Parental Labor Migration and Educational Attainment in Kyrgyzstan
November 24, 2020
Virtual event hosted by Central Asia Program at the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies at the George Washington University on November 16, 2020.
The Central Asia Program hosted an online discussion with international education specialist Dr. Todd Drummond about the association between migrant parents and student learning outcomes in Kyrgyzstan. The event focused on the methods employed and an interpretation of results. The discussion posed important questions for policy makers in the Kyrgyz Republic as they grappled with parental migration issues and educational achievement.
About Todd Drummond
Dr. Todd Drummond is currently the Director of Assessment and Education Services at The American Councils for International Education in Washington, D.C. He holds a Ph.D. in Education Policy from Michigan State University. Dr. Drummond has been studying education in Eurasia since 1994, when he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer educator in Kyrgyzstan. From 1998 to 2000 Dr. Drummond served as the Country Director for The American Councils for International Education in Bishkek. From 2002 to 2005 he was the director of the National Testing Initiative in the Kyrgyz Republic, a USAID-funded project that resulted in the creation of a new university admissions system.
In August 2002, he received an award from the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Askar Akaev, for “Outstanding Contribution to the Educational Development of the Kyrgyz Republic” for his leadership of the National Testing Initiative. His recent publications have focused on university admissions reform in the Eurasian region (in Silova & Niyozov, 2020). Before returning to American Councils in 2020, Dr. Drummond served as the Acting Director of Office of International Studies in Education in the College of Education, Michigan State University in 2014. From 2015 to 2019 Dr. Drummond worked as a Principal Researcher in the International Standards and Assessment Division, American Institutes for Research (AIR). At AIR Dr. Drummond worked on the design, administration, and analysis of Early Grade Reading Assessments in the Kyrgyz Republic and Tajikistan. Dr. Drummond has also worked in the education sector in Zambia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Bangladesh, Honduras, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Georgia, Russia, Moldova and all the Central Eurasian nations.
Moderator
Marlene Laruelle, PhD, Director, Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies; Director, Central Asia Program; Co-Director, PONARS-Eurasia; Research Professor of International Affairs.
