The State of Utah is becoming more diverse, crossing more cultural boundaries as international families move into the State. Dr. Parker Fawson poses the question:  are our graduates prepared to teach future students about the complexities, challenges, and wonders of the global world? Education majors have traditionally had under developed international experiences, almost half of the average of students participating in other majors on campus.

 

The reason for this limited international experience is a lack of room for traditional study abroad in the rigorous coursework of education majors. The setup of this major does not allow for students to gain meaningful academic credit when participating in study abroad, unlike many other majors who are able to incorporate study abroad courses or internships easily into their program schedule. Another part of the low number of international experiences in the college stems from a lack of opportunity to participate in meaningful study abroad experiences because there are not programs designed for education students.

 

With higher numbers of at-risk students coming from culturally diverse backgrounds within the Utah School system, it is critical that tomorrow’s teachers enter their careers prepared to teach these students.  It is even more imperative that these teachers are able to relate to their international students because of prior experience and understanding of diverse cultures.

 

To deal with these issues, Dr. Fawson has partnered with the New Zealand Ministry of Education to place students in New Zealand schools that have high numbers of Pacifica students. This spring six education majors (one physical education secondary education and six elementary education majors) completed student teaching in New Zealand schools for seven weeks. There, using the instructional language, English, the students were able to complete the second half of their student teaching experience exposed to a culture different from their own.

 

While Pacifica cultures are different than the students’ own culture, New Zealand is a strategic location for Utah State University because of the high Pacifica population in Utah. Dr. Fawson has already been in touch with principals of high Pacifica population schools and their response to the program is extremely positive. These principals want to know the names of these students so they can recruit them upon arrival home to the states.

 

The quality of Utah State University’s education program cannot be disputed; it is one of the best in the country. This international experience “adds one more quality piece to student’s experience that actually strengthens the program. This puts us at the forefront of addressing the globalization issue in schooling,” declares Dr. Fawson. The international teaching experience at USU is new, but growing quickly. In the fall a professor and graduate student will travel to the Philippines to work with a collaborating university and discussions are already taking place on placing students in teaching experiences in Chile next spring. No longer will there be a lack of international opportunities for education majors at USU, the ground work is done, and this value-building experience will continue to grow across the college.