Running head: ACADEMIC GOALS

Portfolio 1

Section 2: Statement of Professional Goals

Academic Goals

Tareque Mehdi

George Mason University

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Degree Ph.D. in Education

Primary Specialization Teaching and Teacher Education

Secondary Specialization International Education

Bangladesh is a small country in the South East Asia. Just a 10 thousand square miles

bigger than Virginia state, Bangladesh is a developing country with a 180 million people which

recently moved out of the least developed country category (Byron & Habib, 2018). So, it has

been competition everywhere and the people are more running after money- making professions

like engineering, medical and law to survive in that competition. When choosing subjects to

study, and consequently for our future careers, we were often being confined to some binary

alternatives. Do you want money or not? By choosing one over the other the perception is we are

closing the door to all other possibilities. Very few people are really thinking about Education

and it future. education remains one of the biggest agendas of the political parties but in the end,

there has not been seen much improvement in this sector yet. There have been huge gaps in

terms of policy and practice and people with no background in Education get to work in the area

and as a result they cannot realize the societal needs, requirements and benefits of education. It is

important to mention here that; Bangladesh's education sector also suffers from huge disparities.

The existing education system in Bangladesh is not conducive to developing a strong base in the

education sector, as quality, access, opportunity and teacher education vary considerably across

the English medium, Bengali medium and Madrassa systems, as well as between public and

private educational institutions (Raihan, 2017). I found my true calling for studying ‘Education’

when I first made to work with the UNICEF as a Young Champion for Education in 2007

because I became increasingly aware of Bangladesh’s existing educational practices and the most

challenging problems facing education today through. The gap between the skills people learn
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and the skills people need has become more obvious, as traditional learning falls short of

equipping students with the knowledge they need to thrive in the modern interconnected world.

From this, I can tell the future of education is going to look very different and we must put more

attention to teachers who oversee rebuilding the nations. What needs to be done? Some major

reforms in the education sector are much warranted which should include improvements in the

quality of institutional mechanism, modernization of curriculum, substantial changes and

development in teacher training, harmonization among different educational systems, putting due

emphasis on secondary and tertiary education, vocational training and skill development

(Raihan, 2017). Despite considerable development in recent years, the situation in Bangladesh is

still unpleasant which later motivated me to get enrolled in the Institute of Education and

Research (IER), the University of Dhaka with an objective to contribute to support and advance

the quality of education and teacher development.

Academic goals

To find out my academic goals, I like to go with the outside-in approach. I love to ask

myself where I would like to see me in 10 years' time? This unique exercise helped me to settle

and narrow down my interest in Education. I found my true calling for Teaching and Teacher

Education (TATE) Ph.D. specialization because it focuses on research, development, and

evaluation of teacher education. This is where I would like to see me working because TATE ties

the study of teachers, teaching practices, education reform, and education policy together into a

coherent whole for understanding and generating new knowledge on the teacher educators who

will lead the efforts of equal education for all around the globe. I have completed my bachelors

and master's degree in Education from Bangladesh. Although I have worked with the

Government of Bangladesh (GoB) and different non-profit and international non-governmental

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organizations (INGOs) as an education professional I had different ideas about different

specialization of Education. Studying at Mason gave me the opportunity to see different areas of

specializations closely and guided me to see Bangladeshi education situations every time through

different lenses and theories. Bangladesh is now seeking advancement and growth in all sectors

of development. Education is the prime factor which can make this process faster. But to meet

the educational challenges of the 21st century, a new approach to educational research and

human capital with more advanced knowledge and skills are required. To do so, I would like to

prepare me as an interdisciplinary scholar to address policy and practice challenges associated

with teaching and teacher education and their professional development. My academic goal is to

avail the learning resources at Mason during my doctoral journey and prepare me to assume the

role of an education specialist, faculty, researchers or leader in policy-making in the field of

teaching and teacher education.

Research goals

For my entire education and career, I have followed my passion for education. I feel I am

now ready to continue my goal in pursuit of my doctorate degree in education and continue

learning about the changes and advancements in this field. It is quite evident that my interest in

research and academic studies in TATE and IE are founded by my diverse work experience in

development sector, my educational background and desire to further the awareness and

improvement of this area. People’s mindset can really shape how one comes to understand and

process thinking by their backgrounds, education, beliefs, and experiences and I have lived,

worked and travelled across Asia and gained invaluable cross-cultural experience as a member of

a multi-national education team. Therefore, I believe, my experience will add value to my further

studies and with the flow of my doctoral courses, I feel more prepared each day to see
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educational practices through multiple lenses as I continue to develop my way of knowing as a

researcher too. My research has a primary focus on innovations management in teaching and

teacher education for continued improvement in the education system in developing countries

like Bangladesh. Innovation takes place when invention is commercialized and innovation

management in a contemporary and crucial concept in education. Reading through a large array

of literature, I feel that the future of education is going to look very different. Innovations

management in education is now a concept which allows the educational institutions to respond

to external or internal educational opportunities, and use its creativity to introduce new ideas,

processes in teaching and teacher's professional development in a sustainable way. Therefore, I

have interests in qualitative research including critical reflection, case study model, and narrative

inquiry as these provides an in-depth look at the issue.

Professional goals

It is not an easy task to bridge between expectation and reality. I was looking for a Ph.D.

program which combines these two elements and will prepare me to work with multidisciplinary

teams planning and implementing education programs for a better tomorrow. I have noticed that

studying in the TATE program will prepare myself to assume leadership, teaching and research

roles in teacher education, continuing teacher professional development, innovations

management in education in either university or alternate educational programs in different

educational settings. The personal qualities that will lead me to be successful in this doctoral

program are that my alacrity to learn and try new ideas and integration of those idea in my

practices. My devotion and enthusiasm for work always bring success to any work I do. Being an

international student, this quality also helped me to achieve required competencies for a doctoral

degree in a very short time and helped me to adjust in a completely diverse culture in the United
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States. This was a journey for me because I studied my undergraduate and master's in education

in Bengali. I was struggling with all the doctorate level literature, assignments and academic

writing. In Summer 2018, I enrolled at the Mason Writing Center and have been working ever

since to find resonance in my own stories and study the voices within others. Through the

doctoral level courses, classroom discussion and attending different workshops and skill

development sessions, I’ve become a more critical reader and better team player in the

classroom. With time I see how I have grown in understanding more about globalization, global

competencies, innovation management in teaching and teacher education and what that means

for educators, institutions, and country as they work in the age of globalization. I see myself

working in developing more awareness and skills to develop more human capital in this field.

This is a deep process of maturation that does not happen overnight, but if not addressed in

several decades from now, we are going to face a huge challenge in education. I wish to become

a professor within a higher education institution and work with other educators and advocates

toward recognizing and implementing the changes our educational system needs in place today.

The George Mason University provides an ideal environment for me to develop my cross-

disciplinary interests. The Ph.D. program has been both challenging and rewarding, but the

courses I have taken were also instrumental in my preparation for my doctoral studies at Mason.
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References

Byron, R. K., & Habib, W. B. (2018, March 17). Moving Out of LDC Category: Bangladesh

well on track. The Daily Star. Retrieved from

https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/moving-out-ldc-category-bangladesh-well-track-

1549405

Raihan, S. (2017, November 5). Is our education sector ready for the future challenges? The

Daily Star. Retrieved from https://www.thedailystar.net/opinion/society/our-education-

sector-ready-the-future-challenges-1486282