WERA strives to increase its support to early career researchers, particularly with respect to strengthening their international network and research capacity as scientists.
As a part of this effort, and especially linking senior scholars and postdoctoral educational researchers who share a common research interest, WERA developed an innovative, online-based Mentorship Program that enables access to WERA’s extensive network of highly skilled education scholars who act as mentors. They will contribute to the postdoctoral scholar’s understanding of research, as well as add to their interaction with international and global research in the same field.
The WERA Mentoring Programme is an innovative initiative by the World Education Research Association (WERA) aimed at early-career researchers, including postdoctoral researchers. The program seeks to strengthen research capacity and expand international collaboration networks by connecting mentees with experienced mentors in the field of education.
WERA Mentoring Committee Chair:
The programme is coordinated by Geovana Mendonça Lunardi Mendes, WERA Vice President and Chair of the WERA Mentoring Programme (National Association of Research and Graduate Studies on Education – ANPEd), with support from members of the WERA Mentoring Committee.
Members of the WERA Mentoring Committee:
Natasha Ziebell, WERA DEC Chair (University of Melbourne)
Paula Korsnakova, WERA Institutional Representative (The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement – IEA)
Laura Camas Garrido, WERA DEC Representative (Complutense University of Madrid)
How to Participate
The selection process for the WERA Mentoring Programme follows a structured approach:
- Invitation for Mentors: WERA member associations recommend experienced researchers to serve as mentors, indicating their areas of expertise.
- Call for Mentees: WERA publishes open calls for early-career researchers to apply, specifying their research interests.
- Selection and Matching: The Mentoring Committee evaluates applications and presents eligible candidates to mentors. The final decision on mentoring pairs is made by the mentors.
- Mentorship Agreement: Mentors and mentees formalize an agreement outlining objectives, meeting frequency, and interaction terms. The mentoring relationship will be conducted over a period of six months, with the specific dates and meeting schedule to be mutually agreed upon by the mentor and mentee.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: The program is assessed annually by the WERA Mentorship Programme Committee to ensure its effectiveness and continuous improvement, presentation and dissemination of best practices
Call for Mentee Applications is Now Closed. Please stay tuned for further updates.
Call for Mentee Applications: WERA Mentoring Programme 2026
Benefits for Researchers
The WERA Mentoring Programme offers a unique opportunity for early-career researchers and mentors.
To early-career Researchers:
- Receive guidance from international experts in their research fields;
- Gain a global perspective on educational research;
- Expand their academic and institutional networks;
- Strengthen their academic trajectory with support in research production and dissemination.
To Mentors:
- Global dissemination of their methodologies and research ideas
- Enhancing reputation in the professional community and impact in the research field
- Creation and expansion of the academic network
- Expanding the possibilities of data collection in different socio-cultural contexts
The roster of esteemed WERA mentors and their expertise are outlined below.
ANPED
Prof. Angelo R. de Souza
Federal University of Paraná, Brazil
Researcher and Associated Professor at Educational Policy Research Center, with focus on Education Policy and Education Administration
Languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish, Italian
Expertise:
Education Policy, School Administration and Planning
ANPED
Prof. Dr. Jefferson Mainardes
Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa (State University of Ponta Grossa) – Brazil
Lecturer in Education Policy at the Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa (State University of Ponta Grossa) – Brazil
Research interests include Education Policy, Epistemology of Education Policy, Research Ethics, Academic Writing, and Researcher Training (Doctorate)
Languages: Portuguese, Spanish, English
Expertise:
Education Policy, Research Ethics, Policy Cycle Approach, Bernstein’s Theory
ANPED
Prof. Dr. Elizabeth Macedo
State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Dr. Macedo’s research focuses on both curriculum theory and curriculum policy, broadly understood as public policies enacted by the State and in schools. Operating on a poststructurally inflected frame, her research dialogues with Stephen Ball, Ernesto Laclau, Wendy Brown, Judith Butler, Homi Bhabha as well as with Jacques Derrida. In general terms, politics has been understood as signifiXation processes that also produce the context in which they happen.
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Her on-going projects have to do, mainly, with the fact that, in 2017, the Brazilian government issued a national compulsory curriculum that will also subsidize high-stakes testing throughout the country. In four different movements, Dr. Macedo has been (i) mapping the networks of the demands in action in that process, mainly concerned with the upraising of conservative ones; (ii) mapping the networks throughout the on-going implementations of the national curriculum happening at state-levels, especially the action of edu-business during those processes; (iii) wondering about the effects of the national educational policies on students’ and teachers’ subjectivities; and (iv) working collaboratively with state level bureaucracies, schools and teachers in order to produce situated public policies.
Languages: Portuguese, English
Expertise:
Curriculum Theory, Curriculum Policy
Mentee:
Trudy Keil
University of Regina, Canada
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Trudy Keil is a public school teacher and education researcher from Saskatchewan, Canada. She holds a PhD in Education from the University of Regina. Her research examines teacher activism, public education advocacy, and the relationships between teacher unions and grassroots organizing using a poststructural framework of alliances, assemblages, and affect.
