Dr. Fawzia Reza

Educators are role models and authority figures, and many students look up to them. However, their attitudes can reinforce stereotypes

The more I learn about racism, the more I recognize it is deeply ingrained in some organizations. We do not prune a weed. Instead, we uproot it so it cannot grow back. We need a similar systemic strategy to eliminate racism.

About the Researcher

Dr. Reza received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) in May 2013. Her thesis explored the experiences and expectations of immigrant Pakistani parents regarding parental involvement in U.S. schools highlighting social justice shortcomings that have been faced by these parents in the light of recent world events. While enrolled in the doctoral program, she completed a parallel research study on teacher perspectives on Assessment Strategies and Professional Development for Transitional Kindergarten, under a grant from the Lucile-Packard Foundation. She also co-conducted a research study regarding the perceptions towards girls’ education, which involved a multisite case study with teachers and administrators of Pakistani elementary schools. Results from this study were presented at the 2015 American Educational Research Association (AERA) in Washington DC. Other studies have explored the Implications of the Common Core State Standards Pre-K education, presented at the 2017 AERA conference; Successes and challenges in retaining girls in Pakistani schools, published in the Forum on Public Policy and presented at the 2018 Oxford International Round Table Symposium; Parenting styles and discipline strategies: a qualitative study, presented at the 2019 Oxford International Round Table Symposium; and, Innovative strategies to promote literacy in Pakistan, presented at the 2023 symposium at Harris Manchester College, in Oxford University. She is frequently invited to peer-review manuscripts from various journals and publishing companies and serves as a free-lance columnist, promoting greater awareness of DEI.

Dr. Reza’s first book, The Effects of the September 11 Terrorist Attack on Pakistani American Parental Involvement in U.S. Schools, was released by Lexington books in 2015. She published her first children’s book Mary and Her New Friends in 2019 and the sequel, Mary and the World Table was released in 2024. Dr. Reza edited Diversity and Inclusion in Educational Institutions which was released by Cambridge Scholars Press in 2022. She was also featured in the Women of Distinction Magazine in the October 2015 issue.

Dr. Reza received a master’s degree in early childhood education from CSULB in 2013 and recently completed a second master’s degree in Education Policy Organization Leadership (EPOL) with a focus on Diversity and Equity in Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She holds a Montessori diploma from Association Montessori Internationale (AMI) and in 2018, attended a specialized workshop on the Reggio Emilia philosophy in Italy. Dr. Reza has also completed a certificate program in diversity and inclusion from Cornell University and has taken graduate level courses in diversity and inclusion in management at Harvard University and in intercultural communications at Oxford University. She is a member of Childhood Education International (CEI).

Dr. Reza currently serves as the Diversity and Inclusion Manager and Adjunct Faculty at the American College of Education in Indiana, USA where she develops initiatives promoting greater cultural competence within staff and faculty and teaches online graduate courses.

“Even though our society has made significant strides towards racial equality, many minorities and immigrant citizens remained concerned that their needs are not addressed by their children’s schools”