Erik Byker
Erik Byker
Dr. Erik Jon Byker is an Professor in the Department of Reading and Elementary Education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Erik has a Ph.D. Degree in Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy from Michigan State University and holds a M.Ed. Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Virginia. His fields of specialization include curriculum foundations, educational technology integration, global citizenship education, and social studies. Erik’s research agenda is comparative and international in scope as he has conducted ethnographic field studies in Cuba, England, Germany, India, South Africa, South Korea, and across the United States on how social actors in elementary school students use and construct meaning for computer technology. Over the 2010-2011 academic year, he lived in Bangalore, India, and collected dissertation data on how an economic cross-section of Bangalore’s elementary school teachers and students were using computer technology in their schools. Since then, Erik has returned to India to investigate the impact of volunteering for Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) on Indian young adults perceptions of citizenship, schooling, and a future role in education in India. Erik teaches courses in culturally responsive pedagogy, instructional design, and social studies methods
Research Interests:
Critical Cosmopolitan Theory
EdTPA and the edPASR Strategy
Educational Technology Intergration
Global Competencies/Citizenship
Technological Play Theory
Education:
Ph.D. Michigan State University, 2012, Curriculum, Teaching, and Educational Policy
M.Ed. University of Virginia, 2006, Curriculum and Instruction
B.A. Dordt College, 1995, Elementary Education
B.S. Dordt College, 1995, Political Science
Teaching:
Foundations of Education and Diversity in Schools, Prospect for Success
Multicultural Education – South Africa Study Abroad Trip
Teaching and Integrating Social Studies
Integrating the Elementary School Curriculum
Teaching Social Studies to Elementary School Learners
Student Teaching Supervision at Patriots STEM Elementary
Community Involvement:
2016 – present Chair of the UNC Charlotte Undergraduate Research Conference Committee
2015 – present Chair of the Constructivist Research SIG, American Educational Research Association
2015 – present Co-Chair of the ICT 4 Development SIG, Comparative and International Education Society
2015 – 2016 Newsletter Editor, Social Studies Research SIG, American Educational Research Association
2014 – 2015 Program Chair of Constructivist Research SIG, American Educational Research Association
2014 – 2015 Webmaster of the Social Studies Research SIG, American Educational Research Association
2013 – present Executive Council Member, South Asia SIG, Comparative and International Education Society
2013 – present International Advisory Board Member, Global STEMx Online Conference
2013 -2015 Secretary of the South Asia SIG, Comparative and International Education Society
2012 – present International Advisory Board Member, Global Education Collaborative Online Conference
2012 – present Webmaster of the Constructivist Research SIG, American Educational Research Association
Awards & Honors:
2016 Awarded the Best Original Conference Submission by the Constructivist Research SIG of AERA
2015 Selected to Honors College Faculty at UNC Charlotte
2015 Selected to the Prospect for Success e-Book Writing Team
2014 Selected to Mu Chapter Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars, UNC Charlotte
2014 Junior Faculty Research Excellence Award, Honorable Mention, Stephen F. Austin University
2013 Best Dissertation Award from the South Asia SIG of the Comparative and International Ed. Society
2010 Love of Learning Award, Phi Kappa Phi
2010 Selected to the Phi Kappa Phi, National Honor Society of Academic Achievement
2009 Awarded Presidential Scholar by Sigma Alpha Pi, Society of Leadership and Success
2003 Praxis Series – ETS Recognition of Excellence Certificate
2000 Shirley Willis Award for Outstanding Teaching from the Close Up Foundation
1999 Shirley Willis Award for Outstanding Teaching from the Close Up Foundation
1997 Shirley Willis Award for Outstanding Teaching from the Close Up Foundation
Selected Publications:
Byker, E.J. (2016). Developing global citizenship consciousness: case studies of critical cosmopolitan theory. Journal of Research in Curriculum and Instruction, 20(3), 264-275.
*Xu, T., Byker, E. J., & Chen, J. (2016).Comparing what teacher candidates know about each other: China and the United States. International Education Journal, 15(2), 72-84.
*Byker, E. J. & Banerjee, A. (2016). Evidence for action: Translating field research into a large scale assessment. Journal of Current Issues in Comparative Education, (18)1, 1-13.
*Byker, E. J. (2016). The one laptop schools: Equipping rural elementary schools in South India through public private partnerships. Global Education Review, 2(4), 126-142.
*Byker, E.J. (2015). Teaching for ‘global telephony’: A case study of a community school for India’s 21st century. Policy Futures in Education, 13(2), 234-246.
*Fox, B.L. & Byker, E. J. (2015). Searching for equity in education: A critical ethnographic exploration of Cuba. Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, 9(3), 183-196.
*Williams, N., Byker, E.J., & Good, A. (2015). Tweeting as civic agency: What is the role of social media in social studies classrooms? Social Studies Texan, 31(1), 54-57.
Byker, E. J. (2014). ICT in India’s elementary schools: The vision and realities. International Education Journal, 13(2), 27-40.
*Byker, E.J. (2014) Needing TPACK without knowing it: Integrating educational technology in social studies. Social Studies Research and Practice, 9(3), 106-117.
Byker, E.J., & Tutt, S. (2014). A web journey through the Civil War: Using webquests to investigate social studies. Social Studies Texan, 30(4), 23-27.
*Byker, E. J. (2014). Sociotechnical narratives in rural, high-poverty elementary schools: Comparative findings from East Texas and South India. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, 10(2), 29-40.
*Byker, E. J. (2014). ICT oriented toward nyaya: Community computing in India’s slums. International Journal of Education and Development using ICT, 10(2), 19-28.
*Byker, E. J. (2014). Instructional technology and school ethos: A primary school model in Southwest England. World Journal of Educational Technology, 6(1), 88-98.
*Byker, E.J. (2014). Bangalore’s challenge: The social construction of educational technology in India’s Silicon Valley. Global Studies Journal, 7(1) 25-31.
Byker, E.J. (2013). Marking the history of monumental women: Addressing gender inequity through digital Images and virtual field trips. Social Studies Texan, 29(3), 16-18.
Byker, E.J. (2013). Critical cosmopolitanism: Engaging students in global citizenship competencies. English in Texas Journal, 43(2),18-22.
*Byker, E. J., & Fox, B. L. (2013). Navigating hybridity: Investigating the dance between culture and values within the Cuban national education system. Glocalism: Journal of Culture, Politics, and Innovation, 1(1). doi: 10.12893/gjcpi.2013.1.8
*Byker, E. J. (2013). Conscientizao of a computer curriculum: A case study of a community computing model in Bangalore, India. Revista de Ciências da Educação -Journal of Educational Science ~ Brazil, 28(5).
*Data-base and peer-reviewed