Faculty Directory

Rebecca Schendel

Associate Professor of the Practice; Managing Director of the Center for International Higher Education

Photo of Rebecca Schendel

Rebecca Schendel

Ph.D.

Contact

Campion Hall 207

Telephone: 617-552-1269

Email: rebecca.schendel@bc.edu

ORCID 0000-0002-2437-4643

Education

  • Ph.D., Institute of Education (University of London)
  • M.Ed., Harvard University
  • B.A., Brown University

Research Interests

Higher education in the Global South; cultural dimensions of teaching and learning within universities; comparative analysis of faculty and student experiences within higher education

Expertise

  • Comparative & International Education
  • Educational Leadership & Policy
  • Higher Education
Curriculum Vitae

Department

ELHE Educational Leadership & Higher Education

Profile

Rebecca Schendel studies the impact of higher education on human development in resource-poor contexts, with an emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. She is particularly interested in teaching and learning within universities, including the role of faculty development initiatives and the links between curricular and pedagogical choices and student success. Rebecca serves as Managing Director of the Center for International Higher Education and is Faculty Coordinator of the MA, dual degree and Certificate programs in International Higher Education.

Prior to her arrival at Boston College, Rebecca was Lecturer in Education and International Development at the UCL Institute of Education (UK). Rebecca has also worked at Orphans of Rwanda (a university scholarship program based in Kigali, Rwanda), in the Study Abroad Office at the University of Maryland-College Park and at the Institute of International Education in Washington, DC.

GLOBAL SPOTLIGHT
  • Advisor to Transforming Universities for a Changing Climate project
  • Advised UK Department for International Development on higher education strategy
  • Served as Lecturer in Education and International Development at the UCL Institute of Education (UK)
  • Served as Program Director of a university scholarship program in Rwanda

Select Publications

  • McCowan, T., Omingo, M., Schendel, R., Adu-Yeboah, C. and Tabulawa, R. (2022). Enablers of pedagogical change within universities: Evidence from Kenya, Ghana and Botswana. International Journal of Educational Development, 90. 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2022.102558
  • Schendel, R., McCowan, T., Rolleston, C., Adu-Yeboah, C., Omingo, M. & Tabulawa. R. (2020) Pedagogies for critical thinking at universities in Kenya, Ghana and Botswana: the importance of a collective ‘teaching culture', Teaching in Higher Education, DOI: 10.1080/13562517.2020.1852204
  • Rolleston, C., Schendel, R. and Grijalva Espinosa, A.M. (2019) ‘Assessing “approaches to learning” in Botswana, Ghana and Kenya.’ Research in Comparative and International Education, 14 (1): 118–140. 
  • Schendel, R. (2018) ‘Understanding the relationship between institutional cultures and pedagogical change.’ In Ashwin, P. and Case, J. (eds), Higher Education Pathways: South African Undergraduate Education and the Public Good. Cape Town: African Minds.
  • Schendel, R. and Tolmie, A. (2017) ‘Beyond Translation: Adapting a performance-task-based assessment of critical thinking ability for use in Rwanda.’ Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 42 (5): 673-689.
  •  Schendel, R. and Gantner, G. (2017) ‘Placing the curriculum at the heart of the process: Fostering student-centered pedagogy in Rwanda.’ In Smith, C. and Hudson, K.E. (eds), Faculty Development in Developing Countries: Improving Teaching Quality in Higher Education. New York: Routledge.
  • Schendel, R. (2016) ‘Constructing departmental culture to support pedagogical change: Evidence from a case study in Rwanda.’ Higher Education, 72 (4): 487-504.
  • Schendel, R. (2016) ‘Adapting, not adopting: Barriers affecting teaching for critical thinking at two Rwandan universities.’ Comparative Education Review, 60 (3): 549-570.
  • McCowan, T. and Schendel, R. (2016) ‘The impact of higher education on development.’ In Gu, Q. and McGrath, S. (eds.), The Routledge Handbook on International Education and Development. London: Routledge.
  • Schendel, R. (2015) ‘Critical thinking at Rwanda’s public universities: Emerging evidence of a crucial development priority.’ International Journal of Educational Development 42: 96-105.
  • Schendel, R. and McCowan, T. (2015) ‘Higher Education and Development: Critical Issues and Debates.’ In McCowan, T. and Unterhalter, E. (eds.), Education and International Development: An Introduction. London: Bloomsbury Press.

Select Presentations:

  • Schendel, R. (2019, April). Pedagogical reform within universities: The crucial question of faculty identities and motivations. Presented at the annual Comparative and International Education Society Conference. San Francisco, CA.
  • Schendel, R., McCowan, T., Rolleston, C., Adu-Yeboah, C. & Tabulawa, R. (2019, January). Critical thinking in African higher education: findings from a three-country research study. Presented as part of the UCL Institute of Education Centre for Education & International Development Research in Focus seminar series. London, UK.
  • Schendel, R. (2018, December). Reforming pedagogy to support the development of critical thinking in Ghana, Kenya and Botswana: The challenge of changing faculty identities, motivations and behaviours. Presented at the annual Society for Research into Higher Education conference. Newport, Wales (UK).
  • Schendel, R. (2018, November). The crucial role of faculty teaching orientations in pedagogical reform: Evidence from Ghana, Kenya and Botswana. Presented at the annual Higher Education Learning & Teaching Association of South Africa Conference. Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
  • Schendel, R. (2018, November). Theorising higher education: global perspectives and local realities. Presented as part of the Exploring pathways to the public good of South African undergraduate education conference. Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Ashwin, P., McKenna, S. and Schendel, R. (2018, November). Key Issues in Student Experiences of Undergraduate Education in South Africa. Presented as part of the Exploring pathways to the public good of South African undergraduate education conference. Cape Town, South Africa.
  • Schendel, R. and McCowan, R. (2018, September). Transforming higher education pedagogy for critical thinking: perspectives from Ghana, Kenya and Botswana. Presented at the annual British Association for International and Comparative Education Conference. York (UK).
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