UNDERSTANDING THE EDUCATION — AND THROUGH IT THE CULTURE — IN EDUCATION ABROAD

by Linda A. Chisholm and Howard A. Berry

Based on the premise that an educational system both reflects and shapes a culture, this short book is a guide for students going abroad to study. It leads them step-by-step through an in-depth investigation of the university they attend overseas and higher education in their host country. The study will help them both to be a successful student and to come to a deeper knowledge of their host culture. Topics include the systems, purposes, history, curricula, pedagogy, faculty, evaluation, students and graduates of higher education. Each topic is enlivened with examples from nations and educational systems around the world. The book proposes that study abroad advisors make this study a credit-bearing course for all of their students in their semester or year abroad. Funded by the NAFSA Cooperative Grants Program.

Understanding the Education-and Through It the Culture-in Education Abroad
by Linda A. Chisholm and Howard A. Berry
2002. 136 pages. Includes notes for students and study abroad advisors.
Price: $14.00
Volume orders: $12/each for 10 copies or more to same address
ISBN: 0-9701984-3-4
Item # 58-0504
Availability: In stock; usually ships in 24 hours.

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"It's all too rare that students, faculty and international educators ask fundamental questions about their own college or university: Who is admitted, and why? What is taught, and how? What does the institution represent to the larger society? How does it prepare its graduates to shape that society? Written by two founders of the concept and practice of international service-learning, Linda Chisholm and Howard Berry, this book encourages study abroad students to learn about a new foreign culture by actively examining the host educational institution in which they are enrolled - 'based upon a simple yet profound premise, that the educational system of a nation reflects and shapes its culture.' Through asking such questions, students will also reflect upon the meaning of their own education and their future role in an increasingly global society. Many fascinating examples provided by the authors from such disparate countries as Mexico, India, Jamaica, the Philippines and the United Kingdom show the illuminating power of such comparisons - both for students and their advisors." - Bill Nolting, Director of International Opportunities, University of Michigan International Center and Past Chair, SECUSSA (Section on U.S. Students Abroad) of NAFSA: Association of International Educators

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction for Advisors
Introduction for Students
Chapter 1: Gathering and Assessing Information
Chapter 2: First Things First
Chapter 3: The Purposes
Chapter 4: The Systems
Chapter 5: The History
Chapter 6: The Curriculum
Chapter 7: The Teaching Methods
Chapter 8: The Faculty
Chapter 9: The Students and Graduates
Chapter 10: Student Affairs
Chapter 11: Evaluation
Afterword
About the Authors
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