Flavia S . Ramos-Mattoussi

Dr. Flavia S. Ramos-Mattoussi is a Senior Research Associate at the Learning Systems Institute at Florida State University and Associate Director of the Center for International Studies in Educational Research and Development (CISERD). Prior to joining FSU in 2009, she served as director of the Assistance to Basic Education (USAID ABE-IQC) at Juarez & Associates in Washington, DC (2007-2009). She held prior academic appointments including Assistant Professor and Director of the International Training and Education Program at American University in Washington, DC (2002-2007); Visiting professor of International Education at the George Washington University (2000-2002); Adjunct faculty at the University of Connecticut (leading a study abroad program to Cuba in 2002), and at the School for International Training in Vermont (1990). 

Dr. Ramos-Mattoussi is an International Education and Development professional with more than 30 years’ experience in project design & implementation, teacher education, leadership training, nonformal education, materials and curriculum development, intercultural communications, gender and development, women’s empowerment, program evaluation and assessment of education initiatives in multicultural, post-conflict and development settings. She has been a consultant for government agencies (U.S. Agency for International Development and U.S. Department of Labor) and non-governmental organizations (UNICEF, American Council on Education, World Learning, Institute for Training and Development, IBTCI, etc.) implementing participant training programs in the United States and conducting research and training in Latin America, Africa and Asia.  She has produced numerous informational materials and training curricula targeting multicultural and multilingual populations and conducted social marketing research for health and education (Boston Medical Center, Massachusetts Center for SIDS; The Johns Hopkins University, Center for Communication Programs; and the National Coalition of Advocates for Students). Most recently, she has been involved in the development and evaluation of literacy programs, as well as evaluation of higher education partnerships worldwide. She is fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Dr. Ramos-Mattoussi’s research focuses on the development of participatory and action research methods, including visual sociology, life histories and biographical approaches in research. She is the author of The FotoDialogo Method©, several training manuals, technical reports, book chapters and articles in refereed journals (Teaching & Teacher Education, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, Electronic Magazine of Multicultural Education, Chalkboard, SAGE Benchmarks in Social Research Methods Series, RTI Press, etc.). She is also a playwright, visual artist, author and illustrator of numerous children's books published in Brazil—as Flavia Sales.  She is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences including Comparative and International Education Society, American Anthropological Association, Southeast Evaluation Association, National Association for Multicultural Education, Society for International Development, and the Intercultural and International Communication Conference. 

Dr. Ramos-Mattoussi holds an Ed.D. in Education Policy, Research, and Administration, and a M.Ed. in International Education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She received her B.F.A. in Art Education from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro.

The FotoDialogo Method: A new approach for making meaning and building dialogue in multicultural community settings

This book deals with issues of cross-cultural communications that stem from the lack of shared meaning that different cultural groups embrace. Shared meaning is built on mutual understanding that emerges when people at every level of the community can speak about what really concerns them. In the FotoDialogo Method, Hispanic women use pictures and storytelling to express their concerns about the disabling effects of social, cultural and economic marginalization associated with the low-income minority population in the USA. The FotoDialogo Method is an approach for engaging community-based organizations in dialogue with their multicultural client population. It consists of a series of black-and-white drawings that were inspired by real-life stories told by inner-city women of color. These are used to initiate collective dialogue and create illustrated life-based narratives or "fotonovelas." The author describes the development of the method and its impact on the Hispanic community in Massachusetts where the pilot study took place. This should be useful for adult educators, researchers and community organizers working across cultural borderlines.


VDM Verlag Dr. Müller
ISBN 978-3-639-22584-6, paperback, 500 Pages
Books on Demand
http://www.bod.com/index.php?id=3435&objk_id=316480

My experiences as both artist and educator in the international development field have shown that the arts are powerful instruments in the learning process, especially in development settings, where alternative means of communication can make up for participants ' low literacy levels. As educators, we may look at the arts as tools that we use in the meaning-making process of teaching and learning; as artists, we make the tools that educators and learners use to build knowledge. It was with this idea in mind that I developed the FotoDialogo Method as a new research and education tool in which the arts and social inquiry merge. The FotoDialogo Method is a research tool aimed at building dialogue among culturally diverse groups, and examining individuals ’ perceptions of social reality through the use of drawings. In the FotoDialogo method, the process begins with the unveiling of significant themes as described in interviews and conversations with participants. Then, based on the...

