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Education Professor Conducts Workshops in Middle East
Dr. Diana Hiatt-Michael, professor of Education at the Graduate School of Education and Psychology at Pepperdine University, visited the Sultanate of Oman to discuss family-school-community partnerships Nov. 11 to 15. A U.S. Middle East Educational Partnership Grant was secured by the Oman Ministry of Education to finance Dr. Hiatt-Michael’s trip.
Oman is interested in increased parent involvement, governance in schools, cooperative teaching, and active or constructivist learning in all schools throughout this modernizing nation of 2.6 million people.
Dr. Hiatt-Michael met with representatives from the Ministry of Education and visited schools surrounding Muscat, the capital of Oman. She taught a series of workshops with 12 teams of representative leaders, including school administrators, teachers, parents, and social workers from boys’ and girls’ schools around the six regions of Oman.
Following these workshops, the trained individuals will now conduct workshops for other schools in their regions in order to develop effective Parent Councils throughout the nation.
Dr. Hiatt-Michael spoke enthusiastically about the workshops, “I felt honored to participate in this Omani educational event. The opportunity for these schools, both boys and girls schools, across the country to get together and work on shared concerns was an exciting experience for all participants.”
Dr. Hiatt-Michael is the editor of the Family-School-Community Partnership Monograph Series, published by Information Age. The first three monographs, entitled Promising Practices in Family Involvement in Schools, Promising Practices to Connect Schools with the Community, and Promising Practices Connecting Schools to Families of Children with Special Needs were recognized by American Educational Research Association for the 2004 Outstanding Contributions of Theory to Practice Award. The 2005 monograph Promising Practices for Family Involvement Across the Continents provides global insights to families and schools.
