Photo by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Communications
Dr. Denver J. Fowler, assistant professor of educational leadership, is one UM School of Education’s newest faculty members. Last month, Fowler led an original research presentation at the 2015 Euro-Asia Economic Forum in Xi’an, China. The Ohio native recently sat down with us to discuss his research and time abroad.
Tell us about the Euro-Asia Economic Forum.
The conference is held biennially in order to discuss a variety of global issues across several disciplines including Finance, Education, Economy and Trade, Tourism and Heritage Protection, Culture, Women Leadership and Science and Technology. I was invited to submit my research/presentation by one of the conference coordinators. I believe this person was aware of the keynote presentation that I gave last October in Milan, Italy, at the International Conference on Interdisciplinary Research in Education. After submitting my research/presentation, it was peer-reviewed before being selected for inclusion in the conference, more specifically, the Education Cooperation forum.
What was the subject of your presentation?
I presented my most recent research focused on how the ethical leadership perspectives of school leaders, such as superintendents, varies according to school district characteristics and school leader demographics. For my study, I surveyed 614 superintendents and interviewed an additional 15. My presentation was titled The Importance of Ethical Leadership Perspectives in School Leadership. The research was conducted and published over a three-year period.
Why are you interested in educational leadership ethics?
I’m interested in this topic because research continues to show that leadership is second only to instruction in school-based factors that affect student achievement. Furthermore, school leaders are vital to improving instruction and raising student achievement in the districts in which they serve. Thus, I believe leadership, more specifically, ethical leadership, is extremely important in schools. Unfortunately, we continue to see ethical scandals by school leaders at the district and state levels both nationally and globally. I’m interested in continuing research that supports the benefits of being an ethical school leader.
Did you enjoy presenting at the conference?
It’s always exciting to present and share my research with others. It’s especially exciting to share it with an international community in which the audience members are from universities around the globe. A trip like this also allows us the opportunity to engage and collaborate with international scholars on important international education topics. Likewise, it is an opportunity to build lasting relationships and possible future collaborations between Ole Miss and the international universities.
Had you ever been to China before this?
No. However, my wife used to travel to China for her previous work as a fashion designer at Abercrombie & Fitch, so she gave me some excellent pointers on how to navigate my visit and what to expect. I was there for seven days while the conference itself lasted three days. This allowed me some time to do a little sightseeing and learn about the history and culture of Xi’an.
What all did you do outside the conference?
In addition to presenting, I was able to visit several landmarks in the area including the Terracotta Warriors, Big Goose Pagoda, City Wall, Bell Tower, Muslim Quarter and Drum Tower. I also had the opportunity to attend a tea-tasting and climb Mount Hua Shan. When I climbed Mount Hua Shan, I was over 7,000 feet up. The view from the summit was amazing. The Terracotta Warriors were probably the most surprising in the amount of detail that went into each sculpture, the story behind them and how they were discovered.
What was your favorite part about the trip?
My favorite part of the trip was presenting, attending presentations and interacting with scholars from all around the world with regards to important topics in education. I also enjoyed visiting Xi’an Jiaotong University where I had the opportunity to meet the president of the university and attend the signing of the New Silk Road University League, an agreement between 22 universities from around the globe with a focus on “carrying forward the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and tolerance, mutual learning and reflection, mutual benefit and a win-win situation” in higher education. It was great to witness such a large-scale single collaboration amongst so many universities from around the world. I was told that the signing of this agreement was over a decade in the making.
