Mubina Kirmani

Biography

Dr. Mubina Hassanali Kirmani is professor of education and an award winning author. She brings multicultural perspectives with her unique background being born in Kenya, East Africa with an ancestry from India. She studied at the University of Nairobi and at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was consultant with the World Bank, Washington D.C. in the Women and Development department where she worked to address issues on gender inequities in education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Since she joined academia in 1994, she has worked and written vastly to promote multicultural education, and is also author and co-author of several publications and books, including two recently published children’s books, Wandering Wind and Bundle of Secrets: Savita Returns Home that won the Children’s Africana Book Award  for Best Children’s Book 2014. Her children’s books are beginning to be used as literacy examples for National Core Curriculum Standards.  Her book, Oral Literature of Asians in East Africa, is a recommended text for elementary and secondary schools in Kenya. She is currently teaches at Towson University, Maryland where she has trained pre-service and in-service teachers and students across all disciplines to prepare them for diverse professional settings.  She has been Chair of the College of Education Diversity Committee and co-directed the University-wide Multicultural Conference. She is often invited to conferences in the United States and internationally to present on the subject of teaching and learning in diverse societies.  She was awarded 2015 President’s Diversity Award.

Publications

Kirmani, M.,  Grodzinsky, I., Vasanth, N., and Steele, B. (2019). Tumbling down the Green: Nature-Based Play and Learning in Young Children. In S. Schroth & J. Daniels. (Eds). Building STEM Skills through Environmental Education. Hershey, Pennsylvania: IGI Global. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-2711-5. 

Kirmani, M. (2013). Bundle of Secrets: Savita Returns Home. Createspace. South Carolina, USA. (Received Best Children’s Book Award, 2014).

Kirmani, M. & Laster, B. (2013). Wandering Wind. Createspace. South Carolina, USA.

Kirmani, M., & Kirmani, S. (2013). Conceptualization of spirituality: Theory of seven spiritual identities. In J. L. Hochheimer & W.S. Schmidt, (Eds.)Spirituality in the 21st Century: Explorations. Oxford, UK: Inter-Disciplinary Press. Pages 21-38.

Kirmani, M. (2013). Dual-window Video Technology Reflection (VTR) tool to promotereflective practice in teacher training. Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education. Ed/ITLib digital Library. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. (AACE). Pages 3947-3954.

Kirmani M. & Mukundi, P. (2010). Seeking ancestral roots and planting new ones: Oral literature of diaspora Indians in East Africa. Sankofa: Journal of African Children’s and Young Adult Literature, 9, 45-52.

Kirmani, M., Davis, M., Kalyanpur, M. (2009) Young children surfing: Gender differences in computeruse: SECA. Dimensions of Early Childhood. 37 (2) 16-23. Spring/Summer 2009 issue.

Neapolitan, J., Hartzler-Miller, C., Kenreich, T., Wiltz, N., Schafer, K., Proffitt, T., Kirmani, M., Bolton, J. (2008). Keeping good teachers: Connections to professional development school. School-University Partnership. 2(1), 61-72

Kirmani, M.H. (2007). Empowering culturally and linguistically diverse children and families. NAEYC publication. Young Child. 62 (6), 94-98.

Kirmani, M.H., & Laster, B. (2006) A thorn or a light bulb: Religious diversity in classrooms after September, 11. The International Journal of Diversity in Organizations, Communities and Nations. Common Ground. Melbourne, Australia. 5, 3-8.

Kalyanpur, M., & Kirmani, M. H. (2005) Diversity and technology: Classroom implications of the digital divide. Journal of Special Education and Technology. 20(4),9-18.

Kirmani, M.H. (2004). Tracing the ancestral treasures. The Authoritative Journal of Kenyan South Asian History, 2, 59-60.

Kirmani, M. H., & Kirmani, S. (2002) Oral literature of Asians in East Africa. Nairobi, Kenya: East African Publishers.

Kirmani, M.H. (2001) Technology and children. South Africa Computer Magazine. July Edition. Available online at: http://www.sacm.co.za/

Kirmani, M.H., & Laster, B. (1999) Responding to religious diversity in classrooms. Education Leadership. 56 (7), 61-63.

Kirmani, M.H. (1997) Creating a borderless continent via Africa learning network. Sunday Times. South Africa. 

Kirmani, M.H., & Frieman, B. (1997) Diversity in classrooms: teaching kindness through folktales. International Journal of Early Childhood. 29 (2)

Kirmani, M.H. (1995) Global Agenda on Education for all by the year 2000: Strategies using technology to reduce gender inequities. Towson State University. Lecture Series. (12). 13-20.

Presentations

'Emerging Peace Education for Young Children Around the Globe', Thursday, March 31, 2016. ACEI Conference, Costa Rica