Two students and one faculty member in the School of Education were recently awarded Walden University fellowships for scholarly research dedicated to positive social change.

The Fellowship in Research and Applications for Social Change was awarded to Jarek Janio, a Ph.D. in Education student specializing in Educational Technology, and to Dr. Caroline Bassett, a faculty member in the School of Education.

Ronald Paige, who is also a Ph.D. in Education student specializing in Educational Technology, was awarded the Don E. Ackerman Research Fellowship in Educational Leadership.

Jarek Janio: Studying Instructional Technology
Janio, an educational consultant at Anaheim University and an ESL instructor in Orange, Calif., is researching how instructional technology is perceived and used by K–12 teachers in five countries: Poland, Japan, Argentina, South Africa and the United States.

Instructional technology, Janio says, is thought to improve people’s participation in education, politics and social issues, as well as to reduce poverty, improve standards of living, and develop an “information society”—perceptions not always reflected in the reality of teaching.

Janio is investigating K–12 teachers’ access to instructional technology as well as their perceptions and recommendations about its current and future use.

“The study is significant,” Janio explains, “because it will attempt to answer questions about ways … teachers on a national scale can contribute to the fulfillment of the promise of technology for the betterment of global society.” 

Dr. Caroline Bassett: Teaching Wisdom
Bassett, a faculty member in the School of Education and founder and director of The Wisdom Institute, is researching a model she developed for teaching wisdom.

“The study’s objectives are discovering efficacy of the model, finalizing the development of a wisdom assessment instrument, and using it to guide the wisdom-learning of study participants,” Bassett says.

Study participants will take an eight-week course on wisdom with Bassett at the University of Minnesota, then apply their learning to a nonpolitical societal problem, to experience wisdom and social change in action.

“The results,” Bassett says, “may have implications for how we at Walden prepare adult learners to become agents of social change.”

Ronald Paige: Linking Learning and Career Development
Paige, who spent 11 years teaching junior high and high school before embarking on an 18-year business career, was awarded the Ackerman Fellowship for his research on how the learning process works during career development.

“The study seeks to develop a single theory integrating career, the individual and learning,” says Paige, whose study focuses on 10 high-technology professionals.

Now a vocational teacher who lives in Jamestown, N.Y., Paige will examine “how people go about learning … in expanding their career into new areas. 

“Numerous theories exist for career development and for learning, but neither discipline provides convincing evidence for understanding how the learning process works during career development,” Paige explains.

“Understanding the relationship between learning and personal development, especially through one’s career, is of major importance at a time when technological change is pushing knowledge growth at an unprecedented rate.”

Fellowships
The Fellowship in Research and Applications for Social Change is awarded to applicants who submit outstanding proposals that reflect the university’s mission and determination to effect positive social change worldwide. 

The Don E. Ackerman Research Fellowship in Educational Leadership, named for a significant supporter, owner, and former chairman of the board of Walden University, is designed to encourage research conducted in the name of Walden that contributes to the continuing improvement of teaching and learning.

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