International Projects Overview
- 1. 1 Promoting Global Education: Programs, Products, and Partnerships Dan Prinzing, Ph.D. Wassmuth Center for Human Rights Boise, Idaho dan@wassmuthcenter.org Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. Mark Twain, 1869. International Education Initiative (Idaho State Department of Education) 2003-2006: Designed to bring the world into the classrooms of the geographically-large, population sparse state of Idaho, as the SDE Coordinator of International Education, Dr. Prinzing championed the 2003 initiative’s three objectives: 1. integrate a global perspective into the state’s content learning standards; 2. support exchange opportunities for Idaho teachers and students; and 3. develop partnerships with international education stakeholders. Idaho Content Learning Standards: Creation and implementation of a K-12 global perspective content learning standard infusing global connections, cultures, and issues into all social studies courses; Revision of the K-12 geography content learning standard to create two separate standards: Eastern Hemisphere Geography and Culture and Western Hemisphere Geography and Culture; and Revision of the K-12 western civilization content learning standard to create a new standard on World History and Civilizations – integrating more of a focus on the Eastern Hemisphere. Exchange Opportunities and Partners: Partnership: Boise State University - Designed as a culminating project for a student participating on an outbound exchange, a performance assessment, correlated to the Idaho Content Standards for Humanities, was designed to demonstrate student learning gained through international exchange and study. The assessment instrument is scored for the documentation of credit to be granted by Boise State University. Partnership: AFS Intercultural Programs – The Idaho Intercultural Exchange Guide was created to provide Idaho school districts with clear guidelines and sample policy language to support the sending of outbound and the receiving of inbound exchange students. International Education Stakeholders: Chair (2003-2006) – Idaho International Education Taskforce in collaboration with the States Institute for International Education in the Schools sponsored by the Asia Society.
- 2. 2 The task force included state legislators, educators, and representatives from student exchange organizations. State Leader and Member of the US Advisory Group (2005 – 2010) – Civitas Cooperative Exchange Program / Center for Civic Education funded by the U.S. Department of Education Board of Directors (2007-2011) – Idaho International Visitors Program Education Mission: Recognizing the long-term impact in the classroom of providing Idaho teachers and administrators with a first-hand exploration of another country or culture, education missions began as a mechanism for fostering a commitment to global education. Each of the missions has been grant-funded; the only cost to the participants has been the commitment to develop a comprehensive lesson plan that transfers individual learning into classroom teaching. Designed and conducted by Dr. Prinzing, the following missions have occurred: Germany (2004), China (2004), Germany (2005), Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (2005), Basque Region of Spain (2005), Mexico (2006), China (2006), Jordan (2006), Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (2007), China (2007), Netherlands, Germany, Poland (2007), Northern Ireland (2008), South Korea (2008), Germany (2009), Jordan (2009), China (2010), Jordan (2011), Japan (2011), Colombia and Ecuador (2013), Jordan and Israel (2013), and Germany (2014). Curriculum development: Creation of over 75 classroom lesson plans integrating country or region specific information into language arts, social studies and visual arts courses Creation of a model senior project that integrates an international framework into senior American Government, Economics, and Language Arts Mission partners / funders: Germany (2) – The Goethe Institut, Washington, D.C. South Korea – The Korea Society, NY Japan – The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnerships, NY Jordan (2) – The Center for Civic Education Civitas Cooperative Exchange Program, CA Republic of Ireland / Northern Ireland (2) - The Center for Civic Education Civitas Cooperative Exchange Program, CA International Presentation: The Center for Civic Education’s Civitas International Programs bring exemplary civic education curricula to students worldwide in partnership with organizations in the United States and in eighty countries. Sharing experience and best practice in the field, Dr. Prinzing has been a featured presenter at conferences and workshops in Nigeria (2004), Belgium (2005), Poland (2006), Northern Ireland (2006), Republic of Ireland (2007), Germany (2007), Argentina (2007), Morocco (2008), Montenegro (2008), Dominican Republic (2009), South Africa (2009), Colombia (2010), Indonesia (2010), Northern Ireland (2010), and Colombia (2011).
