Posted on Updated on

College of Education to host Fulbright Fellow for U.S. study of special education

URI’s Adam Moore host for educator exchange with universities in Germany, Austria

Fulbright Fellow Lisa-Katharina Möhlen (left) and Erica Dickson ’94 '06 spent a day together recently in the Jamestown School Department, where Dickson is director of student services.

KINGSTON, R.I. – March 21, 2025 – With a focus on theory in practice, the University of Rhode Island Feinstein College of Education will welcome Fulbright Fellow Lisa-Katharina Möhlen, a joint doctoral student at the University of Braunschweig, Germany and University of Vienna, Austria. Möhlen will be on campus April 6 to 10 as she launches her six-month study of special education in the United States.

The German doctoral candidate has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to study with Adam Moore, associate professor of special education at URI, through August. In the year ahead, Möhlen will be traveling across the nation working with Moore’s colleagues in special education teacher preparation to compare practices in America, Germany and Austria.

Adam Moore, URI associate professor of special education, is host for an educator exchange with universities in Germany and Austria.

Möhlen also plans to visit other special education teacher preparation programs across the country. She will travel to schools in Rhode Island, California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Texas, Vermont, and Wisconsin to observe the continuum of special education services within the United States.

Möhlen is looking forward to the opportunity to explore and compare the role of teachers as “policymakers on the ground” who facilitate inclusive environments for students.

“I suspect that what happens in German and Austrian classrooms may look similar to what happens in America,” she said. “But still the administration, management, and organization of special education across our countries is very different.”

Moore, an expert in special education teacher preparation, met Möhlen during his invited guest lectureship at the Technical University of Braunschweig in 2023.

“It was wonderful to learn from Lisa about global practices that center the needs of students with disabilities and start this extended collaborative partnership,” he said. “I’m humbled to mentor her during her Fulbright Fellowship.”

German doctoral candidate Lisa-Katharina Möhlen is working with URI’s College of Education for her study of special education in the U.S.

Over the last year the two have collaborated on several projects examining global approaches to inclusion and supporting youth with disabilities, including a joint presentation to the Council for Exceptional Children in November.

Danielle Dennis, dean of URI’s College of Education, said this next step will deepen the college’s established partnership with the Technical University of Braunschweig, which began three decades ago with URI’s College of Engineering. The partnership between URI and the Technical University has since expanded to include other colleges, including the Feinstein College of Education. The College of Education and TU Braunschweig’s Institute for Educational Sciences also recently started a teacher exchange program funded by the German Academic Exchange Service. TU’s Vice President of Teacher Training and Professor of Education Katja Koch, who visited the URI campus in the fall of 2024, has been an integral part of expanding these reciprocal partnerships.

“Having Lisa study with Dr. Moore is an example of how our global partnership with the University of Braunschweig has evolved and grown over the last several years,” Dennis said.

“URI’s Feinstein College of Education is expanding the scope and impact of this strategic partnership,” added URI Vice Provost for Global Initiatives Kristin Johnson. “This relationship offers exceptional global opportunities to students and researchers at both institutions.”

Covering classrooms, coast to coast

Möhlen will be busy traveling between eight states spanning the country over the six-month Fulbright, visiting numerous PK-12 schools and assessing various services provided to youth with disabilities. She has already started visiting schools in Rhode Island.

Lisa Colwell, director of pupil personnel services in the Bristol Warren Regional School District and president of the Association of Rhode Island Administrators of Special Education, said hosting Lisa offered her district a unique opportunity to share and exchange special education programming, practices and leadership that exist between the United States and Europe.

In addition to visiting schools, Möhlen will be discussing German and Austrian special education systems with teacher candidates, scholars, and community members during her travels. In Texas, University of Texas Professor Jessica Reuter will host Möhlen as she visits PK-12 schools around the greater Fort Worth area.

“We are excited to support Ms. Möhlen in observing Texas schools during her Fulbright stay. The opportunity to learn about German and Austrian educational systems from her is equally appealing,” she said.

Moore, a former special education teacher who has lived and taught in the Midwest and New England, said his own career has shown him firsthand how much variety there is to be found in how different communities approach special education. Before coming to URI, Moore was a national board-certified special education teacher in the Boston Public Schools. He has been awarded several awards for his research, service, and teaching, including the New England Educational Research Organization Schmitt Research Award and a URI Kappa Delta Pi Outstanding Teaching Award. Moore’s research focuses on inclusive education and family-centered partnerships. He is a leader for URI’s Project SUSTAIN award from the U.S. Department of Education, which aims to address the national special education teacher shortage through a $1.1 million educator personnel grant.

Moore believes Möhlen’s visits will provide her with a contextual understanding of the range of special education services in the United States which can ultimately lead to improving how children with disabilities are served globally.

This summer, Moore and Colleen Rossignol, the College of Education’s coordinator for global education and partnerships, will switch places with Möhlen. They’re heading to Germany to lead a study abroad course in Braunschweig, Nuremberg and Munich, exploring how disability is constructed in both countries. 

The College of Education now offers an advanced bachelor’s to master’s degree 4+1 program in special education, along with the traditional M.A. in special education. URI has tripled enrollment in its special education program in the last two years and is the largest producer of teacher candidates in Rhode Island; last year, 186 students earned teacher certifications at URI.