Draft:Zehlia Babaci-Wilhite

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Zehlia Babaci-Wilhite
Occupation(s)	Lecturer and Adjunct Professor
Known for	Interdisciplinary research in language and promoting inclusivity
Notable work	"French For Multidisciplinary Courses Beyond 21st Century Literacies" (2021), and "Learning Critical Thinking Skills Beyond the 21st Century For Multidisciplinary Courses" (2020)

Zehlia Babaci-Wilhite is a scholar and educator, known for her analysis of language and interdisciplinary approach. She currently serves as a scholar and adjunct professor at the University of California Berkeley, the University of San Francisco, San Jose State University, and Notre Dame de Namur. She has written and co-authored multiple books, including "French For Multidisciplinary Courses Beyond 21st Century Literacies" (2021), and "Learning Critical Thinking Skills Beyond the 21st Century For Multidisciplinary Courses" (2020).

She advocates for multilingual education, particularly in the context of STEM fields and human rights, and her efforts aim to integrate local languages into education systems.

Early life and education

Babaci-Wilhite was born in France.

She obtained a Bachelor's Equivalent in International Studies, concentrating on French and Japanese Studies, Literature, Language, and Culture, at the University of Sorbonne Nouvelle INALCO (Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales) in Paris, France. She holds a Masters and Phd in Comparative & International Education with a specialization in Language & Development with a focus on Language Policy, earned at the University of Oslo, Norway.

Language Proficiencies

Zehlia Babaci-Wilhite is fluent in English, French, Norwegian, Japanese, and Berber, and has basic knowledge of Spanish, Arabic, Swahili, Portuguese, German, and Igbo.

Career

Adjunct Professor and Lecturer Babaci-Wilhite teaches at the University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Education, French Department, Department of African American Studies, Undergraduate Studies in the College of Letters & Science, and Osher Life Long Learning since 2013. She also serves as a Visiting Scholar at The Graduate School of Education in collaboration with The Lawrence Hall of Science. Babaci-Wilhite led the URAP (Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program) in the Natural Language Processing Model, focusing on how early multilingual acquisition enhances classroom outcomes for inclusion and equity. Babaci-Wilhite served as the academic coordinator for a collaborative project with the Pedagogy Department at the University of Tromsø and the Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo. This project, titled "Linking Diversity, Technology, and Human Rights: Cross-Continental Implications for Teaching Practice" and "Integrating Natural Language Processing into Multilingual Education".

Babaci-Wilhite also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of San Francisco with the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures since 2014. At San Jose State University, Babaci-Wilhite has served as a Lecturer in the Department of English and Comparative Literature within the College of Humanities and Arts since 2017. At Saint Mary's College of California and Notre Dame de Namur University, she lectures about world languages and culture since 2018. At IMO State University in Owerri, Nigeria, Babaci-Wilhite has served as a research affiliate with CurriculaWorks & TutorWorks Innovative Educational Solutions since 2014.

Books

• French For Multidisciplinary Courses Beyond 21st Century Literacies 2021 Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia (Ed.) (With an Active Learning Platform- 1st Edition).

• Learning Critical Thinking Skills Beyond the 21ST Century For Multidisciplinary Courses 2020 Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia (Ed.): (With an Active Learning Platform- 1st Edition).

• Promoting Human Rights in Education through STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics.2019 Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia (Ed.): Springer Publishers.

  

• Local Languages as a Human Right in Education: Comparative Cases from Africa 2015 Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia:. Vol. 36 of the series: Comparative and International Education: A diversity of Voices. Rotterdam, NL: Sense Publishers- Springer.

  

• Giving Space to African Voices: Rights in local languages and local curriculum2014 Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia (Ed.). Vol. 33 of the series: Comparative and International Education: A diversity of Voices. Rotterdam, NL: Sense Publishers- Springer.

  

• Critical Pedagogy in Language and STEM Education: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education2022 Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia. In Ali A. Abdi and Greg William Misiaszek (Eds). The Palgrave Handbook on Critical Theories of Education. Palgrave Macmillan.

  

• Linguistic and Cultural Rights in STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Mathematics.2020 Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia In The Palgrave Handbook of African Education and Indigenous Knowledge, edited by Jamaine Abidogun & Toyin Falola, 631-649. New York, NY: Palgrave 2020.

• Enabling E-learning through science literacy for the digital 21st century as a right in education: The Case of Zanzibar. In: Elinor L. Brown, Anna Krasteva and Maria Ranieri, (Eds), E-learning & Social Media: Education and Citizenship for the Digital 21st Century, Vol. 10. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

  

• Human Rights in Quality Education and Development Aid2015 Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia, Geo-JaJa, Macleans A. and Azaiki, Steve. International Society of Comparative Education, Science and Technology of Nigeria. Vol. 3.

