OC professor Elayne Bowman is one of only 15 U.S. representatives for an international female educators organization

The assistant professor of education was selected as a global speaker for education advocacy.

December 9, 2019 - Among the leading organization for female educators, only 15 are chosen from the U.S. to serve as a speaker to represent the organization. One of those 15 comes from Oklahoma Christian University.

In October, Associate Professor of Education Elayne Bowman was chosen as an official speaker for The International Speaker’s Fund. Bowman was one of 15 selected to represent the United States Culture for Society meetings held around the globe. During her two-year position as a speaker who can be brought in to chapters, she will have exclusive opportunities to speak in other countries funded by Delta Kappa Gamma Society International at the request of the State Organization Presidents.

Bowman worked as a secondary math teacher for 28 years before joining the OC family five years ago. At OC, she teaches many education courses, including her expertise in secondary education and math. Outside of school, Bowman is an accomplished speaker with over 30 domestic and foreign speaking engagements.

Her topic,“Reticence to Change in Education,” is also what she did her doctoral research on. The basis of her topic was the idea that no one really likes change, and when looking at it in education, the question is: “Why is systemic change so hard to enact?” She talks about change theory itself and the difficulties of accepting change.

Other parts of her presentation address questions of where to start change, who will be impacted by the change and what is the best way to start change. The overarching theme is that educational change is hard, and there is no instant change or fix.

“If you look back at the late 19th century when education was getting formalized and the things that were deemed essential, you will see that it has changed over time,” Bowman said. “When you fast forward a hundred years, people are saying the things taught at the beginning should be taught again. It makes people wonder, ‘Why did it take us a hundred years to realize this is what we should be teaching?’ It is the whole idea that change is continually fought.”

The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International is an invite-only organization promoting excellence through personal and professional growth of women educators around the world. The organization serves over 100,000 members across 14 countries.