This mentoring partnership focuses on strengthening the theoretical and international dimensions of my research on teacher activism and public education advocacy. Through working with Dr. Elizabeth Macedo, I hope to further develop the poststructural framework of alliances, assemblages, and affect that informs my research while expanding my understanding of how teacher activism unfolds in diverse global contexts. Building on a seminar I presented to her Brazilian research group, we will explore opportunities for future collaboration between Canadian and Brazilian scholars.
EASA
Prof. Elize du Plessis
University of South Africa – UNISA
Lecturer for Curriculum Studies. She is an experienced developer of course material for student teachers and has 30 years’ experience in distance teaching. She is currently the programme coordinator of the Postgraduate Certificate in Education programme (Senior and FET phase). She has made contributions to several books and published articles in a variety of journals, and presented papers at both national and international conferences. Elize is also a national and international reviewer for several academic journals and acts as supervisor for MEd and DEd students.
Languages: English, Afrikaans
Expertise:
Curriculum Studies (Theory and Development), Teacher Training in an ODeL Community of Practice
Mentee:
Lydia Adesanya
University of Pretoria, South Africa
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
I am a researcher in education and assessment with a PhD in Assessment and Quality Assurance in Education and Training from the University of Pretoria, South Africa. My research interests include artificial intelligence in education, formative assessment, assessment for learning, mathematics education, K–12 education, adaptive learning, learning analytics, and qualitative research. I am passionate about conducting research that supports evidence-based teaching, enhances student learning, and contributes to educational policy and practice.
Through this mentorship, I aim to strengthen my research skills, enhance my academic writing, and develop my capacity for scholarly publication. My mentor will provide guidance and support as I refine my research work, expand my academic knowledge, and continue growing as a researcher.
EASA
Prof. Dr. Motlalepule Ruth Mampane
University of Pretoria, South Africa
Prof Ruth Mampane is an Associate Professor and Head of Educational Psychology Department, University of Pretoria. Her research focus is on academic resilience, family and adolescent resilience. Her scholarly contributions are centred on the influences of context and developmental processes on academic resilience, adolescent and family resilience against multiple adversities that South African families are exposed to. Mampane’s research is unique in highlighting family resilience in the resource-constrained context of South African townships and cultural influences on family resilience.
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On international scholarship, she received a postdoctoral award from the University of Michigan (Ann-Abor), African Presidential Scholar (UMAPS) for the period August 2010 – February 2011. Prof Mampane also received NRF funding (2013-14/ 2018-2020) focusing on the Determinants of family resilience. Mampane published more than 26 Journal articles in accredited peer-reviewed journals and book chapters and has supervised more than 25 Masters and PhD student’s to completion. Currently, she is a course leader on four Continuous Training and Development programs for teachers coordinated by Business Enterprises (a business unit of the University of Pretoria) focusing on the training of psychologists, registered counsellors and teachers on behaviour and various forms of disability. Her postgraduate supervision centres on the overarching theme of resilience. Finally, her international collaborations also aim to present multiple case studies on the resilience of families and youths.
Language: English
Expertise:
Educational Psychology
Township Schools and Context, Resilience, Academic Resilience, Drop-In Centres, Adversity, Inclusive Education
Mentee:
Elga Andriana
University of Ostrava, Czech Republic
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Elga Andriana, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Ostrava and is currently on leave from her appointment as Assistant Professor at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. Her research focuses on inclusive education, student voice, and participatory methodologies, particularly Photovoice and child-led participatory research, with the aim of promoting educational equity and meaningful participation of marginalized learners.
Our mentoring partnership focuses on developing a comparative review of student voice in inclusive education across Indonesia, South Africa, and the Czech Republic. The review will compare how student voice is conceptualised, enacted, and responded to across three contrasting education systems to advance international scholarship and inform inclusive educational practice.
EERA
Prof. Marit Honerød Hoveid
European Educational Reasearch Association (EERA)
Professor of Pedagogy (Education) at NTNU, Norway. Working with University pedagogy. Currently the President of European Educational Reasearch Association (EERA).
Languages: Norwegian, English, and some Spanish
Expertise:
Teaching and learning, philosophy of education
Mentees:
Emily Dobrich
Western University/University of Toronto, Canada
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Emily Dobrich is currently a Postdoctoral Associate at Western University, in Canada, who holds a PhD in Adult Education and Community Development from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto, Canada. Her research interests include adult education, embodied learning, international and comparative research and feminist pedagogical approaches and praxis. Emily is actively involved in various scholarly associations in Canada and internationally including her position as the President Elect on the board of the Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) and support of the WERA Doctoral and Early Career.
Mentoring Partnership: the main focus of this mentorship partnership has been to develop clarity and refine the direction of my program of research. This includes advice on expanding my international research network and relationships and receiving feedback on publications in process, academic career plans and other related documents. Ultimately, this mentoring partnership has offered us an opportunity to discuss, learn, reflect, and share knowledge and different perspectives on educational research and how to navigate international educational research spaces.
