Marci Borenstein

Dean's Fellowship for Doctoral Study, Sociology of Education

Marci Borenstein talks the talk and walks the walk of her research theme. In the last ten years, she has come full circle, from researching the process of education and socialization of immigrant students to becoming an immigrant student in Israel herself where she lived through this process.

"The complexities and nuances of multicultural and immigrant education began as an academic curiosity," she recalls. "After this pursuit became transformed into a personal experience, however, it quickly evolved into the focal point of my studies, research and professional employment."

Borenstein earned a B.A in the Social Sciences from the University of California at Berkeley and an MA in the Sociology of Education from Hebrew University in Jerusalem where she became a researcher and teaching assistant. "I found myself standing in front of 50 undergraduate students lecturing on socialization, and the role of students, teachers and classroom culture in the educational experience," she recalls. "The students and I discussed the differences and similarities students had undergone as Palestinian, Jewish, religious, secular, immigrant, and native born Israelis We analyzed the power of nationalism and political ideologies, gender and the inherent social tension existing in the Israeli educational experience between the emphasis placed on the individual and the collective."

At NYU, Borenstein envisions "conducting a comparative research project examining the educational experiences of immigrant children from the former Soviet Union now located in the U.S. and Israel. I intend to examine the impact of macro and micro forces on the immigrant student's experience, analyzing the influence of nation; ideology, historical, economic and political forces as well as teacher attitudes, instructional practices and parental expectations in these countries."

"I am attracted to NYU both because of the interdisciplinary approach of the Humanities and Social Sciences in the Professions Department as well as the School's location inn the center of a diverse urban setting playing host to a large number of immigrant communities. I am also drawn to The Steinhardt School because of its reputation of working closely with and mentoring graduate students."