Pippin, James
James is a second-year Education Policy student supported by the Erickson Fellowship. He is most interested in education policies which impact marginalized populations in both domestic and international, especially Asian, contexts. After completing his BA in English at Ohio State University, he secured a position teaching oral and written English at the Tianjin Foreign Studies University in Tianjin, China. He then returned to the U.S. as an Americorps VISTA volunteer working on the development and implementation of literacy and college access programs in Appalachian communities. In an effort to combine his interest in both international and domestic education he enrolled in the MA in Cross-Cultural and International Education at Bowling Green State University. James conducted his thesis research in Xinjiang, China, where he explored school teachers' perceptions of the Chinese government's Western Development Strategy and its impact on the education of ethnic minorities. Following his thesis defense he returned to Asia to teach English to Korean elementary students in Daegu, South Korea. There he enjoyed opportunities to learn about the Korean education system and collaborate with Korean teachers on a range of projects. As an Education Policy student he plans to continue pursuing his interests in international and comparative education while broadening his knowledge of policy issues in the U.S. James is a grateful recipient of the College of Education's 2012 Fellowship to Enhance Global Understanding study tour of Vietnam and 2012 Summer Research Development Fellowship. He values the opportunity to study with an impressive and diverse faculty and cohort at Michigan State University and looks forward to a rewarding journey over the course of the next few years.