Lihuan Chen
The Education University of Hong Kong, China
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Li Huan Chen is a 2024 PhD graduate from the Faculty of Education at The University of Hong Kong. He currently works at The Education University of Hong Kong as a Senior Research Associate. He studies educational leadership and policy. He also examines educational philosophy and cultural differences in different education systems.
Mentoring Partnership: from an educational leadership perspective, we examine personal development in Bildung and Confucian self-cultivation to promote humanistic education.
EERA
Prof. Arnaud Dubois
Rouen-Normady University, France
Arnaud Dubois is Professor at Rouen University. After having been a history and geography teacher in secondary schools in France, he has completed a doctoral thesis on the analysis of professional practices for secondary school teachers.
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His research is part of the ‘Education and psychoanalysis’ current. He continues his work on the analysis of teachers’ professional practices at different levels of the educational system.
His research also focuses on the history of psychoanalytic pedagogy (since Freud and the first psychoanalytic pedagogues). He is the author of several books in French on the history of this pedagogical current and Teachers’ training.
He has conducted research on exclusion from courses in secondary schools. He is now leading a research programme on the reception of affects in classrooms after traumatic events (2015 Paris Attacks, Lubrizol disaster in Rouen, COVID 19 crisis, etc.).
Involved in several international programmes (Argentina, Mexico, Italy), he is leading a project for a new network in the EERA (European Educational Research Association) on ‘Education and psychoanalysis’, and is also active in the association of teachers and researchers in educational sciences in France.
Languages: French, English
Expertise:
Educational Sciences
Education and Psychoanalysis, Doctoral Support, Higher Education, Qualitative Research Methodologies, History of Education Pedagogy
EERA
Assoc. Prof. Sofia Marques Da Silva
University of Porto, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, Portugal
Associate Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal, and member of CIIE – Educational Research and Intervention Centre. Lecturer in sociology of education and research methodologies. Has been doing research in the field of inclusion, diversity and youth.
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Since 2010 has been involved in developing an online and offline ethnography with young people from border regions. She is the PI of the national project GROW.UP – Growing up in border regions in Portugal: young people, educational pathways and agendas. Convenor of the European Conference on Educational Research (ECER) and editor-in-chief of the Journal Ethnography & Education (Taylor&Francis/Routledge). Board member of the Portuguese Society of Education Sciences. Expert of the European network NESET II (Social Dimension of Education and Training) and of EACEA (Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency). Is member of the Programme Committee for the specific programme implementing Horizon 2020 – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020). She is deputy coordinator of the national initiative Portugal INCoDe.2030, on digital competencies.
Languages: Portuguese, English, French
Expertise:
Sciences of Education, Sociology of Education, Research Methodologies
Youth and Educational Pathways, Border and Regional Studies, Resilient Schools and Communities, Digital Methodologies
Mentees:
Peng Zhang
University College London, UK
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Peng Zhang is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the UCL Institute of Education. His research focuses on cross-border mobility in educational contexts. He is particularly interested in how transnational individuals navigate educational systems, geopolitical tensions, and cultural expectations, and how these experiences shape wellbeing, agency, and identity formation.
The mentoring partnership focuses on supporting early career research development, with particular attention to European research funding opportunities and strengthening research capacity, especially in ethnographic methodologies. It also explores strategies for developing academic resilience, including sustaining motivation and navigating competition, rejection, and career uncertainty in academia.
Timo Neubert
University of Cologne, Germany
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Dr. Timo Neubert is a research associate at the Department of Educational and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne. His research focuses on international schools, transnational educational biographies, (migration-related) multilingualism, ethnographic educational research, as well as teacher education.
The main focus of the mentoring partnership is on discussing current research projects and publication drafts. In particular, questions of ethnographic research and writing are addressed.
ERAS
Dr. Jennifer Yeo
Singapore University of Social Sciences
Jennifer Yeo is an Associate Professor at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, where she contributes to advancing teaching and learning in higher education. With a background in both the learning sciences and instructional design, she began her academic career in science education, focusing on K–12 learning, and has since expanded her research to encompass adult and professional learning.
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Her scholarly interests include innovative learning environments, work-integrated learning, multimodality and meaning-making, teacher professional learning and pedagogical content knowledge. Her work is grounded in a commitment to understanding how people learn across diverse contexts, from classrooms to workplaces, and to designing learning environments that foster deep understanding, engagement, and knowledge transfer.
Jennifer has published widely in international journals and serves on the editorial board of the International Journal of Science Education and as an associate editor of Learning: Research and Practice. Her work bridges theory and practice through research, curriculum innovation, and academic leadership, with an emphasis on aligning educational theory to the realities of teaching and learning in varied settings.
