Fulbright Specialist Spotlight: Dr. Cory Callahan

Dr. Cory Callahan, Associate Professor of Secondary Social Studies Education in the College of Education at The University of Alabama (USA), recently completed a Fulbright Specialist Award to collaborate on the development of a teacher-education program that centers around civic education.

For five weeks in early 2022, Dr. Callahan traveled to Prishtinë, Kosovo to work with the Faculty of Education at the University of Prishtinë; together they began to develop a civic education program, crafted syllabi and curriculum materials for teacher-education courses, and designed professional development opportunities for the nation’s “Society and Environment” (i.e., social studies) teachers.

“This Fulbright Specialist Award is a fantastic honor that, in accepting it, I hope highlights the talented colleagues and students I work with each day at Alabama, and the supportive family I am blessed with, especially my wife Amy.  This award recognizes all of our important work and sacrifices,” Dr. Callahan said.

With the Fulbright Specialist Program, host institutions throughout the world identify an area of need for growth and develop a collaborative, short-term project with specific objectives.  The US Department of State, working with the non-profit organization World Learning, then sends representatives from the US to serve as consultants.  The US representatives are a diverse group of highly-experienced, well-established academics and professionals.

Dr. Callahan said “In Kosovo, I collaborated with many remarkable faculty, staff, and administrators from the Faculty of Education at the University of Prishtinë and, in context of civic education, together we made an intentional effort to advance the Fulbright Program’s mission: to build mutual understanding, advance knowledge, and improve lives. My Kosovar colleagues worked tirelessly to support the work of  developing experiences and materials that will soon help students in elementary and secondary classrooms, and teachers too, further develop civic competence.” 

He continued, “Admirably, it seems that to advance democracy in Kosovo many in society prefer to help citizens responsibly participate in a pluralistic republic, not increase regulatory surveillance and pass more laws. This is a bold wager—strengthening democratic culture through dynamic civic education necessarily places teachers and teacher-educators at its center—and as the nation’s leading teaching school, the Faculty of Education at the University of Prishtinë is perfectly positioned to lead the way. I am hopeful our work can, over time, of course, advance the lived experience of democracy in their great country, and in our world.  And I am honored and humbled to make my modest contribution.” 

Throughout his career, Dr. Callahan has encouraged a more dynamic relationship between research and practice through opportunities afforded him by an Emerald Literati award, a Gilder Lehrman’s Institute Alabama History Teacher of the Year award, a National Technology Leadership Initiative Fellowship, a Jacobs Educator award, and a Fulbright Memorial Fund Fellowship.

“Because our project had very specific objectives, we worked intensely for a relatively short amount of time, just five weeks, and saw fantastic results.  Here, I’m talking about drafts of syllabi for two new graduate-level "Teaching and Learning in Civics Education” courses; potential classroom experiences, assignments, and assessments for pre-service teachers; and a series of dynamic, interactive modules for what could be one of Europe’s first ‘micro-credentials’ in Civic Education,” Callahan said.

Over the past 75 years, the Fulbright Program has supported over 400,000 students, teachers, academics, and professionals as they collaborate with international partners.