Education is a Cornerstone of Democracy: A Conversation with the School of Education

Ashley Berner is Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and Associate Professor of Education. Palgrave MacMillan released Pluralism and American Public Education: No One Way to School (2017), and Harvard Education Press released her new book, Educational Pluralism and American Democracy: How to Handle Indoctrination, Promote Exposure, and Rebuild America’s Schools, in April 2024.

Ashley Berner has published dozens of journal articles, book chapters, op-eds, and a widely watched TedX talk on citizenship formation, academic outcomes, pluralism, and the political theories of education in different national contexts. She led the design of the Institute’s School Culture 360™ and ELA and Social Studies Knowledge Maps™. She represents the Institute’s work across the country and consults regularly with international, federal, and state-level agencies, non-governmental organizations, and school systems.

Ashley Berner holds degrees from Davidson College (Honors A.B.) and from Oxford University (M.Litt. and D.Phil. in Modern History).

Joseph Reilly, EdD, is an assistant research scientist with the Center for Research and Reform in Education (CRRE) at Johns Hopkins University. His professional background and academic interests are focused on educational psychology, teacher development, special education, and program/curriculum evaluation. At CRRE, Reilly specializes in mixed methods evaluations of K-8th instructional interventions in reading and mathematics, and also leads the department’s Foundational Research Unit, which specializes in producing scholarly literature reviews, practitioner-facing best practices briefs, and ESSA Tier IV evidence portfolios for both curriculum developers and school districts. At SOE, he also serves as an Instructor and Adjunct Professor in the JHU Master of Science in Education Program in partnership with Teach for America and The New Teacher Project. Prior to joining CRRE, Reilly served as a middle school teacher in the Baltimore City Public School District.

Shinui Kim is a PhD student at Johns Hopkins University School of Education. Her research primarily focuses on exploring inequity within and across nations and how the education system is formed and plays a role in various societal contexts. More specifically, her research interests involve questions about the role of higher education in social and political movements, the impact of global trends in education on national policies, and structural inequality in higher education in various national contexts. Shinui Kim holds BA in education and political science/diplomacy from Sungkyunkwan University, and Masters in International Educational Development from the University of Pennsylvania.