Wotipka, Christine Min

Christine Min Wotipka is Associate Professor (Teaching) of Education and (by courtesy) Sociology and Director of the Master’s Program in International Comparative Education and International Education Policy Analysis at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She also serves as co-Resident Fellow at the Education and Society Theme (EAST) House. From 2012-2016, she served as Director of the Program in Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Stanford University.

Dr. Wotipka’s research interests center around two main themes examined from cross-national and longitudinal approaches. The first relates to the progress and experiences of women in higher education and the labor market. In one working paper, she and her colleague examine trends and explanations for cross-national variability in women’s share of faculty positions worldwide from 1970 to the present. In another, they explore the rise in women's labor force participation as one of the main arguments to explain the rapid and worldwide growth in early childhood education enrollments. The second theme of her research is that of citizenship and education. This work explores how social science curricula, in the form of textbooks, have shifted focus away from the development of national identities to an emphasis on global citizenship in a diverse and multicultural world society, which increasingly comprises all members of society, including women and children. Her articles have appeared in Social Forces, Sociology of Education, Feminist Formations, and Comparative Education Review.

In 2010, Dr. Wotipka co-founded the Education and Society Theme (EAST) House – a living-learning space for undergraduates interested in educational research, policy, activism, and teaching. Dr. Wotipka leads a weekly seminar at EAST House titled “Current Issues and Debates in Education.” In addition to this and the seminars she leads for the master’s program, her main teaching contributions consist of gender-focused courses, in particular “Education, Gender, and Development,” which is cross-listed in Education; Sociology; and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Dr. Wotipka earned her BA (summa cum laude) in International Relations and French at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and MA in Sociology and PhD in International Comparative Education at Stanford University. Prior to joining the faculty at Stanford, she was an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and a visiting assistant professor/global fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles. Between her undergraduate and graduate studies, she served as a United States Peace Corps volunteer in rural northeast Thailand.

Dr. Wotipka spends her free time with her husband, their two school-aged children, and rescue dog. She enjoys politics, the outdoors, independent movies, and fiery Asian food.

During the 2016-17 academic year, Dr. Wotipka will be on sabbatical.