Language: English
Expertise:
Cultural historical activity theory, Multimodal theory and Meaning-making, Discourse analysis and Multimodal analysis, Collaborative learning, Design-based research
Mentee:
Trishanya Raju
The Sandbox, India
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Trishanya is an education researcher and practitioner based in Hyderabad, India, working at the intersection of learning design, school culture, and systems-level education initiatives. She holds an EdD from Johns Hopkins University and leads The Sandbox, an education R&D Lab. Her research draws on mixed-methods dissertation work examining how school culture shapes learner wellbeing, academic achievement, and the uptake of educational innovation across diverse Indian K–12 contexts, from elite private schools to under-resourced and underserved settings.
Jennifer is mentoring Trishanya as she builds a formal research identity in the area of school culture, drawing on her practitioner experience running education programs through The Sandbox and the Dr. Vijay Kumar Datla Foundation. The partnership has focused on translating this practice-based work into a research trajectory, including conference submissions and exploring institutional pathways for ethics oversight in India.
ERAS
Dr. Kah Loong Chue
National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
Lecturer with the Psychological and Child & Human Development academic group; Have held various teaching and management appointments in public and private schools before joining academia; Currently lectures on a variety of topics, including educational assessment, quantitative research methods and individual and learning differences; Current research interests are Rasch measurement theory, team-based learning, motivation, personality (Big Five) and student wellbeing
Languages: English, Chinese
Expertise:
SPSS, AMOS, WINSTEPS
Mentee:
Khuc Phan
Dong A University, Danang, Vietnam
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Khuc Phan recently completed her doctorate in Education, Equity, and Transformation at Colorado State University and is now a lecturer and researcher at Dong A University in Danang, Vietnam. She also holds an M.A. in Curriculum and Teaching from Columbia University and an M.A. in TESOL from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Vietnam. Her research interests include student well-being, college readiness, assessment, and motivation in educational contexts, aiming to generate culturally grounded insights that support students’ engagement and success in Vietnam and beyond.
Mentoring Partnership: our mentoring partnership focuses on developing my current research on parental communication and student motivation into peer-reviewed publications, alongside broader guidance on establishing myself as an early-career researcher. This includes feedback on manuscripts in progress and advice on narrowing my research focus to build clearer expertise in the field.
ESAI
Dr Aimie Brennan
Marino Institute of Education
Dr Brennan is Dean of Education: Policy, Practice and Society, Principal Lecturer in Education, and course leader of the B.Sc in Education Studies at Marino Institute of Education. With a PhD in Sociology from UCC, Dr Brennan began her career in the field of social research, before pursuing a passion for teacher education where she has supported pre-service teachers from early years to post-primary education. Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of the sociology of education, teacher education policy and education research, and she is currently leading cross-border, longitudinal and collaborative research projects in each of these areas.
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Dr Brennan is an active member of the higher education community, In-coming President of the Educational Studies Association of Ireland (ESAI), and serving on the Teaching Council Research Engagement Group, and the National Advisory Group for Student Engagement in Higher Education (NStEP). She is also founder and coordinator of the Student Teacher Education Research (STER) project, a student-staff partnership project in Higher Education that publishes a national peer-reviewed e-journal of education student research.
Her Roles:
Dean of Education: Policy, Practice and Society
Senior Lecturer in Education Policy and Research Methods
Course leader for the BSc in Education Studies
Languages: English
Expertise:
Teacher education and policy
Mentee:
Sinem Maden
University of Łódź, Poland
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
She is a social science researcher specializing in learner aspiration, education policy, and educational inequality. She is currently pursuing her second Ph.D. in Pedagogy at the University of Łódź, Poland. Her research focuses on the historical and theoretical transformation of aspiration, youth self-concept and motivation, foreign language education, and institutional processes shaping educational trajectories.
Thematic focus of the partnership is looking at possible research topics, research funding opportunities, Post-doc programmes and revising CV to make applications. Both sides expect talking about options and preparation for the interviews, which will be followed by conducting research together.
GERA-Germany
Prof. Dr. Marianne Schüpbach
Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
Marianne Schüpbach Professor Dr. is a chair in Primary Education at Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Schuepbach is an empirical researcher whose research focuses on extended education (all-day school, afterschool etc.) predominantly in Switzerland and Germany, school career transitions as grade retention, school teaching and school. In the last years, she has carried out different studies funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and the German Research Foundation in the field of extended education, multi-professional collaboration in school and teaching and acculturation of immigrant students.
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She received her PhD from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland (CH) in 2004 and her Habilitation from the University of Bern (CH) in 2009. From 2010 to 2014 she was an assistant professor of research on teaching and school at the Institute of Educational Science, University of Bern (CH), and from 2014 to 2019 she was the Chair of Primary Education at the Institute of Educational Science, University of Bamberg, Germany.
Languages: German, English, French, Italian
Expertise:
Education, Primary Education, Education Psychology
Extended Education (all-day school, quality, students’ development, international comparative perspective), Multi-Professional Collaboration in School and Teaching (in class, all-day school, inclusive setting) and Acculturation of Immigrant Students
GERA-Germany
Prof. Dr. Hermann Josef Abs
University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
Hermann J. Abs is a Professor of Education at the University of Duisburg-Essen. He serves as national research coordinator of the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study, ICCS 2022, and has been involved in several national and international Projects on teacher education and education for democratic citizenship. Dr. Abs’ research focusses on the effects schools have in shaping democratic identities, knowledge, and behaviour of young people and on the role of teachers as well as teacher education in the process of political socialization.
