Carol Brazo, EdD
Professor of Education
Carol Brazo began working at 麻豆社 Fox University in the fall of 2002. She is delighted to be part of a learning community that has a core commitment to the teachings of Jesus and to preparing professional educators who think critically, transform practice and promote justice. To work in an education department whose mission matches her own so closely has been one of the great joys of her professional life.
Education is the discipline that allows us to work with children, families and communities to transform society and to bring each individual into a fuller understanding of the gifts inherent in them. It opens paths to children of all ages, cultures, languages, and giftings to fulfill the promise placed within them by their Creator. It is an honor to train teachers who will devote themselves to this endeavor.
Education
BA, History, California Baptist University (1980)
MEd, Education, 麻豆社 Fox University (2001)
EdD, 麻豆社 Fox University (2006)
Expertise and Research
Carol's expertise spans two areas: adolescent literacy and internationalizing teacher education. She trained as a secondary teacher in history and spent her early career in both private and public schools as both a history and language arts teacher. Over time, she became far more attached to teaching literacy with a focus on writing. Her own writing has spanned both educational research and two books on spiritual development.
Carol's work in bringing teacher candidates to Quito, Ecuador, has challenged her to understand the transformative elements in an overseas teaching experience. Here, she has worked with a research team as we have sought to understand which elements of the Quito experience has been the most transformative for our students. We have looked at teaching strategies that infiltrate our practices upon our return as well as the internal habits of mind that have been altered by this exposure to another culture. It remains one of the most engaging studies of Carol's lifetime.
Select Research and Writing Bibliography
Addleman, R., Brazo, C., Cevallos, T., Dixon, K., Wortman, S., (2014). Teacher candidates’ perceptions of debriefing circles to facilitate self-reflection during a cultural immersion experience. The New Educator, Summer, 2014.
Jones, K. & Brazo, C. (2014). Cultivating a community of truth through critical pedagogy when faced with resistance: Teaching my gender students how to “ride the bus.” International Journal of Innovation, Education and Research, 2, 43-55.
Addleman, R., Brazo, C., Cevallos, T., (2011). Transformative learning through cultural immersion. Northwest Passage: Journal of Educational Practices. Spring 2011.
Brazo, C., Addleman, R., & Cevallos, T. (2010). Developing pre-service teachers’ attitudes toward diversity: Narratives of MAT students abroad, Critical Issues in Teacher Education, Fall 2010.
Addleman, R.A., Brazo, C.J., & Cevallos, T. (2010, February). Increasing funds of knowledge through cultural immersion. Paper presented at the biennial meeting of the World Federation of Associations of Teacher Education, Chicago, IL
Brazo, C. (2009). Reflective Thought: Requiring professional identity, and the affective, cognitive and psychomotor domains in reflective thought for pre-service teachers, Critical Issues in Teacher Education, Fall 2009.
Brazo, C., (2004). Divine Secrets of Mentoring, Intervarsity Press.
Brazo, C., (1994). No Ordinary Home, Multnomah Publishers.
Primary Teaching and Administrative Responsibilities
EDUG 560 - Foundations of Language and Literacy: Secondary Teachers
EDUG 555 - Language Arts Pedagogy
EDUG 502 - Structures and Strategies of Learning
EDUG 501 - The Professional Educator
EDUG 522 - Action Research for Teachers
Chair, Graduate Teaching and Leading, 2012-14
SOE Leadership Team, 2015-2017
Outside the Classroom
Carol and Mark have been married for more than 30 wonder-filled years. They have adult children and two grandchildren, all of whom bring endless joy. The Brazos enjoy traveling together and read voraciously. Mark is a huge Dodger fan. Carol was born into a baseball-loving family and adopted the Dodgers when she married Mark. The team last won the World Series in 1988.