Democracy and Education

Editor Biographies

Scott Fletcher is the dean of the Graduate School of Education and Counseling at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon. He earned his B.A. in philosophy from Ripon College in 1981, his M.A. in social and political philosophy from the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 1985, and his Ph.D. in the social foundations of education from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1997. His scholarly work addresses a wide range of issues in the philosophy of education, curriculum theory, teacher preparation, and environmental education. His first book, Education and Emancipation: Theory and Practice in a New Constellation, won the American Educational Studies Association’s Critic's Choice Award in 2001. In addition to his academic appointments, Dr. Fletcher has been actively involved in educational policy and school reform initiatives at the local, state, and national level. He has worked with the Coalition of Essential Schools and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, and he cofounded the Michigan CES center.

Liza Finkel is the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the Graduate School of Education and a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Portland State University in Portland, OR. She has also coordinated the Bilingual Teacher Pathway (BTP) program at PSU; a program that recruits bilingual classroom assistants to become licensed teachers in Portland-area Public Schools. She holds a PhD in curriculum and instruction (science education) from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and bachelor's and master's degrees in geology from George Washington University and the University of Michigan. Dr. Finkel’s current work focuses on issues related to preparing teachers to work in K-12 schools. In addition, she has studied the challenges of using inquiry-based science teaching strategies with diverse groups of students and has conducted research on student problem-solving strategies in inquiry-based classrooms. Finkel has published articles, book chapters, and co-authored a book (Women’s Science) on women’s experiences in the sciences.

Peter J. Nelsen is an assistant professor at Appalachian State University in North Carolina where he teaches courses in philosophy of education. He holds a B.A. in English, a master’s in experiential education, and a PhD in philosophy of education from the University of New Hampshire. He has been an adventure educator, a public high school teacher, a director of an alternative high school program, and an educational consultant for a non-profit experiential education training organization. His scholarly work addresses a range of issues in philosophy of education, especially the intersections of the epistemological and moral dimensions of schooling with social justice education.

Jayson Seaman received his Ph.D. in Education from the University of New Hampshire in 2006. He holds a Masters degree in Kinesiology from the University of New Hampshire (1999) and a B.S. in Secondary Education English Teaching from New England College (1994).