Farouq Sessah Mensah

Bio

Farouq Sessah Mensah is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. His research focuses on mathematics teacher education, teacher learning and agency, digital technologies in education, and mathematical activity across educational, vocational, and professional contexts. He is particularly interested in how institutional, sociocultural, and technological conditions shape mathematics teaching, teacher preparation, and opportunities for professional learning.

He holds a PhD in Mathematics Education from Stockholm University, an MPhil in Mathematics Education, and a BEd in Mathematics from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. His work draws on sociocultural, institutional, and praxeological perspectives to examine teaching, learning, and the organization of mathematical knowledge and practice.

Honors & Awards

• 2025 AJRMSTE Early Career Publishing Award, African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (January 21, 2026)
• Wallenberg–Bienenstock Postdoctoral Scholarship at Stanford, Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation (March 2026)

Professional Education

• Master of Philosophy, University Of Cape Coast (2018)
• Doctor of Philosophy, Stockholm University (2026)
• Bachelor of Education, University Of Cape Coast (2011)
• Ph.D, Stockholm University, Sweden, Mathematics Education (2026)
• MPhil, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, Mathematics Education (2018)
• BEd, University of Cape Coast, Ghana, Mathematics Education (2011)

Stanford Advisors

• Jo Boaler, Postdoctoral Faculty Sponsor

Research Interests

• Artificial intelligence (AI)
• Curriculum Studies & Design
• Design-based research
• Global and Comparative Education
• Higher Education
• Mathematics Education
• Qualitative Methods
• STEM Education
• Teacher Education
• Teacher Learning
• Teacher Preparation
• Teacher Professional Development
• Workforce Learning

Current Research and Scholarly Interests

My research focuses on mathematics teacher education and the conditions under which teachers and prospective teachers develop knowledge, agency, and practices for mathematics teaching. I examine how mathematical and pedagogical activity is shaped by interactions among teachers, learners, digital technologies, institutional arrangements, curricula, and broader sociocultural contexts.

A major strand of my work investigates the preparation of mathematics teachers to use digital technologies in instruction. This research considers not only whether technologies are used, but how particular forms of technology-mediated teaching become possible, legitimate, and teachable within teacher-education systems. My work draws particularly on praxeological and institutional perspectives to analyze relationships among mathematical knowledge, pedagogical practices, technology, and teacher agency.

A second strand examines mathematics beyond conventional classroom settings, particularly mathematical activity embedded in vocational and workplace practices. This work seeks to make visible forms of mathematical reasoning that may remain obscured when occupational activity is viewed only through formal school mathematics.

More broadly, I am interested in comparative and context-sensitive approaches to mathematics education and in understanding how educational innovations, including digital and AI-mediated practices, interact with institutional conditions, professional knowledge, and opportunities for teachers and learners to exercise agency.