Welcome to Chasing Bright Spots, the official blog for the 2012 IEP Study Abroad Program! Students from the International Education Policy Program (IEP) at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) have launched an ambitious student-organized pilot program to travel to three different countries and study their education systems. This Study Abroad program emerged when a group of us got together (as communities of learners often do) and decided that we wanted to make the most of our one-year program at Harvard. Policy theory and analytical frameworks are incredibly useful tools (plus they look great on resumes), but we wanted to see them in action in real world settings. Specifically, we wanted to examine them through cross-cultural perspectives. From these bright and fertile minds, the seed for the Study Abroad Program was spawned.
Initial interest in this program was so high that we decided to split into three teams, visiting three wildly diverse countries: Brazil, Jamaica, and Morocco. These countries were selected based on their roles as emerging economies or political powers. Although they represent a wide spectrum of cultures, ethnicities, and education systems, they shared the characteristic of a commitment to innovative education reform. Drawing inspiration from the book Switch, we sought to discover the “bright spots” of successful education programs in other parts of the world. Together, the entire group agreed on a unifying theme for all three trips: Implementing Quality in Education. From there, we set to contacting various businesses, organizations, and governmental agencies that could shed some insight into improving education quality.
After months of planning and coordinating with various Ministries of Education, NGOS, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and travel agencies, we are excited to announce the first item in our trifecta of awesomeness: Team Morocco! This 15-member delegation will be embarking on a whirlwind tour of the Ministry of Education in Rabat, aid organizations such as UNESCO and USAID, and non-profit organizations such as Commission for Rural Girls. Some central themes for this visit include rural urban disparities, language policy, reform efforts, civic education, and much, MUCH MORE!!!
The purpose of this blog is to share our findings and experiences with the larger HGSE community, fellow educators and practitioners, fellow world travelers, and any inquiring minds who might be curious about our wayward adventures. My name is Sophia, and Meaghan and I are proud to represent Team Morocco. We hope you join us in chasing bright spots on the other side of the Atlantic!
Ma'a salama!!
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