Dr William C Smith
Senior Lecturer in Education and International Development

- Moray House School of Education and Sport, IECS
- University of Edinburgh
Contact details
- Email: w.smith@ed.ac.uk
- Web: Google Scholar
- Web: Researchgate
- Web: Academia
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Address
- Street
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Moray House School of Education and Sport, SLH
- City
- University of Edinburgh (Holyrood Campus)
- Post code
- EH8 8AQ
Background
William C. Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Education and International Development at the University of Edinburgh. In his current post he is working to stregthen and expand the CEID (Comparative Education and International Development) Community at the Moray House. This includes ensuring all PGT, PGR, Post-docs, and Faculty interested in CEID are able to participate in the Community. The plans for the emerging CEID Community include three pillars: 1) the MSc in Education (Comparative Education and International Development) pathway, in which William acts as the coordinator, 2) the CEID Society, a student led society under the umbrella of EUSA [https://www.facebook.com/ceid.edinburgh/; @CeidSociety], and 3) an in planning CEID Reserch Network. To follow events and updates on the CEID Community at Moray House join us on Twitter @MorayHouseCEID
Prior to joining University of Edinburgh, William worked as a Senior Policy Analyst at UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report where he contributed to the 2016, 2017/8, 2019, and 2020 GEM Report cycles - including acting as lead for the thematic section of the 2017/8 GEM Report "Accountability in Education: Meeting our Commitments". Additional experience includes a prestigious Thomas J. Alexander Fellowship with the OECD and work as a Senior Associate on the Right to Education Index (RTEI). Based at RESULTS Educational Fund and working with civil society partners in Chile, Nigeria, the Philippines, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe, William helped develop and lead the pilot round of the index. In 2018, RTEI was completed in over 20 countries (https://www.rtei.org/en/).
His experience as a teacher also has a profound impact on his work. Specifically, William worked as 6 years as a secondary social studies school teacher in the United States during the time of No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
CV

Qualifications
Dual Title Ph.D. , Education Theory and Policy and Comparative International Education, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA: December 2014
Minor: Sociology Concentration: Quantitative Methods
Dissertation: The global expansion of the testing culture: National testing policies and the reconstruction of education.
Advisor: David Baker
M.A. in International Development, Josef Korbel School of International Studies-University of Denver, Denver, CO: June 2011
Concentrations: Political Theory and Education
M.A. in Teaching, Western Oregon University, Monmouth, OR: June 2003
Concentration: Secondary Social Studies
Thesis: The inclusion of handicapped students and the impact it has on their self concept.
Advisor: Mark Girod
B.S. in Sociology with High Honors, Portland State University, Portland, OR: June 2001
Minor: Psychology
Responsibilities & affiliations
Research and Network Affiliations:
Data for Children Collaborative with UNICEF (https://www.dataforchildrencollaborative.com/): Child Poverty Working Group Member
The Global History of the OECD in Education Project (https://www.learning.aau.dk/forskning/centre-projekter/oecd-learning/): Associate Member
Scotland International Development Alliance (https://www.intdevalliance.scot/): Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Working Group Member
NORRAG: Network for International Policies and Cooperation in Education and Training (https://www.norrag.org/): Contributer
Comparative International Education Society (https://www.cies.us/): Globalization and Education Special Interest Group & Large Scale International Studies in Education Special Interest Group Member
Undergraduate teaching
Past Undergraduate Teaching Experience
- Introduction to Comprative Education (Penn State University)
- Education in American Society (Penn State University)
Postgraduate teaching
2020-2021 PGT Teaching Responsibilities
- Comparative Education and International Development (Course Organizer)
- Comparative Analysis in Education (Course Organizer)
Past PGT Courses at University of Edinburgh
- Education Policy and the Politics of Education (Course Organizer)
- Conceptualising Research: Foundations, Assumptions, and Praxis
Other PGT/Graduate Teaching Experience
- International Educational Development (Sorbonne University, Paris, France)
Open to PhD supervision enquiries?
