Faculty Research
They are available to mentor student research in any of these areas and many more outside of their specialties. Student interested in learning about how they might assist faculty research or who have ideas for independent projects should make appointments to talk with an education professor during office hours.
Charles Dorn, Barry N. Wish Professor of Social Studies
Charles Dorn is an educational historian whose scholarship examines the civic functions and purposes of education. For his latest book project, he’s investigating the history of environmental education by examining how and what people learned about the natural world between the late nineteenth- and early twenty-first centuries. He is as interested in the kinds of environmentally-based education students received outside of school—e.g., in zoos, museums, and youth organizations—as inside schools, from elementary school projects to high school science class.
In the past, citizens have debated issues such as deforestation and acid rain, and how best to respond. Today, they argue over climate change. Dorn is interested in knowing why, historically, Americans have so strongly disagreed about the environment, despite many of us learning about the natural world in common ways.
If you are interested in Dorn’s research, he can be contacted at cdorn@bowdoin.edu or (207) 798-0939.
Recent Work
- Dorn, C. (2022). “I Never Saw as Good a Nature Show Before”: Walt Disney, Environmental Education, and the True-Life Adventures. History of Education Quarterly, 1-28. doi:10.1017/heq.2022.12
Doris Santoro, Professor of Education
Professor of Education Doris Santoro's research focuses on the ethical and moral concerns that educators face in their work. More specifically, she examines the obstacles that have prevented teachers from living their professional She studies the effects of these obstacles through a look at teacher dissatisfaction and attrition. Her current work examines the distinct forms of demoralization experienced by BIPOC educators.
Professor Santoro is a philosopher of education who conducts empirical research with individual teachers and in school systems. Students interested in learning more about Santoro's work are encouraged to read and listen to her books, reports, articles, and radio, and podcast appearances.
Alison Riley Miler, Assistant Professor of Education
Assistant Professor of Education Alison Riley Miller is a learning scientist whose research focuses on the interdisciplinary field of science education. Through working with teachers and students inside of the classroom, and by engaging with psychological principles as well as educational ones, Miller hopes to figure out how best to serve students in early education. The interventions that she creates center around the work of educators in order to improve the student experience. Her two current projects, both funded by the National Science Foundation, are both intrinsically connected to science education—one, for which she has partnered with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, investigates how middle school teachers model, present, and allow for engagement with ecosystem science data models; the other explores the ways in which young learners engage with science and engineering in their extra-curricular play.
Miller invites interested students to become involved in her research, or to ask questions about the field of science education, by contacting her at amiller2@bowdoin.edu.
Laura Sweet
Laura Sweet, who is in charge of field placements for education courses, supports students who want to do research for an independent study or honors project. If students require a field placement or a connection to a school or teacher to collect data—whether that is interviewing teachers or observing behaviors in a class or at a school—she leverages the department’s school partnerships to find suitable hosts.
Please contact Laura if you have a project in mind that would benefit from school partnerships.