Assistant Professor, Education Policy, Organization and Leadership, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Assistant Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Ph.D. in Human Development, University of Pennsylvania

Ed.M. in International Education Policy, Harvard University

B.S. in Psychology, Colorado State University

Castillo, N. M., Adam, T., & Haßler, B. (Accepted/In press). Improving the impact of educational technologies on learning within low-income contexts.

Wagner, D. A., Castillo, N. M., & Tuz Zahra, F. (2020). Global learning equity and education: looking ahead: Background paper for the Futures of Education initiative.

Castillo, N. M., & Wagner, D. A. (2019). Early-grade reading support in rural South Africa: A language-centred technology approach. International Review of Education, 65(3), 389-408.  link >

Castillo, N. M., Fierro-Villa, A., & Tapia Quintana, D. (2018). Advancing human development for youth in Mexico: Constraints and opportunities. In M. Nakkula (Ed.), Adolescent Psychology in Today's World: Global Perspectives on Risks, Relationships, and Development ABC-CLIO.

Castillo, N. M. (2018). Two ways artificial intelligence will transform traditional learning models.

Wagner, D., & Castillo, N. M. (2017). El aprendizaje en la base de la pirámide: Restricciones, comparabilidad y política en países envías de desarrollo. Revista de Sociologia de la Educacion, 10(2), 240-253.  link >

Wagner, D., Buek, K., Adler, A., Castillo, N. M., Tuz Zahra, F., Lee, J., Chittamuru, D., & Lee, S. (2016). Review: The World Bank's Mind, Society, and Behavior. Comparative Education Review, 60(3), 601-603.  link >

Castillo, N. M., Lee, J., Zahra, F. T., & Wagner, D. A. (2015). MOOCs for Development: Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities. Information Technologies & International Development, 11(2).

Castillo, N. M., & Wagner, D. A. (2014). Gold Standard? The Use of Randomized Controlled Trials for International Educational Policy. Comparative Education Review, 58(1), 166-173.  link >

Murphy, K. M., Castillo, N. M., Zahra, F. T., & Wagner, D. A. (2014). Mobile Learning Design Solutions: Innovations in Learning through the Use of Mobiles across Contexts. In G. B. Gudmundsdottir, & K. B. Vasbø (Eds.), Methodological Challenges When Exploring Digital Learning Spaces in Education (pp. 13-27). (New Research – New Voices). Sense Publishers.  link >

Wagner, D. A., & Castillo, N. M. (2014). Learning at the bottom of the pyramid: Constraints, comparability and policy in developing countries. Prospects, 44(4), 627-638.  link >

Wagner, D. A., Castillo, N. M., Murphy, K. M., Crofton, M., & Zahra, F. T. (2014). Mobiles for literacy in developing countries: An effectiveness framework. Prospects, 44(1), 119-132.  link >

Culture in the Classroom (CI 446) Explores cultural, political, and social factors that affect learning and teaching. Introduces students to the fields of educational anthropology and multicultural education and to the application of cultural information to curriculum development and classroom practice. The 3-hour undergraduate version and 4-hour graduate version meet the Cross-Cultural Studies for Teaching Limited-English-Proficient Students requirement for Bilingual and/or ESL Teaching Approval or Endorsement from the Illinois State Board of Education. Synchronous attendance required. Moodle LMS.

Culture in the Classroom (CI 446) Explores cultural, political, and social factors that affect learning and teaching. Introduces students to the fields of educational anthropology and multicultural education and to the application of cultural information to curriculum development and classroom practice. The 3-hour undergraduate version and 4-hour graduate version meet the Cross-Cultural Studies for Teaching Limited-English-Proficient Students requirement for Bilingual and/or ESL Teaching Approval or Endorsement from the Illinois State Board of Education.