Yes
Areas of interest for supervision
Interested in supervising PhD students pursuing research in areas of education and development. A broad range of topics is considered including:
- Global Governance and International Organizations
- SDGs
- Education and Health
- Migration
- Acess and Equity
- Socio-political dimensions of national development
- Global-local relationships
- Critical views on policy discourse, creation, and difussion
I am not a higher education or an international education scholar
Current PhD students supervised
Takuja Numajiri: What matters for improving primary school mathematics education in St. Lucia? (Second Supervisor)
Serene Faysal Saab (starting Fall 2020): Translating Street-Smart Skills into Productive Outcomes Across Different Pathways for Street Children in Lebanon (Second Supervisor)
Research summary
Exploring Educations Role in Social and Economic Development & Barriers to the Benefits of Education.
My research is fueled by the belief that the power of education as an institution is immense, working both as a tool for upward mobility and for social reproduction. However, structural impediments often prevent individuals from fully capitalizing on the potential of education. Focusing on the role of education in capitalizing health and economic capital my interests are situated around identifying macro level policies that may act as barriers, keeping some individuals from realizing the benefits of education. My work has resulted in over 40 publications, including my edited book, The Global Testing Culture: Shaping Education Policy, Perceptions, and Practice (Symposium Books, 2016).
Current research interests
Current research interests are situated in 3 areas: 1. Education and Social Development a) Barriers to accessing services b) Education and population health 2. Global Governance a) International organizations b) Global goals, monitoring, and local interpretations: a look at voluntary national reviews 3. Global Testing Culture a) Testing, teachers, and accountability b) Global learning metricsKnowledge exchange
For interviews on the Global Testing Culture see:
- Fresh Ed with Will Brehm (http://www.freshedpodcast.com/willsmith/)
- New Books Network (http://newbooksnetwork.com/william-c-smith-ed-the-global-testing-culture-shaping-education-policy-perceptions-and-practice-symposium-books-2016/)
Research activities
Current project grants
Title: Child Poverty and Access to Services
Funding Source: Scottish Funding Council/ Data for Children Collaborative with UNICEF
Amount: £109,137
Role/Contribution: Collaborating Investigator
Title: Universal Secondary Education in the Asia-Pacific Region
Funding Source: Scottish Funding Council
Amount: £20,000
Role/Contribution: Principal Investigator
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The relationship between propositional teacher knowledge and classroom teaching practice: The case of Chinese novice mathematics teachers
In:
Asia Pacific Journal of Education
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2022.2096570
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (E-pub ahead of print) -
Using open-source data to construct 20 metre resolution maps of children’s travel time to the nearest health facility
In:
Scientific Data, vol. 9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01274-w
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
The 2023 Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report Concept Note on Technology and Education: A Joint Response from the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Research in Digital Education and Comparative Education and International Development (CEID) Research Group
(9 pages)
Response to GEM 2023 Report Concept Note on Technology and Education › Other contribution (Published) -
Konceptualno in metodološko oblikovanje »globalne« identitete učitelja s pomočjo talis
(21 pages)
In:
Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, vol. 11, pp. 75-95
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.1090
Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article (Published) -
Quality education and global learning metrics
Research output: › Chapter (Published)
Conference details
Regular presenter at the annual Comparative International Education Society (CIES) Conference
Past presentations at annual/bi-annual conferences of Population Association of America (PAA), American Education Research Association (AERA), and the European Education Research Association (EERA)
Looking forward to participating more in the British Association for Interantional and Comparative Education (BAICE), the UK Education and Development Forum (UKFIET), and other venues spanning academia, civil society, and practitioners
Invited speaker
Past Invited Talks and Guest Lectures:
- Teacher Satisfaction: Exploring the Role of Teacher Support and Evaluation (Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan - Delivered Remotely)
- The Global Testing Culture: Challenges and Consequences for Today and Tomorrow (Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia)
- UNESCO and the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report (University of Luxembourg - Delivered at UNESCO Headquarters)
- UNESCO and the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report (University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA - Delivered Remotely)
- UNESCO and the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report (Linnaeus University, Växjö, Sweden - Delivered Remotely)
- Global Trends in Education (University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, USA - Delivered Remotely)