Our Department
The Department of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison deepens and expands the understanding of educational policy and practice, past and present, at local, national, and international levels. We examine educational policies, movements, outcomes, dilemmas, and controversies — as well as the forces shaping them — through the lenses of history, sociology, anthropology, political economy, philosophy, policy analysis, and international comparative education.
Our efforts are guided by the conviction that as a diverse community of faculty, staff, and students committed to furthering socially just visions of education, we honor the intellectual and moral ideals of the School of Education and the university, and more effectively achieve our educational and scholarly aspirations.
Meet Our Students
Jonathan Marino
Jonathan Marino is a doctoral student in the Educational Policy Studies. His research interests are in comparative and international education, teacher working conditions and well-being, literacy, early childhood education and mixed-methods research design. At UW-Madison he is an affiliate researcher in UW Center for Research on Early Childhood Education (CRECE) and is an Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) Graduate Research Fellow. Jonathan has worked in a variety of educational settings, including for Save the Children, Chicago Public Schools, Council of Chief State School Officers and the Northwestern University Center for Global Engagement, which he co-founded as a student. Jonathan holds undergraduate degrees in education and political science from Northwestern University, a master’s degree in philosophy from the National University of Ireland-Galway, and was a Fulbright Scholar.
Meet Our Faculty
Nancy Kendall
Nancy Kendall is a Professor of Educational Policy Studies. Her research examines the consequences of national and international policies and funding directed at improving the lives and wellbeing of children, communities, and states positioned as “marginalized” by national and international regimes. Dr. Kendall’s research projects have utilized ethnographic and mixed methods to examine Education for All, political democratization and educational governance, structural adjustment and education, US higher education, sexuality and HIV/AIDS education, gender and education, and climate change and education. Dr. Kendall has conducted research for over 25 years in Malawi, and has conducted ethnographic and mixed-methods research in the U.S., Mozambique, and Colombia. Dr. Kendall was a 2019 recipient of the Lyle Spencer Research Award and a 2020 Vilas Faculty Mid-Career Investigator Award. She served as department chair from 2019-2021, Director of the African Studies Program from 2019-2020, and Director of the Development Studies Program from 2019 to present.
Events
- August
- August 22Meet Me on Mondays: Occupational Therapy ProgramJoin the UW–Madison Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program Admissions Coordinator for casual conversation11:00 AM, Online
- August 29Meet Me on Mondays: Occupational Therapy ProgramJoin the UW–Madison Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program Admissions Coordinator for casual conversation11:00 AM, Online
- September
- September 12Meet Me on Mondays: Occupational Therapy ProgramJoin the UW–Madison Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program Admissions Coordinator for casual conversation11:00 AM, Online