Ratna Ghosh
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India
Ratna Ghosh | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 23, 1939 India |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater | University of Calcutta (India) & University of Calgary |
| Notable works | Redefining multicultural education (1996); Education and the Politics of Difference: Canadian Perspectives (2004) with Ali Abdi; Social Change & Education in Canada (1987) |
| Spouse | Ashok Vijh |
Ratna Ghosh CM OQ FRSC is a Canadian academic and education scholar. She is a Distinguished James McGill Professor and Sir William C. Macdonald Professor of Education at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she previously served as the Dean of the Faculty of Education from 1998 – 2003.[1]
Her area of teaching and research is comparative and international education. Her most cited publications are in multicultural education and social justice education, as well as in the areas of women and development, women's empowerment, and education and security.
She has been elected to several Academies and received national and international honours and awards. She has held leadership positions such as resident director of the bi-national organization, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, in New Delhi, and was later elected president of the institute.[2] She has been on the board of directors and the executive committee of the Canadian Human Rights Foundation (now Equitas). She has been president of the American Comparative and International Education Society.
Ghosh was born in India, in the multicultural milieu of Shillong, Meghalaya. Her father was a well known ophthalmic surgeon. Her mother was a graduate in philosophy. As a child, she was used to travelling widely, both within India and in Europe. Ghosh and her sister attended an elementary school for a year in England.[3] Ratna Ghosh completed an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree (with distinction), in English at the University of Calcutta. In 1967, she migrated to Canada and settled in Calgary, Alberta. There, she earned her Master of Arts in 1973 and PhD in 1976 in Comparative and International Education from the University of Calgary.[4]
Academic career
After completing her PhD at the University of Calgary, Ratna Ghosh became an assistant professor at McGill University in 1977 and Professor in 1998. She has held several important positions in her career. She became the first woman to be appointed Dean of the Faculty of Education in 1998.[5] She was named Sir William C. Macdonald Professor in Education in 1994, and concurrently James McGill Professor in 2004, and Distinguished James McGill Professor in 2018. In 2019, she was elected Honorary Fellow of the Comparative and International Education Society (US).
Her research and practical experience expand from Canada and India to the US, Latin America, and Asia. An international expert in comparative and multicultural education she is a leading figure in the world of education, research and development. Her research in the area of comparative and international development education, specifically education and social justice issues, and more recently the role of education in countering violent extremism[6] and refugee education has resulted in several important publications, grants, conference presentations and keynote speeches.
Time magazine described her as one of “Canada’s best” in Education in their October 13, 2003 Canadian edition.[7]
