Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad: Education Fever, Lessons For Great Plains K – 12 Teachers in Korea’s Education System
June-July 2020
The purpose of this program is to develop intercultural expertise in Nebraska K-12 teachers by studying and participating in the Korean education system. At first glance, the similarities between the Great Plains state of Nebraska, with a population of less than two million, and the nation of South Korea, population 51.5 million, may not be obvious. Yet, there are important connections between Nebraskans and South Koreans already and untapped potential for Nebraska’s teachers to gain a global perspective and build their intercultural expertise by studying South Korea’s education system. Participating teachers will study three areas of South Korean education that overlap with issues familiar to Nebraska teachers: rural education, technological innovation in education, and citizenship education. By immersing Nebraska teachers in South Korean cultural and exploring how South Korean education addresses each of these issues, this program will build an intercultural expertise in Nebraskan teachers that will be a key to their ability provide world-class 21st century education to Nebraska’s children. The teachers will observe and participate in Korean education at preschool, elementary, secondary, and postsecondary levels through site visits, conversations with teachers and students, and the program will culminate in a four-day practicum placement for Nebraska teachers in a South Korean classroom. Participants will share their new knowledge with colleagues at the state, regional, and local levels in the year after their return from South Korea.
The program will run from December 2019 through February 2021 and will include pre-trip preparations, a four-week study abroad trip to Seoul and Chuncheon, South Korea in the summer of 2020, and several months post-trip during which participants will implement Korean studies lessons with Nebraska K-12 learners and share their learning with teacher colleagues throughout the state.
Affiliated Faculty:
Dr. Jenelle Reeves
Sponsor:
The U.S. Department of Education’s Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad and the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education.