• Enabling African languages and culture in science literacy2015 Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia: A human right in education, CERDOTOLA, Conference procedure.

• Promoting African Languages and Knowledge in Schools As a Human Right2015 Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia and Geo-JaJa, Macleans A. in Development Aid. International Society of Comparative Education, Science and Technology of Nigeria. Vol. 2.

Guest Speaker

On March 12, 2019, Babaci-Wilhite discussed how STEAM innovation is transforming school facilities at UCL's new Bartlett Global Centre for Learning Environments during an online event from London, UK.

In 2016 and 2017, Babaci-Wilhite addressed topics such as linguistic rights in STEAM subjects at the Department of African-American Studies, invited by Professor Sam Mchombo, and discussed language policies in an age of immigration with the UC-Berkeley Matrix Group on Rethinking Identity and Linguistic Diversity. Additionally, she collaborated with the VSPA/HSSA Symposium on "Innovative Methods to Enhance Careers in STEAM" to explore the significance of adding the "A" for Arts in STEM education. On November 30, 2017, Babaci-Wilhite was invited by Professor Rodney Hopson to discuss linguistic rights in STEAM Education as part of the Education Policy: Comparative and International Perspectives seminar at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

In 2015, Babaci-Wilhite was invited by the Center for Research and Documentation on African Traditions and Languages (CERDOTOLA) to discuss "Enabling African languages and culture in science literacy: a right in education for the digital 21st century".Babaci-Wilhite was also invited by Professor Martin Carnoy on behalf of the International Education Initiative workshops to discuss "Local language in science and technology as a human right in education" at Stanford University. Also, at San Jose State University, Babaci-Wilhite was invited by Professor Jason Laker to discuss "Language and Human Rights in Education: Curriculum Policies in Africa. On November 10th, she addressed the topic of "Language, Development Aid, and Human Rights in Education" at the Berkeley Language Center, invited by Director Richard Kern. Babaci-Wilhite spoke about the impact of using local languages in African schools for quality education as a human right, invited by Cal Rotaract's Speaker Series: Ignitus. She discussed "African and Asian languages as a human right in schooling," invited by Professor Claire Kramsch.

In 2014, Babaci-Wilhite presented on "E-Learning Science Literacy as a right in education in Africa" at IMO State University, Owerri State, Nigeria. She also delivered a keynote address on "New perspectives on language and literacy in Africa and Asia" at a conference upon invitation by Professor Jerome I. Okonkwo, the National Coordinator and Chairman of the Association for Promoting Nigerian Languages and Culture (APNILAC). At Stanford University, Babaci-Wilhite was invited by Professor Joel Samoff and the Center for African Studies to discuss "African Languages as Human Rights in Development Aid". At the University of California Berkeley, Babaci-Wilhite discussed "Language-in-Education Policies as Human Right: African languages and Science as a Human Right in Education" at the Department of Language, Literacy, and Culture at the Graduate School of Education on November 18th.

At the 21st Annual Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies Conference in Stellenbosch, South Africa in 2013 Babaci-Wilhite presented a paper titled "Search for Dignity by implementing African languages in school" at the workshop on "Search for Dignity." At the International Encounter on Research with children, adolescents, and families at social risk in Brussels, Belgium, Babaci-Wilhite presented a paper titled "Violation of Rights in Education, Drop-outs and Street Children in Tanzania" at the Vrije Universiteit.

At the Dignity and Humiliations Workshop at Colombia University, Babaci-Wilhite presented a paper titled "Preservation of local languages-in-education: Why not in Africa?" in 2012. At the LOITASA workshop at the University of Western Cape, Babaci-Wilhite presented a paper titled "Why is the choice of the language of instruction in which students learn best seldom made in Tanzania?" in 2009. From 2007 to 2012, Babaci-Wilhite presented at the University of Oslo. At the "How to sustain a global culture of gender equality and Dignity?" conference in August 2012, she presented a paper titled "Language and Curriculum as a Human Right for Sustainable Development in Africa."

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

• 'Reimagined Artificial Intelligence Pedagogy for Solidarity & Diversity in Multilingual Classrooms: A Case Study of Hope in Comparative and International Education' at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Western Regional Conference in Monterey/Asilomar, California. October 27-29, 2023.

• 'Student Use Of Digital Technologies For Developing Multilingual And Multicultural Competence' at the Twenty-first International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities Sorbonne Université, Faculte des Lettres, Paris, France, June 28 – 30, 2023.

