cost-benefit analysis in education. We also discuss alternative approaches to the public financing of education, issues of decentralization, and governance. Throughout the course, there is a focus on key policy issues in education and economic development, such as the gender gap in schooling, child labor force participation, adult literacy programs, the role of international organizations (such as the World Bank), the impact of the IMF-based structural adjustment programs on educational investments, and the relative impact of public versus private spending on primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Quantitative Analysis in Comparative and International Education

Course Description

Familiarity with the quantitative methods is essential to a broad spectrum of professions in education, ranging from those related to policy making to those in the area of educational research. Specific considerations are needed as we analyze issues involving practices and policies addressing educational challenges in international settings. Throughout the course, students will be provided with weekly opportunities to employ statistical techniques in SPSS, using primary datasets. By the end of the course, students will gain a high level of statistical literacy and understanding of the quantitative methods’ applicability in research, an in-demand skillset in the field of international and comparative education and beyond.

Qualitative Research and Evaluation in International Education

Course Description

Our ability to successfully conceptualize and align a methodological framework for a research project with the project’s broader theoretical context and ultimately research objective is essential to the overall quality of our research. The implications of the poorly specified methodological frameworks can be costly both short- and long-term. Therefore, this course will aim at helping advanced students – those interested in either expanding or effectively applying their research capacities – formulate a qualitative methodological framework for a research project of their choice. Students already working on their dissertations or those interested in pursuing research projects within their professional settings will benefit from a broad examination of qualitative approach discussed in the class. Students will ultimately expand their skills in the arena of applied social research. They will build their own critical perspectives by examining, as well as building on, the methodological approaches currently employed in the field of education.

1. Bridge gaps between theoretical conceptualization of a research question and actual implementation of the research plan;

2. Critically examine methodological frameworks of research projects and published writings in the field;

3. Be able to point to key methodological weaknesses, advantages and/or disadvantages of a chosen approach;

4. Learn ways to optimize their own research goals by devising a methodological framework tailored to the goals of their research;

5. Optimize their sample by formulating effective interview guides and select appropriate analytical tools.

EDPE 4199-0001 Issues: Education and Social Transformations

Course Description

Drawing from several bodies of literature, this course explores critical bridges between education, on one hand, and the complex dynamics of the elite formation, corruption, and economic development, on the other hand. Students will examine the elite dynamics in crises or developing contexts; what role economics and education play in those contexts; and how education systems work to validate or delegitimize the old or new elite. Current events will be incorporated into discussions and presentations.

Amra Sabic-El-Rayess grew up in Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina. After surviving ethnic cleansing and 1,150 days under the Serbs’ military siege, she emigrated to the United States in 1996. By December 1999, she earned a BA in Economics from Brown University. Later, she obtained two Masters degrees and a Doctorate from Columbia University.  Currently she is an Associate Professor of Practice at Columbia University’s Teachers College, in the Education Policy and Social Analysis Department, working on understanding how and why societies fall apart and what role education can play in rebuilding decimated countries. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess is an interdisciplinary scholar who leverages fields of economics, sociology, and political science to study education’s links to social transformations, radicalization, corruption, and elite formation. 

She has taught, researched, and published on these issues and has lectured around the world to both the adult and adolescent audiences. In her students’ feedback, Professor Sabic-El-Rayess is consistently praised as one of the most inspiring professors they have encountered. Her upcoming book (The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival, Bloomsbury, Sep 8, 2020) is “Amra Sabic-El-Rayess’s account of her youth during the Bosnian War…[and] a timely personal testimony on the strictures of survival. Gripping and achingly humane, The Cat I Never Named captures what it means to face an ideological tide bent on your personal eradication..." Starred Review by LETITIA MONTGOMERY-RODGERS, Foreword Reviews (September / October 2020). The Cat I Never Named has been selected as the Junior Library Guild Gold Standard for 2020.

Dr. Amra Sabic-El-Rayess serves as the Project Director at the Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and a faculty member at the Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian and Eastern European Studies at Columbia University. She has worked as the education expert for the U.S. Department of State, internationally. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess is a recipient of multiple awards, including grants from the United States State Department; Smith Richardson Foundation; Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and Kennan Institute; International Research and Exchange Board; and Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian, and Eastern European Studies. Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess recently delivered the inaugural lecture for The Charo Uceda Women’s Empowerment Lecture Series at Columbia University. She will receive the 2020 Samuel Untermyer Award, given by the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy. Recipients are honored for their bravery in service of social justice.

Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess has worked in various capacities for Columbia University, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, United Nations Development Programme, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, International Medical Corps, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), foreign Ministries of Education, and other globally renowned institutions. 

She serves as the Board Director of the Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation; Board Director of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and Board Director of the Brown University Alumni Association. She also served as the Advisory Board Director of the Women’s March Global; the Board Director of the International Center for Transitional Justice; and Board Director of the Tuxedo Park School. She is a Member of the World Association of International Studies and Member of the International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies. 

Dr. Sabic-El-Rayess obtained her PhD and Master of Philosophy in Comparative and International Education with Specialization in Economics from Columbia University as well as Masters in Economic and Political Development (with specialization in Persian Gulf) from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a BA in Economics from Brown University.

Office Location, 230 Thompson Hall

Department of Education Policy & Social Analysis

Teachers College, Columbia University

525 W. 120th Street, Box 11

New York, NY  10027-6636

*By appointment only 

• Sabic-El-Rayess, A. (Forthcoming Article). Costs of educational inputs and unintentional consequences for equity and access to education.

▪         Core Team Faculty Member, Online Leadership Program Development Initiative, 2016-present;

▪         Academic Advisory Board, Center for Development and Social Science Research, 2016-present;

▪         Member, American Educational Research Association (2016-present);

▪         Director, Board of Directors, Tuxedo Park School (2015-present);

▪         Director, Board of Directors, International Center for Transitional Justice (2014-present);

▪         Board Member, Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation (2012-present);

▪         Visiting Scholar, Center for Benefit-Cost Studies in Education (2014-present);

▪         Affiliated Faculty Member, Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian and Eastern Europe Studies at the School of International and Public Affairs (2014-present);

▪         Member, World Association of International Studies (2014-present);

▪         Reviewer, Comparative Education Review (2015-present);

▪         Reviewer, International Journal of Educational Development (2014-present);

▪         Reviewer, European Education (2012-present);

▪         Member, International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (2013-present);

▪         Executive Editor, Current Issues in Comparative Education Journal (2012-2014);

▪         Member, Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007-present);

▪         Member, Cum Laude Society;

▪         Member, Omicron Delta Epsilon.