Tech & Ed Development Global (CI 590) Seminar for graduate students on specific topics. Section title: Technology and Education Development in Global Contexts, cross-listed with EPOL 590

Tech for Education Development (CI 590) Seminar for graduate students on specific topics. The importance of the relationship between education, technology, and social-economic development is increasing in the US and around the world. What are new information and communications technologies (ICTs), how are they being deployed, and for what reasons? This course will review basic definitions, explore current and new efforts to utilize ICTs in educational contexts, and compare how context and culture affect learning and teaching outcomes that utilize technology. A particular focus in this course will be on how ICTs are deployed in high-poverty contexts where diversity can make ICT4D particularly challenging. Materials will be primarily based on a set of readings taken from the recent international development literature.

Proseminar in EPOL (EPOL 500) Introduces new doctoral students in EPOL to the variety of educational research traditions in order to foster reflective inquiry and critical research literacy. The EPOL Proseminar is a cohort experience essential for first-year, on-campus doctoral students designed to foster (a) community and collaboration across the diverse programs in our department; (b) literacy regarding the multiple disciplines and traditions of educational research; and (c) a reflective stance toward one's burgeoning scholarship. Throughout the semester, discussion-based course will incorporate perspectives from multiple EPOL professors who themselves draw from a variety of research traditions and orientations.

Education and Globalization (EPOL 520) Analyses of the role and functions of education in social, political, and economic development, with particular reference to the new and the developing countries. Synchronous attendance required. Moodle LMS.

Education and Globalization (EPOL 520) Analyses of the role and functions of education in social, political, and economic development, with particular reference to the new and the developing countries.

Tech & Ed Development Global (EPOL 590) Seminar in educational policy studies; sections offered in the following fields: (a) history of education; (b) philosophy of education; (c) comparative education; (d) social foundations of education; (e) philosophy of educational research; and (f) historical methods in education. Section title: Technology and Education Development in Global Contexts. The importance of the relationship between education, technology, and social-economic development is increasing in the US and around the world. What are new information and communications technologies (ICTs), how are they being deployed, and for what reasons? Are new ICTs a means for delivering skill-based or distance education information, and in what ways are they becoming a part of societies today? What constitutes, then, ICTs for Development (ICT4D), and what role do they play in societies that are ‘industrialized’ and ‘developing’. This course will review basic definitions, explore current and new efforts to utilize ICTs in educational contexts, and compare how context and culture affect learning and teaching outcomes that utilize technology. A particular focus in this course will be on how ICTs are deployed in high-poverty contexts where diversity can make ICT4D particularly challenging. Materials wil

Survey Design II (EPOL 590) Seminar in educational policy studies; sections offered in the following fields: (a) history of education; (b) philosophy of education; (c) comparative education; (d) social foundations of education; (e) philosophy of educational research; and (f) historical methods in education. Prerequisite: Survey Methods I or permission from instructor.

Education and Globalization (EPS 530)

Tech for Education Development (EPS 590) Seminar in educational policy studies; sections offered in the following fields: (a) history of education; (b) philosophy of education; (c) comparative education; (d) social foundations of education; (e) philosophy of educational research; and (f) historical methods in education. The importance of the relationship between education, technology, and social-economic development is increasing in the US and around the world. What are new information and communications technologies (ICTs), how are they being deployed, and for what reasons? This course will review basic definitions, explore current and new efforts to utilize ICTs in educational contexts, and compare how context and culture affect learning and teaching outcomes that utilize technology. A particular focus in this course will be on how ICTs are deployed in high-poverty contexts where diversity can make ICT4D particularly challenging. Materials will be primarily based on a set of readings taken from the recent international development literature.

Survey Design I (ERAM 581) The initial course in a three-part course sequence that introduces the theories, methods, and applications of surveys for educational and social programs through student projects. The survey is an essential tool for researchers in the social sciences and in many applied professional fields, such as education, public health, and marketing. In the context of student projects, we will examine the major planning tasks necessary for conducting surveys, including problem formulation, study design, questionnaire and interview design, pretesting, sampling, interviewer training and field management, and code development. We will focus throughout on issues of design, refinement, and ethics in research that crosses boundaries of nationality, class, gender, language, and ethnicity.