PHD STUDENT / Education
Violet Oduor
From Classrooms to Systems: Transforming Education Across Borders.
ACTIVE
INVOLVMENT
I am currently deeply engaged in the academic and research community at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign within the CREATE (Curriculum Research, Early Childhood, Aesthetics, and Teacher Education) area. As a University Supervisor and Teaching Assistant, I mentor emerging educators through their clinical placements and serve as the primary instructor for senior-level inquiry courses in Science and Social Studies. My current research focus involves serving as a Research Assistant for the NSF-funded 'Who Tells it Best' project, where I investigate the school experiences of BIPOC preschoolers and the impact of culturally sustainable family partnerships. Beyond my academic work, I maintain a lifelong commitment to social advocacy, mentoring young women through the 'Vessels of Honor' program and providing literacy training to underserved women to foster financial independence. My work remains at the vital intersection of academic rigor and community transformation, as I strive to dismantle barriers for diverse learners globally
Proven track record of establishing over 50 schools and managing cross-continental educational missions.
Expert in school budgeting, teacher recruitment, and implementing long-range performance-boosting strategies.
A regional pioneer in designing and supervising alternative educational models for thousands of families.
Proven track record of establishing over 50 schools and managing cross-continental educational missions.
Expert in school budgeting, teacher recruitment, and implementing long-range performance-boosting strategies.
A regional pioneer in designing and supervising alternative educational models for thousands of families.
Bridging Local Relevance with Global Standards
The MILES Program
Drawing from my 32 years of leadership, I designed and launched The MILES Program. This Early Childhood curriculum is specifically tailored for the Kenyan education system, providing a value-based, progressive foundation for schools and homeschooling networks across East Africa
Bridging Local Relevance with Global Standards
The MILES Program
Shaping the Future of the Teaching Vocation
Pedagogical Leadership & Senior Instruction
I serve as the Primary Instructor for senior education cohorts at UIUC, leading courses on Science and Social Studies Inquiry. I mentor future teachers in building inclusive communities of practice and using documentation as a tool for democratic action in the classroom.
Shaping the Future of the Teaching Vocation
Pedagogical Leadership & Senior Instruction
Researching the Voices of Our Youngest Learners
NSF-Funded Research
As a Research Assistant at the University of Illinois, I contribute to the NSF-funded "Who Tells it Best?" project. I use child-centered interview protocols to investigate how BIPOC preschoolers experience school, aiming to build culturally sustainable partnerships between families and educators that foster long-term success.
Researching the Voices of Our Youngest Learners
NSF-Funded Research
BLOG & NEWS
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From the Classroom to the Lab: My Journey in Redefining Inclusive Education
From the Classroom to the Lab: My Journey in Redefining Inclusive Education
March 4, 2026
By Violet Afandi Oduor
A Legacy of Practice
My journey began in Kenya, fueled by a passion for English Literature and the belief that every child has an inner potential waiting to be realized. Over the decades, I’ve had the privilege of founding over 50 schools across East Africa and pioneering homeschooling frameworks that empowered thousands of parents.
In those 32 years, I learned that a classroom is more than just four walls; it is a laboratory for human potential. However, I also saw the gaps—the moments where traditional systems fail our most diverse or disadvantaged learners.
The Shift to Research
Today, as a doctoral researcher at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, I am taking those three decades of "on-the-ground" experience and putting them under the microscope. My current research within the CREATE (Curriculum Research, Early Childhood, Aesthetics, and Teacher Education) area is focused on one vital question:
How can we eliminate the environmental and systemic barriers that prevent teachers from truly meeting their learners' needs?
I am currently working on the NSF-funded "Who Tells it Best?" project, where we are investigating the school experiences of BIPOC preschoolers. By using child-centered research methods—actually listening to children in their own words—we are discovering how culturally sustainable partnerships between families and schools can change the trajectory of a child's life.
Bridging the Gap
Whether I am instructing seniors at the university on the art of scientific inquiry or developing the MILES Program for early childhood centers in Kenya, my mission remains the same. I believe that for a student to succeed, they need an environment that recognizes their unique "inner self."
As I move forward in my doctoral journey, I am not just looking for academic answers. I am looking for practical solutions that a teacher in a rural Kenyan classroom or a metropolitan U.S. preschool can use to ensure no child is left behind.
The classroom is my tool, research is my compass, and transformation is my goal.