THE FOTODIALOGO METHOD: USING PICTURES AND STORYTELLING TO PROMOTE DIALOGUE AND SELF-DISCOVERY AMONG LATINAS WITHIN A COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION IN MASSACHUSETTS MAY 1999 FLAVIA S. RAMOS, B.F.A., UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO RIO DE JANEIRO M.Ed., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Ed.D, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Robert Miltz This study aims at building dialogue among culturally diverse groups by examining people's perceptions of social reality through the application of projective techniques. In this study the projective techniques consist of a set of original pictures drawn by the author based on participants’ accounts of their living situations. The set of pictures combined with the process of inquiry applied in this study comprise the FotoDialogo Method. This study conforms to the following objectives: (1) developing and testing an original model of inquiry and education which promotes dialogue and self-discovery; (2) fostering dialogue skills a...

My experiences as both artist and educator in the international development field have shown that the arts are powerful instruments in the learning process, especially in development settings, where alternative means of communication can make up for participants' low literacy levels. As educators, we may look at the arts as tools that we use in the meaning-making process of teaching and learning; as artists, we make the tools that educators and learners use to build knowledge. It was with this idea in mind that I developed the FotoDialogo Method as a new research and education tool in which the arts and social inquiry merge. The FotoDialogo Method is a research tool aimed at building dialogue among culturally diverse groups, and examining individuals’ perceptions of social reality through the use of drawings. In the FotoDialogo method, the process begins with the unveiling of significant themes as described in interviews and conversations with participants. Then, based on these ...

Ramos-Mattoussi, F. (2019). Women’s Empowerment and Equal Opportunities Initiatives in Paraguay. Invited Article. The Diplomatist: Special Report, May 2019, 31-33. New Delhi, India. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ssJVVdePQK6DWmqJQW4H0FGoa3j4ppMj

Ramos-Mattoussi, F. (2019). Women’s Empowerment and Equal Opportunities Initiatives in Paraguay. Invited Article. The Diplomatist: Special Report, May 2019, 31-33. New Delhi, India. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ssJVVdePQK6DWmqJQW4H0FGoa3j4ppMj

This briefing paper, “Building Research and Teaching Capacity in Indonesia through International Collaboration,” published by the Institute of International Education’s Center for International Partnerships, provides a detailed, data-driven look at the research and teaching capacity of Indonesian universities. The authors, Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi and Jeffrey Ayala Milligan, report on key findings from a USAID-funded project in which faculty members from Florida State University worked in collaboration with university partners in Indonesia to develop and implement a series of activities with the aim of building the capacity of teacher education institutions. This IIE briefing paper examines recent efforts in building the research and teaching capacity of Indonesian universities and the specific challenges in developing the research capacity of university lecturers in Indonesia.

This paper explores methodological issues of recording, revisiting and portraying women’s life experiences and their connections to the past, to their families and to their communities. It examines the personal histories and collective memories of a group of low-income Hispanic women,
through the application of an innovative research tool that uses pictures and storytelling as projective techniques. The FotoDialogo Method uses a set of original drawings to initiate dialogical interviews, to inspire research participants to tell their stories, and to critically analyze the situations presented in these stories. The research study took place at a community-based organization providing non-formal education programs to the Spanish-speaking population in a US inner-city setting. The FotoDialogo Method has the potential to be an effective tool to help underprivileged women break the silence concerning their experiences of oppression and to engage them in a process of self-discovery and transformation that empowers them to become change agents within their families and communities.

This study aims at building dialogue among culturally diverse groups by examining people's perceptions of social reality through the application of projective techniques. In this study the projective techniques consist of a set of original pictures drawn by the author based on ...