Languages: German, English
Expertise:
Educational Science, Educational Assessment, Comparative Education
International Large-Scale Assessment, Civic and Citizenship Education, Political Socialization
Mentees:
Alex Örtegren
Umeå University, Sweden
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Alex Örtegren is a postdoctoral researcher at Umeå University, Sweden, having defended his PhD on digital citizenship in teacher education in February 2026. Alex’s research focuses on teacher educators’ work and professional digital competence within institutional settings, examining how they navigate digital technologies and AI in relation to citizenship education. He combines postdigital theory with qualitative and mixed-methods approaches, including policy analysis across contexts.
This partnership brings together Professor Abs’s expertise in international large-scale assessment and citizenship education with Alex’s research on digital citizenship and teacher education. The mentorship centers on developing comparative, cross-national research approaches, drawing on both Professor Abs’s experience with international assessment and Alex’s ongoing work in European contexts through the Erasmus+ Teacher Academy project From Artificial Intelligence to Pedagogical Innovation (AI2PI). It also includes guidance on positioning this work within the broader citizenship education field.
Sneha Roy
Kansas State University, USA
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Sneha Roy is a Ph.D. Candidate (Final stage of Ph.D. completion) in Educational Leadership at Kansas State University and an incoming Evaluation Fellow at the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Her interdisciplinary research lies at the intersection of educational leadership, program evaluation, and public health, with a focus on implementation science, workforce development, learning systems, and the application of advanced quantitative methods to generate evidence that informs policy and improves educational and population health outcomes.
Mentoring Partnership: my mentoring partnership focuses on advancing an interdisciplinary research agenda at the intersection of educational leadership, program evaluation, and public health. Through this mentorship, I hope to strengthen my scholarly identity, expand collaborative research and publication opportunities, and receive guidance on building a successful academic career while translating rigorous evaluation research into evidence that informs policy and practice.
HKERA
Prof. CHEUNG Chi-keung, Alan
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor Cheung currently serves as Professor and Chair in the Department of Educational Administration and Policy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), as well as the Director of the Centre for University and School Partnership. He is also a Professor (Courtesy) at Johns Hopkins University. His research areas include evidence-based reform, bilingual education, and educational technology. He has been involved in many large-scale randomized experiments and studies on these topics and is the author or co-author of numerous journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports. His journal articles have appeared in top academic journals such as Review of Educational Research (RER), Educational Research Review (ERR), Journal of Educational Psychology (JEP), American Educational Research Journal (AERJ), and Reading Research Quarterly (RRQ).
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In recognition of his research productivity and teaching performance, he has received several prestigious awards. These include the Palmer O. Johnson Award from the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2008, the Research Excellence Award from CUHK in 2013, the Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award from Brigham Young University in 2016, the International Discovery Award from the Australian Research Council in 2018, the Exemplary Teaching Award from the Faculty of Education (CUHK) in 2021, and the Inaugural Award for Outstanding Research from the Asia Pacifi c Federation on Giftedness in 2024.
Languages: Chinese, English
Expertise:
Education Marketization, Higher Education, Quantitative Methods, School Effectiveness and School Improvement, School Evaluation, Educational Technology, Effective Interventions for Disadvantaged Students
HKERA
Dr. CHEUNG Sum Kwing, Sam
The Education University of Hong Kong
Dr. Cheung is an Associate Professor in the Department of Early Childhood Education at The Education University of Hong Kong. He also serves as the Co-director of the Centre for Child and Family Science and the Associate Dean (Quality Assurance and Enhancement) of the Faculty of Education and Human Development. His research primarily focuses on children’s mathematical development, socio-emotional development, the home learning environment, and teacher education. Dr. Cheung has authored numerous papers, presented at international conferences, and published in esteemed journals. With his extensive experience, he is frequently invited to lead teacher professional development workshops and deliver parent talks.
Language: English
Expertise:
Early Childhood Development and Education, Home Learning Environment, Teacher Education
Mentees:
Maja Wenderlich
The Maria Grzegorzewska University, Poland
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Maja Wenderlich, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Supporting Human Development and Education, The Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw, Poland. A former teacher who now educates future teachers, she draws on classroom experience in her research on early childhood mathematics education, early foreign language teaching, and mathematical giftedness throughout the lifespan.
Within the mentoring partnership, she focuses on shaping a long-term academic career through more strategic publication planning, fostering publication collaborations, and increasing her visibility in the international research community.
Fang Xu
University of Tübingen, Germany
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Dr. Fang Xu is a postdoctoral researcher at the Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology. She is also part of the scientific monitoring team of the Hector Children’s Academies Program. She is driven to translate complex evidence into actionable insights that support equitable, evidence-based education.
Thematic focus: Academic career strategy and research collaboration in the Asia-Pacific region. Aims: To gain targeted career advice for professorship job seeking at top universities in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Macau; to advance academic development; and to explore potential research collaborations.
