LAII Lecture Focuses on Educating for Democracy

March 5, 2014

The UNM Latin American & Iberian Institute (LAII) is pleased to announce the third presentation in its Spring 2014 Lecture Series, "La Sembradora de la Paz: Educating for Democracy at Colegio Naleb'," with Dr. Allison Borden, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership in the Department of Teacher Education, Educational Leadership and Policy in the UNM College of Education, and faculty affiliate with the LAII. The presentation will be held Thursday, March 13, 2014, from 12:00-1:00 p.m. in the LAII Conference Room. Please see the event flyer for reference.

This presentation will discuss a recent book project of Borden's which was initiated in the summer of 2011, at which time Borden began collecting data for a book project about Colegio Naleb', an independent school located in Fraijanes, Guatemala (a suburb of Guatemala City). The project emphasizes the implications of its approach to education in the efforts to "sow peace" and contribute to increased civility. This school, with its explicit emphasis on the practice of democratic processes, has sent 26 groups of graduates into civil society in Guatemala. It is one of only seven schools in the entire Latin American region that is a member of the Alternative Education Resource Organization, an "international network of educational alternatives" that "have in common a learner-centered approach to education." This book project will be situated in the empirical and historical literature on democratic and progressive education. There are many profiles of democratic schools in the United States, England, and other countries, but we have virtually none from schools in Latin America. There are few profiles that examine the impact of democratic practices on students, teachers, and learning. This work is intended to offer a unique and invaluable perspective on democratic schooling and add significantly to that literature. In this presentation, Borden will share the findings to-date based on three summers of data collection.

In addition to serving with the Department of Teacher Education, Educational Leadership and Policy, during the 2013-2014 Borden is also Co-Chair of the Department of Language, Literacy & Sociocultural Studies (LLSS). She has held faculty appointments at Long Island University, CW Post Campus (2002-2005) and UNM (since 2005). During the 25 years prior to her work in higher education, she served as a K-12 teacher and principal in the US and Honduras. She has consulted on national education reform projects in Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Paraguay. Her research agenda focuses on leadership preparation and professional development for principals in the US and Latin America and democratic schooling in Guatemala. She was a Peace Corps Volunteer (1972-1974) in Honduras. She earned her BA from SUNY Brockport (Biology major), her MA from Lesley Graduate School of Education (Elementary Education major with a concentration in Bilingual Education), and her Certificate of Advanced Study and Ed.D. from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education (in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy with a concentration in International Education).