Alina Slapac, Ed.D

Alina Slapac is an Associate Professor of Teacher Action Research in the College of Education, Department of Educator Preparation & Leadership, at the University of Missouri–St. Louis. She earned her Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Northern Iowa. She holds an M.A. in British Cultural Studies from the University of Bucharest (Romania) and a B.A. in Romanian and English as a Foreign Language from Ovidius University of Constanța (Romania).

Dr. Slapac’s research focuses on teacher preparation and professional development, particularly in Virtual Exchange (VE) partnerships, including Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), examined through social justice and critical frameworks. Her scholarship also explores the internationalization of teacher education, global citizenship education, and culturally and linguistically responsive teaching, emphasizing culture as a strength within classrooms and communities, both locally and globally. She has collaborated with educators and researchers from China, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States on research and teaching initiatives. Through her scholarship and teaching, Dr. Slapac is committed to advancing global awareness, intercultural competence, and meaningful international engagement through transformative learning experiences for preservice and in-service educators. Since 2021, she has integrated Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) into her graduate courses through a sustained international partnership with the University of the Western Cape (South Africa), complemented by a 2023 COIL collaboration with the University of Córdoba (Spain). These international collaborations have resulted in multiple iterations of virtual exchange courses, collaborative research projects, conference presentations, and numerous peer-reviewed publications that advance equitable global learning and teacher education.

She has served as a UMSL Global Ambassador Network Faculty Fellow and was selected as both a SUNY COIL Community Leader and a SUNY COIL Ambassador. Since 2025, she has served as co-moderator of the SUNY COIL Research Idea Hub, supporting an international community of scholars and practitioners engaged in virtual exchange research and practice.

Among numerous journal articles, book chapters, and national and international conference presentations, Dr. Slapac has co-edited three books published by IGI Global: Encouraging Transnational Learning Through Virtual Exchange in Global Teacher Education (2024), Handbook of Research on the Global Empowerment of Educators and Student Learning through Action Research (2021), and Beyond Language Learning Instruction: Transformative Supports for Emergent Bilinguals and Educators (2019).

Dr. Slapac has received three prestigious teaching awards: the Governor's Award for Excellence in Teaching (2022), the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching (2020), and the Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award (2013). She has also received several national and university service awards, including the O.L. Davis, Jr. Counselor of Distinction Award (KDP, 2015), Best Faculty Advisor (UMSL, 2015, 2013), the Regional Counselor Award for the Midwest Region (KDP, 2013), and the KDP Recognition Award for Outstanding Service and Dedication as Counselor of the Mu Iota Chapter (2010). Since 2009, Dr. Slapac has served as Counselor of the Kappa Delta Pi chapter at UMSL. Under her leadership, the chapter has received numerous university and national recognitions for excellence in service, literacy initiatives, community engagement, and chapter leadership. For eight years, she coordinated the Children's Program during UMSL's annual Martin Luther King Celebration Day, an initiative that received multiple university awards for promoting cultural awareness and sustained community engagement.

Dr. Slapac teaches face-to-face, blended, and online graduate courses in Teacher Action Research at the master's and doctoral levels and serves as Faculty Steward for the Action Research program. She has also served as a faculty mentor in two Ed.D. concentrations—Educational Practice (in partnership with Shenyang University, China) and Language, Literacy and Culture. At the undergraduate level, she has taught Introduction to Teaching, Positive Behavioral Supports in Inclusive Educational Settings, and Student Teaching Abroad (South Korea).

Program Involvement

• M.Ed. Program (Faculty Steward for Teacher Action Research 1 and Teacher Action Research Capstone)
• Ed.D. - Language, Literacy and Culture
• Ed.D. - Educational Practice (partnership with Shenyang University, China)

Published Research Areas

• Action Research
• Bilingual Education/Language Immersion
• Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
• Cross-Cultural Education
• Cultural and Linguistically Responsive Teacher Preparation/Development
• Diversity
• Global Competencies
• Differentiated Instruction
• Global/Intercultural Education
• Professional Development
• Social Justice
• Teacher Education/Development
• Transnational Learning
• Virtual Exchange (in Higher Education)