Hsiu-Zu Ho of the Gevirtz School at UC Santa Barbara has been honored with a 2012-13 Fulbright U.S. Scholar award. Ho will be in Taiwan from January 2013 through July 2013 residing at the prestigious academic institute of Taiwan, Academia Sinica. During her stay, Professor Ho will be conducting research on father involvement in the lives and education of young students in Taiwan.
"Stimulated by various demographic, economic, political, and sociocultural changes in Taiwan over the last several decades, parenting responsibilities are becoming less gender-bound and fathers are gradually becoming more involved in the everyday lives of young children," Hsiu-Zu Ho states. "I am excited for the opportunity to become immersed in the Taiwan culture as a Fulbright scholar and contribute to the understanding of the changing paternal roles in Taiwanese society."
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. Reviewed by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, Foundation for Scholarly Exchange as well as expert peers, recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide. The goal of the program is to promote intellectual and academic exchange between countries through teaching and/or research that would benefit both the home and host countries.
Professor Ho is a member of the Cultural Perspectives and Comparative Education and Research Methodology emphases in the Department of Education. Her research interests include cross-cultural psychology and education, cultural and gender variations in child development; motivation and academic achievement; and parental involvement. She has recently published work on educational systems in East Asian nations, parental involvement and student academic achievement in Asian and Asian American families, and father involvement in Taiwanese families.
For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please visit their website at http://fulbright.state.gov or contact James A. Lawrence, Office of Academic Exchange Programs, telephone 202-632-3241 or e-mail fulbright@state.gov.