• 'A Model on how Multilingual Acquisition improves classroom results beneficial for Inclusion and Equity for a more Equitable World' at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) in Washington D.C., February 18 - 22, 2023.

• 'Cross-Cultural Critical Thinking in STEM and STEAM Education: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Education' at the African Studies Association (ASA) 60th Annual Meeting at Boston, Massachusetts, USA. November 20 – 24, 2019.

• 'Integrating Language and Culture as Human Rights in STEAM Subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics' at the XVII World Congress of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) at Cancun, Mexico. May 20 - 24, 2019.

• 'Integrating Linguistic Rights and Critical Thinking in STEAM Subjects' at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) in San Francisco, California. April 15 - 20, 2019.

• 'Tribute to Professor Kobayashi: Reflective on STEAM Education & On the Limits of Critical Thinking' at the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) in San Francisco, California. April 15 - 20, 2019.

• Linguistic Rights in STEAM Education: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics Education' at the African Studies Association (ASA) 59th Annual Meeting at Atlanta, Georgia, USA. November 28 – December 22, 2018.

• 'Promoting Human Rights in Education through STEAM'. Paper presented at the International Education Society (CIES) in Mexico City, Mexico. March 25 - 29, 2018.

• 'Effective Science Literacy in African Languages as a Human Right' at the International Education Society (CIES) in Vancouver, Canada. March 6 - 10, 2016.

• 'Rights in development aid for STEM subjects in Africa' at the International Education Society in Vancouver, Canada. March 6 - 10, 2016.

• 'Science Literacy in African Languages: A Human Right in Education' at the African Studies Association (ASA) 58th Annual Meeting at San Diego, California, USA. November 19 - 22, 2015.

• 'Implementing local languages for improving science literacy in Zanzibar and Nigeria as a right in education' at the International Education Society (CIES) in Washington D. C., USA. March 9 - 13, 2015.

• 'The use of local languages in Africa: A cultural & human right in education' at the Fifth International Conference in Human Rights Education Advancing Universal Human Rights Culture in Washington D. C., USA. December 4-6, 2014.

• 'Indigenous language of instruction: A right in education aid to Africa' at the International Education Society (CIES) in Toronto, Canada. March 10 - 15, 2014

• 'Knowledge and Language a Human Right in Aid: The Case of Education in Tanzania' at the African Studies Association (ASA) 56th Annual Meeting at Baltimore DC, USA. November 21 - 23, 2013.

• 'Local language in schooling as a right in education: A study of Zanzibar curriculum reform' at the World Congress of Comparative Education Societies (WCCES) at the School of Economics, Buenos Aires, Argentina. June 24 - 28, 2013.

• Local language and local curriculum for learning as a right in education: A study of Zanzibar curriculum reform' at the International Education Society (CIES) in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. March 10 - 15, 2013.

• 'Local language for learning and identity as a right in education: A study of Zanzibar curriculum reform' at the Crossing Learning Borders in CIES Regional Conference at the Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, USA. November 25 - 27, 2012.

• 'Challenges based on experiences in doing University collaboration in North-South projects' at the Gender Equality Education and Poverty (GEEP- project in South Africa and Sudan) at the Oslo and Akershus University College, Oslo, Norway, September 11 - 13, 2012.

• 'Education for strengthening global participation and local identity: A comparative study of education policy in Zanzibar and Tanzania' at the Comparative Education Society in Europe (CESE) at the University of Salamanca, Spain. June 18 - 21, 2012.

• 'A revolution in education through local language of instruction: A comparative study in Zanzibar and Tanzania mainland' at the CIES in San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA. April 22 - 27, 2012.

• 'Education for global participation or local identity for Africa: A study of curriculum policy in Tanzania and Nigeria' at the Mediterranean Society of Comparative Education (MESCE) at the University of Corsica, in Corte, France. July 4 - 7, 2011.

• 'The new education curriculum in Zanzibar: Will it improve children’s learning and social well-being?' at the CIES in Montreal, Canada. May 1 - 6, 2011.

• 'Globalisation, Scandinavian aid, and education quality: The African experience' at the CESE at the University of Uppsala, Sweden. August 16 - 19, 2010.

• 'A study of escalating debates on the use of a global or local language in education' at the WCCES at Bogaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey. June 14 - 18, 2010.