Victoria Bamsey
University of Plymouth, UK
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Dr Victoria Bamsey is Associate Dean for Education and Student Experience and Associate Professor of Education at the University of Plymouth. Her work examines how educational policies, practices, and systems can better support inclusion and improve outcomes for children and young people, particularly those experiencing disadvantage. Her participation in the WERA Mentoring Programme reflects her commitment to building international partnerships and contributing to global conversations on educational effectiveness and improvement.
The partnership centres on building international research networks and comparative research opportunities in educational effectiveness and inclusion. By bringing together perspectives from Hong Kong and the UK, the mentoring relationship seeks to generate collaborative research, publications, and funding opportunities that advance understanding of inclusive and effective educational practice in the early years.
KEAD
Prof. Asoc. Dr. Serdan Kervan
University Ukshin Hoti Prizren
PhD – Educational Programmes and Teaching, University of Balıkesir, Faculty of Education, Graduate School of Social Sciences
MSc – Turkish Language and Literature, University of Prishtina, Faculty of Philology, Department of Turkish Language and Literature
BSc – Bachelor of Education, University of Prishtina, Faculty of Education, Prizren Branch, Department of Classroom Teaching
Languages: Albanian and Turkish
Expertise:
Education
PERA
Prof. Maria Czerepaniak-Walczak
University of Szczecin, Poland
Long-term academic educator. For many years, I have been conducting regular doctoral and postdoctoral seminars, providing leadership, guidance, and supervision for research projects aligned with my academic interests, which include critical and emancipatory pedagogy, university pedagogy, as well as teacher education and professional teacher development. Experience in international research collaboration, encompassing studies on the culture of trust and educational interactions, human rights, digital literacy, and the role of transformative teachers in response to contemporary educational challenges. Supervisor Several of these projects employ an action research methodology. Doctoral supervisor in the EDITE (European Doctorate in Teacher Education) Programme. I am also a long-standing member of the Committee of Education Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences and serve as the Head of the Summer Schools for Young Pedagogues. Served as a mentor in the former edition of the WERA Mentorship Programme.
Languages: English, Polish, Russian
Expertise:
Education sciences, critical pedagogy, qualitative research, action research, and emancipatory pedagogy
Mentee:
Everlyn Oluoch
United States International University – Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Dr. Everlyn Oluoch-Suleh is an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the United States International University-Africa, Nairobi, Kenya. She holds a PhD in African Languages from the University of South Africa, and has expertise in linguistics, multilingualism, language pedagogy, intercultural communication, and education. Her research focuses on theoretical linguistics, African language pedagogy, multilingual education, English language teaching, and sustainable development. She has published books and numerous peer-reviewed scholarly works.
The thematic focus of this WERA mentoring partnership centres on theoretical and methodological frameworks for pedagogical innovation in teaching and learning (T&L) for social justice. The partnership aims to collaboratively design and implement an action research project that advances educational practice, with particular emphasis on multilingual learning among early childhood learners. It will further strengthen international research collaboration, contribute to the advancement of knowledge, and promote educational equity and social justice.
PERA
Prof. Anna Babicka-Wirkus
Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Poland
Professor in pedagogy, sociologist works in Institute of Pedagogy in Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Poland. Her scientific and academic work focuses on the following issues: resistance in education, school culture, children’s rights at school, and university in discourse. Their common denominator is a theoretical background created by critical and post-structuralist theories. The common characteristic of her works is also a scientific approach. Her projects are based on the strategies of qualitative and mixed studies, which stems from the nature of the research subject. She also has experience in conducting quantitative research. She is a deputy editor-in-chief for the international journal “Social Studies: Theory and Practice”. She is also a member of the Editorial Board of another new research periodical – ‘Educational Role of Language Journal’.
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She is a member of several international and national scientific societies and organizations. These include the International Association for the Educational Role of Language (ERL Association), the Polish Educational Research Association (PERA), and the Polish Sociological Association. She received the Ombudsman for Children Award in 2014 for the best PhD thesis concerning the issue of children’s rights.
She was an auxiliary supervisor in two international PhD programs. These PhD projects had been prepared within the framework of European Doctorate in Teacher Education (EDiTE)which was funded by the European Union under Horizon 2020, Marie Skłodowska-Curie program (grant agreement number 676452). Currently, she is a supervisor of two Polish PhD projects.
Languages: Polish, English
Expertise:
Pedagogy, Social Science
Modern Social Theories, Research Methods in Social Science, Feminist Criminology and currently focused on resistance culture in schools.
Mentee:
André Freitas
Lusofona University, Portugal
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
André Freitas (he/him) is from Porto, Portugal, and is an FCT-funded researcher at Lusófona University’s Institute of Education/ Interdisciplinary Research Centre for Education and Development. He holds a PhD in Educational Sciences from the University of Porto, and his work traces the production of subjectivity in education with teachers and children at school through narrative inquiry, exploring how art experiences and digital ethics of care shape K-12 school cultures, teacher education and professionalism, and humanistic pedagogies. His research spans international collaborations across Europe, South America, and Africa, and has been recognised with the UNESCO Promising Practices distinction.