The evaluation team composed of Dr. Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi (international consultant) and Ms. Venus Caballero (local consultant) was contracted by HED to conduct the external (end-of-project) evaluation of the WLP-Paraguay to learn how the partnership has contributed and could continue contributing to the promotion of gender equality and female empowerment in agriculture. The team examined the following aspects of the program: (1) efficiency of management processes and systems; (2) relevance of program design; (3) effectiveness of program implementation; (4) impact of program intervention; and (5) potential for program sustainability. The evaluation was conducted from February 4 to July 31, 2015. Fieldwork was carried out from April 6 to May 25, 2015, including work in the United States and in Paraguay.

Ramos Mattoussi, F., & Caballero, V. (2015). External Evaluation of the Women's Leadership Program in Paraguay: Evaluation Report. [174 p.] Higher Education for Development (HED), American Council on Education (ACE) (Technical Report). USAID/DEC, Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00KNGF.pdf

The evaluation team composed of Dr. Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi (international consultant) and Ms. Venus Caballero (local consultant) was contracted by HED to conduct the external (end-of-project) evaluation of the WLP-Paraguay to learn how the partnership has contributed and could continue contributing to the promotion of gender equality and female empowerment in agriculture. The team examined the following aspects of the program: (1) efficiency of management processes and systems; (2) relevance of program design; (3) effectiveness of program implementation; (4) impact of program intervention; and (5) potential for program sustainability. The evaluation was conducted from February 4 to July 31, 2015. Fieldwork was carried out from April 6 to May 25, 2015, including work in the United States and in Paraguay.

Ramos Mattoussi, F., & Caballero, V. (2015). External Evaluation of the Women's Leadership Program in Paraguay: Evaluation Report. [174 p.] Higher Education for Development (HED), American Council on Education (ACE) (Technical Report). USAID/DEC, Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00KNGF.pdf

Ramos-Mattoussi, F. & Caballero, V. (July 2015). External Evaluation of the Women’s Leadership Program in Paraguay: Evaluation Report. [174 p.] Higher Education for Development (HED), American Council on Education (ACE). USAID/DEC, Washington, DC. http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00KNGF.pdf

READING FOR ETHIOPIA’S ACHIEVEMENT DEVELOPED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (2012-2017)
Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi, Ed.D. Principal Investigator with Jeffrey Ayala Milligan, Ph.D. and Young-Suk Kim, Ed.D.
READ TA is a five-year project supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development and implemented by the Research Triangle Institute and its partners, including the Florida State University. This project supports the Ethiopian Ministry of Education (MOE) in its efforts to develop a nationwide reading and writing program. The objective of the project is to improve the reading and writing skills of children in grades one through eight in both their mother tongue and English, as measured by improvements in learning outcomes. The project is expected to reach 15 million children in all schools and all regions of Ethiopia.

Raupp, M & Ramos-Mattoussi, F.  (May 31, 2012) Mid-term monitoring and evaluation of Alfalit's literacy programs in Liberia, Mozambique, and Angola [140 p.] Special report. International Business and Technical Consultants, Inc. (IBTCI) Sponsoring Organization(s): USAID. Bur. for Africa, Development Experience Clearinghouse, PD-ACT-624

Juarez and Associates, Inc. (2008). Interim Assessment of Impact/Results of the Short-term Technical Assistance and Training Task Order.  IQC No. GEW-I-00-02-00020-00 Integrating Gender for Development Results: Women in Development. Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development.

Bolomey, Antonieta; Munoz-Lopez, Rosie; Ramirez-Garnica, Gabriela; Ramos, Flavia S. (2001) Nosotras Viviremos. Las destrezas: A Capacity Building Training Manual for Working with Latina Farmworking Youth. 145 p. Boston, MA: National Coalition of Advocates for Students.  ERIC ED 459145

Bolomey, Antonieta; Munoz-Lopez, Rosie; Ramirez-Garnica, Gabriela; Ramos, Flavia S (2001). Nosotras Viviremos. Los consejos: A Capacity Building Training Manual for Working with Latina Farmworking Mothers and Mentors of Girls. 138 p. Boston, MA: National Coalition of Advocates for Students. ERIC ED 459144