Mona Abo-Zena was a Keynote Speaker at the IAFOR North American Conference on Education 2014 (NACE2014). In her Keynote Speech titled, “Transformative Pedagogies - Recognizing and Responding to the Elements of Developmental Contexts” she explores how an individual’s experiences and cultural funds of knowledge may promote and hinder developmental and educational outcomes. Grounded in cross-cultural research and interdisciplinary theoretical perspectives, this talk focuses on how diverse individuals’ diverse experiences affect developmental and educational processes, practices, and outcomes from early childhood through emerging adulthood. The talk will highlight transformative pedagogies and applied examples from a range of contexts to promote social justice.

Mona M. Abo-Zena is currently a Visiting Assistant in the Department of Education at Brown University. Mona’s work focuses on the role of religion and religious/spiritual development as a way of knowing and being and how multiple aspects of culture and context affect developmental processes and outcomes. She has published in the areas of religion, identity development, research methodology, and education. Mona’s work is informed by over 15 years of teaching, administrative, and board experience in public and Islamic schools.

You can find a video of this podcast below: