Nagwa Megahed , associate professor of comparative and international education, teaches and conducts research on the reform of educational policy and practice in Egypt, the MENA region and other developing countries. Megahed gained her rich academic and professional experience in teaching courses, conducting research and supporting education development projects through her previous work with Ain Shams University, the University of Southern Mississippi, Michigan State University, and the University of Pittsburgh. She has extensive experience in large-scale grants and projects related to educational reform and teacher development in Egypt and internationally. During 2009 - 2011, Megahed was awarded the Fulbright grant – for initiating an interdisciplinary program on the Middle East Education, Culture and Society. Megahed has become one of few scholars in the history of the Fulbright program who received a full grant renewal for a second year. Prior to that and while being an Assistant Professor at Ain Shams University, she was involved as a key staff member in an international education development project, funded by USAID. Within this USAID-Egypt Education Reform Program (ERP) and in cooperation with Michigan State University and the Academy for Educational Development, she served as a Specialist for Policy and Action Research in the Faculties of Education Reform division; Special Advisor for School Quality Assurance and Accreditation; and Senior Technical Advisor for Research and Evaluation in the Monitoring and Evaluation division.
Megahed obtained her PhD in Social and Comparative Analysis in Education from the University of Pittsburgh. Since then, she has involved in numerous consultancy capacities in a variety of educational reform projects with international organizations and national authorities, such as the Ford Foundation, Population Council, UNICEF, and the JBS International as well as the Egyptian Ministry of Education and Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.
Megahed has been an active member in a variety of organizations of comparative and international education. She is the representative and founding of the Egyptian Comparative Education Society's membership at the World Council of Comparative Education Societies; she is also the Co-Chair of the Middle East Special Interest Group at the Comparative and International Education Society. In addition, she has been a member and reviewer in the international editorial board of several journals and book series.
Megahed's research and teaching interests, where she has published intensively, focus on educational reform; teachers and teacher education; the quality and equality of education; globalization, international organizations and education development; and gender, religion and education. Examples of Megahed's latest individual and coauthored publications include:
The Pursuit of Democracy: Women’s Activism, Education and Gender Equity in Egypt and Tunisia. In Suzanne Majhanovich & Régis Malet (Eds.) Building Democracy in Education on Diversity. Comparative and International Education: A Diversity of Voices, Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Sense Publishers, 2015.
Women’s Rights and Gender-Educational Inequality in Egypt and Tunisia: From Colonialism to Contemporary Revolution. Pp. 201-222 in D. Napier & S. Majhanovich (Eds.) Education, Dominance and Identity. Comparative and International Education: A Diversity of Voices, Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Sense Publishers, 2013.
The Quest for Educational Quality in Egypt: Active-Learning Pedagogies as a Reform Initiative. Pp. 41-68 in C. Acedo, D. Admas, and S. Popa (Eds.) Quality and Qualities: Tensions in Education Reforms. Comparative and International Education: A Diversity of Voices, Rotterdam, the Netherlands: Sense Publishers, 2012.
Globalization and the Reform of Faculties of Education in Egypt: The Role of Individual and Organizational, National and International Actors. Educational Policy Analysis Archive Journal, Vol. 19 (15), 2011
Comparative Perspectives on Teachers and Professionalism. Pp. 662-671 in S. Tozer et al. (eds.). Handbook of Research in the social Foundations of Education. NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2011
Reforming Educational Governance and Management in Egypt: National and International Actors and Dynamics. Educational Policy Analysis Archive Journal, Vol. 18 (5), 2010