André Freitas (mentee) and Anna Babicka-Wirkus (mentor) are undertaking a six-month mentoring partnership focused on school culture and teachers’ and children’s lived experiences, with particular attention to social resistance and digital infrastructures in K-12 education. The collaboration supports the mentee’s theoretical, methodological, and academic writing development, while fostering dialogue between the Portuguese and Polish contexts on teachers’ and children’s rights. Expected outcomes include a co-authored paper, participation in scientific events, and exploration of longer-term institutional collaboration between Lusófona University and Pomeranian University in Słupsk.
PERA
Prof. Joanna Madalińska-Michalak
University of Warsaw, Poland
Joanna Madalińska-Michalak is a Full Professor of Social Sciences (Educational Research) at the Faculty of Education, University of Warsaw, Poland, where she has served as Head of the Chair of Didactics and Teacher Education. She is an internationally recognised scholar in teacher education, educational leadership, and comparative education, with extensive experience in leading and contributing to international research collaborations across Europe and beyond.
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She is Honorary Professor at Aarhus University (Denmark) and has held leadership positions in prominent international academic organisations. She is Chair-Elect of the International Council on Education for Teaching (ICET), Past Vice-President of the World Education Research Association (WERA), and a member of the Board of the European Educational Research Association (EERA). She has also served as President of the Polish Educational Research Association (PERA). Through these roles, she contributes to strengthening international research networks, advancing teacher education globally, and supporting scholarly communities.
Professor Madalińska-Michalak has extensive experience in mentoring doctoral students, early-career researchers, and academics at different stages of their professional development. Her mentoring focuses on developing research capacity, fostering academic leadership, supporting international research engagement, and promoting ethical and collaborative approaches to educational scholarship.
Her research interests include teacher education, teacher professional learning, educational leadership, comparative and international education, educational policy, professional ethics in education, and qualitative and mixed methods research. She has contributed to international academic debates on the preparation and professional development of teachers, the role of educational leaders, and the transformation of education systems in changing social contexts.
Languages: English, Polish
Expertise:
Teacher Education, Educational Leadership, Teacher Professional Learning, Comparative and International Education, Educational Policy, Professional Ethics in Education, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research, Academic Leadership, International Research Collaboration, Doctoral Education and Research Mentoring
Mentee:
Chinenye Obadimeji
Lead City University, Oyo State, Nigeria
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
I am an early-career researcher and Lecturer II in the Department of Arts and Social Science Education, Faculty of Education, Lead City University, Ibadan, Nigeria. My research focuses on digitalisation in education, school management, and teachers’ professional development, particularly in relation to educational leadership and improving teaching and learning.
The mentoring partnership focuses on developing my research capacity, strengthening my academic writing and publication strategies, and broadening my international research perspective. I hope to benefit from my mentor’s expertise to support my professional development as an educational researcher and to advance research addressing educational challenges in Nigeria.
PERA
Prof. Agnieszka Szplit
The Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce, Poland
Professor in Pedagogy, Master of English, working at the Jan Kochanowski University of Kielce (Poland), Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology; also a qualified teacher of English, a chartered teacher with a 25-year experience in language education, a teacher trainer and a qualified school inspector.
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Her basic research interests concern the teachers’ professional and personal development. She has researched teachers’ professionalism in four areas: factors and determinants, the process and its consequences, effects and implications, and finally, support to teachers. Other trends in her pedagogical research are selected glottodidactic contexts in the teacher’s work. She prefers conducting qualitative research and designs innovative methods for it. She is the President of the Association of Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE), and a member of the Main Board of Polish Educational Research Association (PTP).
She is a reviewer in several Polish and international journals and an editor of a series of international books on teacher’s professional development. She is also a reviewer of school syllabuses and coursebooks for teaching English. She was the manager of the EACEA financed international project Educare (number 527360-LLP-1-2012-1-IT-GRUNDTVIG-GMP). She was awarded the Medal of the National Education Commission and the Bronze Cross of Merit for scientific achievements by the President of Poland.
Languages: English, Polish
Expertise:
Education, Foreign Language Teaching
Qualitative research design, Researching teacher professional development, Researching teacher education, Glottodicactics, Teacher training and school advising, Managing educational innovations, Managing teacher professional development, Designing English courses for young learners, School practicum coordination
RERA
Dr. Ivan Ivanov
HSE University
Ivan Y. Ivanov has recieved his PhD in Education in 2024. Dr. Ivanov is a senior research fellow and director of the Pinsky Center of General and Extracurricular Education in the Institute of Education, HSE University (Moscow). His research focus is comparative studies of school and extracurricular education, study of educational policy and children’s after-school time. Special focus is education in post-Soviet countries and in BRICS+.
