Walker Ballard’s path to doctoral research began not in a university seminar room, but in a middle school classroom in North Carolina. His experiences as a public school teacher sparked deeper questions about the role education plays in society.
Now a PhD student in philosophy of education and comparative education at The Ohio State University, Ballard studies how schools function as democratic institutions and how they can help resist authoritarianism.
Before entering graduate school, Ballard taught middle school, an experience he describes as formative. “My experiences in the classroom led me to want to understand the role of education in democratic society on a deeper level,” he said. That curiosity has since developed into a focused academic interest in how educational systems shape civic life.
Ballard’s academic interests began to take shape during his undergraduate years, when he pursued a double major in music education and German. He studied abroad in Germany twice, first during a summer program and later for a full semester. These experiences proved pivotal, exposing him to a different education system and sparking his interest in comparative education.
“I became interested in the German school system,” Ballard said, noting that his time abroad laid the foundation for his current research.
At Ohio State, Ballard found an environment that allowed him to connect his international experiences with his professional background in teaching. He said the university’s Department of Educational Studies, along with its broader interdisciplinary opportunities, provided the ideal setting to explore complex questions about educational policy and practice.
“A combination of my study-abroad experiences in college and then my work experience as a teacher really came together to leave me with some big unanswered questions,” he said.
Ballard has taken advantage of Ohio State’s wide range of academic resources, enrolling in courses in fields such as anthropology and German to support his research. This interdisciplinary approach has been central to shaping his dissertation, which brings together philosophy, policy and classroom practice.
His dissertation focuses on schools in democratic societies, with particular attention to their role in resisting authoritarian tendencies. He is studying German “community schools,” known as Gemeinschaftsschulen, to examine how educators contribute to equitable outcomes for marginalized students.
“I am writing about schools in democratic society, particularly as a key institution for resisting authoritarianism,” he said. “My work looks at the role that individual educators play in securing just procedures and outcomes for society’s most marginalized students.”
A significant boost to his research came through the 2025 Phyllis Krumm Award, which enabled Ballard to conduct fieldwork in Germany. With the award’s support, he spent five weeks visiting a school and gathering firsthand insights that have become essential to his dissertation.
“The award was invaluable,” Ballard said. “Without that support, it would have been more challenging to do my field work.”
For Ballard, engaging directly with the educational environments he studies has been critical, allowing him to connect theory with practice.
As he continues his doctoral work, Ballard encourages prospective graduate students to carefully consider their academic fit when choosing a program. At Ohio State, he said, the abundance of resources is a major advantage, but finding the right faculty mentorship is key.
“My advice is always to find the faculty that you want to study with first and go from there,” he said.
Through his research, Ballard aims to contribute to a broader understanding of how education can strengthen democratic life, a question that first took root in a middle school classroom and now drives his work across continents.