Fernando M. Reimers et a1.

mentorship program, you really listened. I feel encouraged to make it hap~
pen before the end of my senior year and to make things happen for the rest
of my [2' 6.”

Julia Higdon received her doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of
Education in May 2015. In her dissertation, Julia used data from the 2009
IEA ICCS (International Civic and Citizenship Education Study) to exam-
ine determinants of intercultural attitudes among adolescents (n=16,847)
in seven countries across Europe—~the United Kingdom (England only),
Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Bulgaria, Poland, and Greecemfocusing on
cultural contexts and school climates. Julia established the measurement
invariance of a variety of measures of intercultural attitudes to support the
validity of cross—cultural comparison, using a novel approach in the Bayesian
framework. Julia also examined the ways in which intergroup contact, gen—
der, and school climates were associated with intergroup attitudes across
these seven countries. She found limited evidence of an association between
native—born and immigrant contact and positive intercultural attitudes.
However, she found that positive intercultural attitudes were consistently as—
sociated with positive and democratic school climates, as well as with gender
and attitudes toward gender equality. Julia was working on her dissertation
at the time of the writing of this book.

Julia is interested in issues of measurement and promoting the use ofcutting—
edge statistical methods in applied educational research. Julia is currently a
Senior Research Scientist on the Tiger Works Research and Development
team at Avenues: The World School.

E. B. O’Donnell is a doctoral student at the Harvard Graduate School of
Education and an education consultant. She has over ten years of experience
working with nonprofit organizations, international nongovernmental orga-
nizations, and schools. Her particular areas of interest and expertise include
curriculum development, global education, parental beliefs, early childhood
care and education, and emergent literacy and numeracy. She earned a BA

Viii