Languages: Russian, English
Expertise:
Educational policy, Comparative Education, After-school time programs
RIECH
Roxana Chiappa
Universidad de Tarapacá
Roxana Chiappa is an assistant professor at the University of Tarapacá, Chile; an adjunct researcher at the Center for Conflict and Social Cohesion Studies (COES); and an associate researcher at Rhodes University, South Africa. She is a journalist from the University of Santiago de Chile and holds a master’s and doctorate in higher education from the University of Washington, Seattle. Inspired by feminist, decolonial, and other critical social theories, her research agenda focuses on how historical and structural inequalities are reproduced in science and higher education systems between social groups, institutions, and countries.
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Currently, Roxana is the principal investigator of a project analyzing the intersectional effects of class and gender on the careers of STEM doctoral fellows and is one of the coordinators of the Intercultural Education, Migrations, and Borders core, which brings together scholars and students working on intercultural issues in Chile and Peru. Together with scholar Iris Viveros, Roxana has recently published a book on the experiences of transnational researchers from the Global South (Routledge, 2025). Roxana is also one of the coordinators of the feminist social science network in Chile and a mindfulness meditation teacher.
Roxana’s experience in higher education and critical perspectives for analyzing mobility are conducive to reading Fabiola Cervantes’s thesis on the experience of internal migrant students at the Universidad Veracruzana.
Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese
Expertise:
Higher education, decolonial studies, academic career, mixed-methods
Mentee:
Abraham Tamukum Tangwe
Protestant University of Rwanda, Rwanda
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
Abraham Tangwe (PhD) is a Cameroonian and currently works at the Protestant University of Rwanda as the Director of the Centre for Didactics and Research in Education, and as a teacher trainer and lecturer. His research interests include global education, decoloniality, and peace.
The mentoring partnership revolves around the strengthening of qualitative research methods, the process of publishing in SCOPUS-indexed journals, support in grant applications, and consultancy about academic careers. The mentee will share with the mentor insights into the Rwandan educational system and have fun.
RIECH
Daniela Véliz Calderon
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education. She holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education and a Master’s in Student Development in Higher Education from the University of Maine (USA). She is a researcher at the Millennium Nucleus in Higher Education and an associate researcher at the CEPPE UC. She is currently vice dean of the UC Faculty of Education.
Languages: English, Spanish
Expertise:
Higher education, mentoring programs, gender and higher education, higher education administration
Mentee:
Juliana Consonni
State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil
Short Bio & Mentoring Partnership
I am a faculty member in the Department of Educational Psychology at the School of Education, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. My research focuses on the learning, academic persistence, and sense of belonging of Indigenous students in higher education, with particular interest in institutional and psychosocial factors, social support networks, and culturally responsive educational practices.
Our mentoring partnership focuses on strengthening my research and academic career development. Key topics include research project management and organization, identifying reputable journals for publication, and discussing career decisions, particularly the definition and refinement of long-term research interests and priorities.
RIECH
M. Beatriz Fernández
Institute of Education, Universidad de Chile
M. Beatriz Fernández is an Associate Professor and director of postgraduate studies in the Institute of Education at Universidad de Chile. She is a principal researcher and leader of the Teaching Profession Research Line in the Centre for Advanced Research in Education at the same institution. She is also a Coordinating Editor and member of the Editorial team of Education Policy Analysis Archives /Archivos Analíticos de Políticas Educativas (EPAA/AAPE) for the South American section in Spanish. Her research interests include policy analysis, teacher education policies, teacher inquiry and social justice issues. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7639-2811
Languages: English, Spanish
Expertise:
Policy analysis, teacher education policies, teacher inquiry and social justice
SEP
Jon Igelmo-Zaldivar
Complutense University of Madrid
Jon Igelmo-Zaldivar is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Studies at the Faculty of Education, Complutense University of Madrid, where he coordinates the Master’s Degree in Advanced Studies in Social Education. His research interests are in the theory, philosophy, and history of education. His current research focuses on teacher education from a historical perspective, the theoretical foundations of decolonial pedagogies, and the historiography of education.
Languages: Spanish, English
Expertise:
History of Education and Philosophy of Education. History of teacher education, decolonial pedagogies, historiography, educational theory
SIEP
Prof. Santiago Cueto
Senior Researcher Group for the Analysis of Development (GRADE)
Santiago is the Country Coordinator for Young Lives Peru and leads the policy and communications work in Peru (https://www.younglives.org.uk). He is Executive Director at GRADE in Lima, specializing in education. He holds a degree in Educational Psychology from the Catholic University in Peru and a PhD from Indiana University (Bloomington, USA).
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In 2010, he received the National Award in Psychology by the Professional Board of Psychologists in Peru. He has been a visiting researcher at the Universities of California (Davis) and Oxford, and a consultant for international organizations such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and UNESCO and was a member of their Global Education Monitoring Report advisory board. Aside from his position at GRADE, Santiago is also a Professor at the Catholic University in Lima and a member of the National Council of Education in Peru.
Languages: Spanish, English
Expertise:
Educational Psychology
Measurement, Program Evaluation, Longitudinal Studies, Research-Policy Links