Research into educational leadership to benefit schools in Latin America

Tamara Díaz Fouz, Director of Education at the Organisation of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI) will spend a three-week research period at the University’s School of Education looking at the different types of leadership in UK schools to support schools in Latin America to develop their leadership capacity. In addition, Tamara is looking at the role of emotions, which is an area of particular interest and strength within our research into educational leadership.

The work is being used by the Organisation of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), the world's largest multilateral cooperation organization between Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Ibero-American countries, with more than 3,000 people working throughout Ibero-America, physically distributed in 20 countries of the region, to inform their policies and practices in schools across Latin America.  

Tamara is the Director of Education at Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI). Prior to this role, she worked as Education Program Coordinator in teacher training and evaluation and as Technical Secretary of the Evaluation Institute (IESME) and Deputy Technical Secretary of the Center for Higher University Studies (CAEU) in OEI.

She has a PhD in Education from Universidad Nacional de Educación (UNED) and Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM). She completed her education through postgraduate studies in Applied Social Research and Data Analysis and on Child and Adolescent Psychology. Since 2014, she has been collaborating as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences at the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, teaching courses on the official Master's degree in Teacher Training in Secondary Education on the Master’s degree in Educational Psychology. For several years, she has worked as Professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), the Universidad Central de Santiago de Chile and has participated in numerous educational research projects as an active member of an UNED’s Research-Development-Innovation Group.

Dr Steve Lambert, Associate Professor in Educational Leadership at the University of Chester, said: “It is great to welcome Tamara to the School of Education. Educational Leadership impacts both staff and students alike. The work that Tamara is undertaking while she is with us will help to shape and improve the quality of educational leadership in schools across Latin America. Ultimately, better leadership will have a positive impact on classroom practice and student outcomes across these countries.”

Tamara said: “This is an excellent opportunity to learn about how schools in the UK are developing educational leadership proposals aimed at improving inclusion, equity, and the quality of education they offer to their students. It is even better to do so at the School of Education of the University of Chester, which is working on this issue systematically and with high-quality research and training.”