UW’s Lydiah Nganga Receives Fulbright US Scholar Award in Teaching and Research

Lydiah Nganga, of the University of Wyoming’s College of Education, is the recipient of a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award for teaching and research in Kenya for the 2024-25 academic year.

Nganga, a professor in elementary and early childhood education in UW’s School of Teacher Education, will pursue research on “Cross-cultural perspectives on education for democracy and citizenship looking at the perspectives of Kenyan and US college educators.” Her Fulbright award is from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

“There is a lot of misinformation and a growing threat to democratic institutions in many parts of the world,” Nganga says. “This creates a need for educators to explore their own perspectives and ways of developing future citizens who are better informed.”

Nganga is deeply interested in educational policies and practices that promote democratic ideals globally. She will work in collaboration with faculty in the Department of International Relations School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the U.S. International University-Africa, located in Nairobi.

The Department of International Relations faculty members are involved in research that examines national and international inequalities in education and local and global contemporary social issues. Nganga’s scholarship has a similar focus and, more specifically, on “issues of cross-national education, global perspectives, cultural awareness and lack of equity.”

While at the U.S. International University-Africa, Nganga also will teach a course in the Department of International Relations that aligns with her interest in cross-cultural perspectives and globalization. Nganga says that the Fulbright experiences will enhance her scholarship skills in global comparative education, diversity and culturally responsive teaching and states.

“I am indeed honored to have been selected as a Fulbright Scholar. By extension, I will use the gained knowledge and skills to support my teaching and research responsibilities in my department and the university,” she adds. “Additionally, the opportunity provides me with opportunities to work collaboratively with international partners in education and research and establish cross-cultural and cross-national educational relations, essential to establishing critical academic and institutional colleagueship between Kenya and the University of Wyoming.”

She received her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees, all from UW.

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators and established professionals teaching or conducting research in affiliation with institutes abroad. Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions.

When returning to their home countries, institutions, labs or classrooms, Fulbright Scholars usually share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad.

More than 800 individuals annually teach or conduct research abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Additionally, more than 2,000 Fulbright participants -- recent college graduates, graduate students and early-career professionals -- each year participate in study or research exchanges or as English teaching assistants in local schools abroad.

About the Fulbright Program

Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad. Fulbright participants exchange ideas, build people-to-people connections and work to address complex global challenges. Notable Fulbright Scholars include 62 Nobel laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 80 MacArthur Fellows, 41 heads of state or government and thousands of leaders across the private, public and nonprofit sectors.

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in more than 160 countries worldwide.

In the U.S., the Institute of International Education implements the Fulbright U.S. Student and U.S. Scholar programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State.

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit www.fulbrightprogram.org.