- 3. 3 Dr. Prinzing presented at the annual Children’s Identity & Citizenship in Europe conference in the United Kingdom (May 2012). Publication: Fayez, S. & Prinzing, D. (2010). Promoting U.S. – Middle Eastern Cultural Understanding Through Youth Exchange. Innovation through Education: Building the Knowledge Economy in the Middle East. Institute of International Education, NY. Prinzing, D. (2009). Human Rights Education. Democratic Citizenship 5-6: 32-33. (Published by Civic Initiatives in Belgrade, Serbia.) Featured in Publication: Barton, R. (2009). A Citizen of the World. Northwest Education, 14, (2), 28-32. International Project Work: Civitas Cooperative Exchange Program (2005 to present) – managing site director in the exchange of ideas, professional development, capacity building, and research and evaluation in civic education with Co-operation Ireland in Dublin, Republic of Ireland and Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Project partner: The Center for Civic Education (CA), funded by the U.S. Department of Education) Jordan E-Enabled Civic Education (2006-2008) – project manager for the creation of 17 e- learning civic education lessons for use in the King’s Discovery School. (Project partners: The Center for Civic Education (CA), the Jordanian Center for Civic Education Studies and the Jordanian Ministry of Education, funded by the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), U.S. Department of State) Global LEAP (2007) – design and deliver a three-week leadership program in Idaho for 21 visiting school administrators from Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela. The project included a pre- program needs assessment conducted in each of the countries. (Project partner: AFS Intercultural Programs (NY), funded by the Bureau of Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State) Reconciliation through Civic Education (2007-2008) – project trainer on the integration of civic education for 70 Kosovar educators in Prishtina, Kosovo. The project included a training of trainers for Kosovar teachers meeting in Macedonia. (Project partners: The Center for Civic Education (CA) and Civitas Kosova; funded by USAID/Kosovo) Civitas Cooperative Exchange Program (2008 to present) – managing site director in the exchange of ideas, professional development, capacity building, and research and evaluation in civic education with the Jordanian Center for Civic Education Studies in Amman, Jordan and
- 4. 4 Fundacion Presencia in Bogota, Colombia. (Project partner: The Center for Civic Education (CA), funded by the U.S. Department of Education) Reconciliation through Civic Education in the Balkans (2008-2010) – curriculum developer and trainer in the integration of human rights in education for democracy. The project included a curriculum presentation for the project partners steering committee meeting conducted in Montenegro; teacher training in Prishtina, Kosovo, Belgrade, Serbia and Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina; training of trainers with teachers selected from the three program countries meeting in Montenegro; and a human rights / democracy camp for 120 high school students selected from the three program countries meeting in Macedonia. (Project partners: The Center for Civic Education (CA), Civitas Kosova, Civic Initiatives (Serbia) and Civitas Bosnia and Herzegovina, funded by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State) Human Rights and Project Citizen: A Framework for Building Community (2009-2010) – chief collaborator and director of a two-year qualitative study on the impact of integrating human rights education in education for democracy. The project included data collection (individual and group interviews, document review, and school site visits) in Colombia, Jordan, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Serbia. (Funded by the M.J. Murdock Charitable Family Trust) Youth LEAD (2009) – design and deliver a three-week two-way exchange and a year-long leadership program for 36 high school students from Idaho (18), Jordan (6), Israel (6), and Palestine (6). The project included a pre-program needs assessment and follow-up visit conducted in each of the countries. (Project partner: AFS Intercultural Programs (NY), funded by the Bureau of Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State) Civic Education for Participation and Tolerance in Thailand (2010) – trainer in education for democracy for 21 government officials meeting in Chanthaburi, Thailand. (Project partners: The Center for Civic Education and King Prajadhipok's Institute (Thailand), funded by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State) An Integrated Approach to Civic Education (2010) – trainer in human rights and education for democracy for 35 teachers in Kochi, India. (Project partners: Indiana University School of Education (Bloomington), Project Citizen India and Learning Links Foundation (India); funded by the Indiana University School of Education and the Center for International Education and Social Studies)
- 5. 5 Global Youth LEAD (2010-2013) – design and deliver a semester online leadership program linking high school students in Idaho and Jordan. The project includes leading a student delegation to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for an intense study of Jordanian / Arabic history and culture. (Project partner: The Jordanian Center for Civic Education Studies; funded by the Privon Family Foundation (ID) and the Idaho Human Rights Education Center) Civic Education for Participation and Tolerance in Thailand (2011) – qualitative researcher on the institutionalization of civic education in Thailand. The project included data collection (interviews, policy review, and site visits) in Bangkok, Thailand. (Project partner: The Center for Civic Education, funded by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State) International Education Leadership Program and Exchange (2011-2013) – design and deliver a two-way exchange and a year-long leadership program for 18 high school students from Idaho (6) and Japan (12). The project includes conducting a pre-program orientation for the participating students in Japan. (Project partners: Boise State University and Hosei University (Japan), funded by the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnerships) Building Civil Society Capacity to Promote Democratic Reform and Human Rights through Civic Education in Burma (2011) – curriculum developer and consultant for teacher training in Burma. The project included a series of meetings with Buddhist monks in Bangkok, Thailand. (Project partner: The Center for Civic Education, funded by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State) Integrating Human Rights in Education for Democracy (2012) – teacher trainer. Scheduled as a technical assistance mission to Caracas, Venezuela, the training examined the integration of key human right principles into the Project Citizen curriculum program for use in the schools in the municipality of Sucre. (Project partners: Fundacion Presencia (Colombia) and Civitas Venezuela, funded by the Organization of American States) Thai Model of Civic Education Curriculum Development (2012) – workshop presenter. The presentation was scheduled as a follow-up to the 2011 research on the institutionalization of civic education in Thailand. Conducted at the Amantee-House of Oriental-Cheng Wattana in Bangkok, Thailand, the workshop stakeholders included representatives from the Election Commission of Thailand, Thai PBS, the Office of Political Council, King Prajadhipok’s Institute, the Bureau of Academic Affairs and Educational Standards in the Office of Basic Education, the Institute of Public Policy Studies, and Friedich-Ebert-Stiftung. (Funded by Friedich-Ebert- Stiftung) Burma Outreach and Distance Education Project: Capacity Building for Change (2012) – workshop trainer “Strengthening Civil Society: A Course on Pluralism, Coalition Building,
- 6. 6 Advocacy and Engagement”. Conducted at the American Center in Yangon, Myanmar, the week-long training was the concluding module in a four module course designed to increase the capacity of CSOs in Burma to organize, mobilize communities, and through effective advocacy, engage the Government of Burma and non-governmental bodies and actors on key civic issues and policy reform. Participants represented nine civil society non-government organizations operating throughout the country. (Project organizer: World Learning, funded by USAID) Integrating Human Rights in Basic Education (2013) - trainer. Scheduled as a technical assistance mission to Bangkok, Thailand, the training for 250 education coordinators examined the integration of key human right principles into the curriculum for basic education. (Funded by the Thailand Ministry of Education) Presidential Elections (2014) – international observer. Accredited by the Presidential Election Commission, Egypt, and selected by Democracy International (Washington, D.C.) for the May Presidential Elections.