Christopher B. Bjork

Professor of Education on the Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. Chair & Coordinator of Teacher Education

Christopher Bjork earned his BA and his MA in liberal studies from Wesleyan University. He completed his PhD in educational anthropology at Stanford University. Certified to teach both elementary and secondary school, he has worked as a classroom teacher in Japan and the United States.

His research interests include international comparative education, educational reform, teacher education, and youth sports. He is the author of the book Indonesian Education, and editor or coeditor of many other books, including Japanese Education in an Era of Globalization, Education and Training in Japan, Educational Decentralization, and Taking Teaching Seriously. His most recent book, High Stakes Schooling, was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2015.

BA, MA, Wesleyan University; PhD, Stanford University
At Vassar since 2002

Contact

845-437-7841
Maria Mitchell Observatory
Box 330

Research and Academic Interests

International Comparative Education
Educational Reform
Teacher Education
Youth Sports

Courses

ASIA 275 International and Comparative Education
EDUC 162 Education and Opportunity in the United States
INTL 275 International and Comparative Education

Grants, Fellowships, Honors, Awards

Lumina Foundation Awards Grant to Vassar to Research Higher-Than-Expected Results of Under-Resourced Colleges
According to recent studies, four-year colleges in the United States graduate about half of their students in six years. But some institutions, including some that lack the resources of more prestigious colleges and universities, achieve much higher-than-expected results.

In the Media

group of seated people listening to a speaker off screen

Exploring Transfer (ET), a 5-week summer program hosted for over 35 years at Vassar, demonstrates the importance of efforts that target and support community college students who are considering transfer to a four-year college. Vassar’s recent grant from the ECMC Foundation is moving forward in some vital ways.

Photos

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