Since 2015, the Center for International Education, Development and Research (CIEDR) has been working with the University of Pristina’s Faculty of Education (FE) in Kosovo as part of the Transformational Leadership Program. Co-funded by USAID and the Kosovar government and administered by World Learning, the Transformational Leadership Program aims to develop a cadre of leaders to drive significant change in priority economic, political, and social development areas in Kosovo. CIEDR’s partnership on behalf of Indiana University with the FE is one of four partnerships originally organized through the Transformational Leadership Program and one of three still in effect.

The University of Pristina’s Faculty of Education is the largest supplier of teachers to Kosovo’s education system, and much of IU’s work with the FE has been targeted toward helping develop and grow its research and teaching capacities. This has included helping the FE to complete a needs assessment early in the project to identify areas and opportunities for improvement, working with the FE to establish a collaboratively designed research framework, and providing space and resources for faculty from the FE and IU to collaborate on research projects, pedagogy, and university administration through a number of online and in-person visits and workshops.

Over 30 FE faculty have participated in research projects, workshops, and other activities with IU over the course of the program. They were provided space and resources to work with IU faculty and staff, participate in research and teaching workshops, and observe other aspects of IU’s work. Of the nearly 20 FE faculty who have collaborated with IU faculty on research, at least six have had projects with IU colleagues accepted for presentation through publications or conferences.

CIEDR recently completed a research symposium with the FE in early June of this summer, joined by Dr. Gamze Ozogul and Dr. Molly Stewart, who have worked with CIEDR previously on the Transformational Leadership Program. We are currently working with FE faculty to refine their research and prepare it for publication and are planning a trip with IU faculty for September to help the FE think about pedagogy in different teacher education fields and how to improve their teaching.

Due to the FE’s broad interests, CIEDR also recruited faculty from not only the School of Education, but also across IU to collaborate and participate in the program. Faculty from the biology department, history department, Jacobs School of Music and the Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning, among others, were recruited based on shared interests and worked with FE faculty as part of one of the program’s exchanges.