New country studies are published in the Higher Education Finance and Accessibility in Southeast Asia Website, produced by the HEAD Foundation in partnership with the International Comparative Higher Education Finance and Accessibility Project (ICHEFA) of the Graduate School of Education at the State University of New York at Buffalo. New publications include higher education finance and accessibility profiles of following Southeast Asian countries:

• Brunei
• Cambodia
• Indonesia
• Laos
• Malaysia
• Myanmar
• Philippines
• Singapore
• Thailand
• Vietnam

The Terra Conference on English Language Learners (ELLs), organized in cooperation with the departments of Educational Leadership and Policy and Learning and Instruction at the Graduate School of Education, University at Buffalo, took place on Tuesday, October 25 at the Buffalo Marriott Hotel.

This conference provided opportunities for teachers, administrators and future teachers in Western New York to network and share innovative ideas and best practices in the field of English language learning.

Panelists included professors from major research institutions nationally and locally, as well as practitioners at the top of the education field. UB’s own Professor Janina Brutt-Griffler and members of her research team presented initial findings from a study funded by a Terra grant that explores best practices for English language learners in one of the Buffalo Public Schools.

Main Conference Themes

• language learning in a bilingual setting
• challenges and best practices in teaching ELLs
• student perspective
• ELLs and college/career preparedness
• language learning for immigrant/refugee populations

Underlying Conference Themes

• educational equity
• issues of policy and practice

Conference Proceedings

Conference proceedings can be found in the Terra Foundation website. Click here to the proceedings page.

Keynote Videos on YouTube

Dr. Claude Goldenberg: English Learners in US Schools: Research, Findings, and Directions for the Future

Dr. Yasuko Kanno: Neither College nor Career Ready: English Learners’ Transition to Postsecondary Education

Dr. Gerald H. Campano: Honoring Cosmopolitan Communities: Learning with Immigrant Students through Practitioner Inquiry

Dr. Janina Brutt-Griffler, Nadia Nashir, Wilfredo Garcia, Kathryn L. Foy, Namita Thomas, Jon Veenis: Perspectives on Policy and Practices in ELL Education

The D. Bruce Johnstone International Student Dissertation Research Travel Fund, created and endowed by D. Bruce Johnstone, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor of Higher and Comparative Education, is intended to provide qualified doctoral students with financial support to help alleviate travel related expenses during the process of completing their dissertation research in their home countries and/or in other countries outside of the United States. The selected students are expected to pursue innovative and significant research on global and comparative educational topics.

Amount of Award
The amount of award shall be determined by the selection committee but ordinarily should be limited to necessary travel expenses (which may include round trip to the destination country as well as necessary in-country travel) and not to exceed $2,000. An award should be awarded one time during an academic year, in either semester.

Any disbursements made to individuals must be made in accordance with federal and state law and the policies of the State University of New York, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, religion, color, disability, national origin, race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, pregnancy, gender identity, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, veteran status, military status, domestic violence victim status or ex-offender status.

Eligibility
Eligible students must:
1.  be on a student visa;
2.  have written a dissertation proposal in a draft suitable for the advisor to approve the topic and methodology, as well as outline the need for a significant portion of the search to be conducted in a country or countries outside of the United States;
3.  be doctoral students from the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy. If there should be no eligible awardees in an entire academic year from ELP, the selection committee at its discretion may consider applications from doctoral students in the Graduate School of Education.

Application Requirements
Applications must:
1.  contain a letter to the selection committee stating the purpose of the research, the methodology, and the need for the international travel to the student’s home country and/or other countries outside the United States;
2.  include a recommendation from the applicant’s dissertation committee chairperson approving the topic and methodology and the need for a significant portion of the research to be conducted in a country or countries outside of the United States, as well as an indication of the applicant’s progress toward a proposal defense;
3.  attach a plan for the international travel to include tentative dates, places to visit, data to be collected in those places and evidence that the data can be collected (such evidence to include e.g., letters of permission from ministries, government agencies, schools, or universities);
4.  include a travel budget, including approximate ticket prices.

How to Apply
Applicants must submit the complete application package to the Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy in an envelope. Applications will be reviewed after November 30th during the fall semester and will be considered in the spring semester by April 30th provided that there are funds.

If you have any additional questions about the travel fund, please contact ELP Department Chair Janina Brutt-Griffler at bruttg@buffalo.edu