Ed School Student Wins Grant for Work in South Africa

Denise M. Sims Zinn of South Africa, a candidate for the Ed.D. in learning and teaching at the Graduate School of Education, has received a grant from the Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. The grant was awarded in a national competition among women students from developing countries. It recognizes Zinn's academic achievement, her professional experiences in South Africa, and her commitment to return to her country when her studies are completed.

Zinn attended rigidly segregated schools in Cape Town. Teachers in her high school were vigorously opposed to apartheid and encouraged her to attend the "open" University of Cape Town, where she received teacher certification and a graduate degree. She and her husband taught for 10 years in a high school in Port Elizabeth where they also participated in political activities.

Zinn accompanied her husband to the U.S. when he received a Fulbright Scholarship to study at Teachers College, Columbia. A year later she received the Harvard-South Africa Fellowship. Her dissertation explores the experiences of teachers who are undergoing a transition between old and new educational methodologies in South Africa. Zinn and her husband plan to do teacher education when they return to South Africa.

The Margaret McNamara Memorial Fund was organized in 1981 to honor the memory of the wife of Robert S. McNamara, president of the World Bank from 1968 to 1981. The Fund has awarded 47 grants to women from developing countries who are studying in the United States. Applicants must be at least 25 years of age and enrolled in U.S. educational institutions. They must have demonstrated interest in issues affecting women and children, and must be planning to return to their countries within two years of receiving the grant.