Service Positions

Babaci-Wilhite, as an Associate Editor of Heliyon journal (Elsevier Limited, U.K.) since 2019, has also been a member of the Editorial Board of the Colombo Journal of Educational Research, Sri Lanka since 2019. Additionally, she served as a Guest Editor for the Comparative Education Science and Technology Studies in Education journal and the Russian-American Education Forum online journal in 2014. Since 2014, she has been a member of the https://www.iscest.org/ International Society of Comparative Education, Science, and Technology] (ISCEST) International Editorial Board in Nigeria, the International Journal of Education (Macrothink Institute, USA), and the International Education Research, Science, and Education Centre of North America. Furthermore, she has been an Associate Editor for the Social Journal of Natural and Social Sciences Editorial Board at the State University of Zanzibar (SUZA), Tanzania, and served as a Guest Editor for the World Studies in Education journal.

Babaci-Wilhite's role as a reviewer includes contributions to various journals such as Cogent Education, Language Matters (Routledge), Springer book proposals, Review of Science Education, Journal for Asian and African Studies, American Educational Research Journal - Social and Institutional Analysis, Palgrave Macmillan, L2 Journal, International Journal of Social Economics, Journal of Scientific Research and Reports, International Journal of Education, and International Review of Education (UNESCO).

Seminars

Babaci-Wilhite has been involved in academic workshops, conferences, and professional development programs. In 2023, she served as a member of the Advisory Committee for the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Western Regional Conference in Monterey/Asilomar, California, and participated in a workshop on integrating natural language processing into multilingual education in collaboration with the University of Oslo and UC Berkeley.

From 2016 to 2018, Babaci-Wilhite co-led the Writing Group at the Humanities and Social Sciences Association (HSSA) at UC Berkeley and played roles in organizing symposiums and workshops. She led the VSPA/HSSA Symposium on STEAM education and a joint Peder Sather Project workshop on arts collaboration. In 2015, she organized a PhD-Colloquium on collaboration challenges at UC Berkeley and a project on pre-service teacher collaboration at the Norwegian Center for Human Rights, University of Oslo.

Community Services

At UC Berkeley, she supervised the Undergraduate Research Apprentice Program, guiding students in developing a natural language processing model that demonstrates how early multilingual acquisition can enhance classroom inclusion and equity. Her community involvement includes organizing fundraisers for the Oak Center Cultural Center in Oakland, California, and volunteering for Bay Area Scientists in Schools, where she conducted seminars and presentations at various public schools in the region. Additionally, she mentored high school students through the Oakland Community Leadership Series, helping them craft college application letters, and participated in board meetings for REALM Charter Middle and High School in Berkeley, California.

Babaci-Wilhite has also been a participant and leader in academic societies and conferences. She has chaired panels for the World Congress for Comparative Education Society (WCCES), the Comparative Education Society in Europe (CESE), the Mediterranean Society of Comparative Education (MESCE), Africa for Research in Comparative Education Society (AFRICE), and the African Studies Association (ASA). As a member of the Comparative International Education Society (CIES), she volunteered to review Language SIG abstracts and served on the LSIG Program Committee. Her involvement extends to the International Group on the Right to Education (SISSU) and the European Partners for the Global Equity and Education Opportunity (Global ENEO).

Her previous roles include membership in the International Society of Comparative Education, Science, and Technology (ISCEST) International Advisory, the Association for Promoting Nigerian Languages and Culture (APNILAC), and the Board of Directors of AFRICE at the University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon. She has been involved with the Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies (Human DHS) education and global research teams.

References

• "Association for Promoting Nigerian Languages and Culture (APNILAC) - Event List". Conference Alerts. Retrieved 2024-06-09.

• Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia (2015). "African languages in science literacy as a human right in education". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2024-06-09.

• Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia (2015). Language, Development Aid and Human Rights in Education. Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks. doi:10.1057/9781137473196. ISBN 978-1-349-56484-2. Retrieved 2024-06-09.

• Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia (2020). "Linguistic and Cultural Rights in STEAM Education: Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics". The Palgrave Handbook of African Education and Indigenous Knowledge. San Jose State University. pp. 715–735. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-38277-3_35. ISBN 978-3-030-38276-6. Retrieved 2024-06-09.

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• Babaci-Wilhite, Zehlia, ed. (2019). Promoting Language and STEAM as Human Rights in Education. Springer eBooks. doi:10.1007/978-981-13-2880-0. ISBN 978-981-13-2879-4. Retrieved 2024-06-09.

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• "Zehlia Babaci-Whilhite at Notre Dame de Namur University". Notre Dame de Namur University - Notre Dame de Namur University. June 28, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2024.

• "Zehlia BABACI-WILHITE Visiting Scholar Dr.Philos University of California, Berkeley, CA UCB Graduate School of Education Research profile". Research Gate. Retrieved May 26, 2024.