Peabody College has launched two new international Fulbright fellowship programs to bring international educators to the U.S. for a year of study.
The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program, launched this fall, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs through the Academy for Educational Development. It sends highly accomplished primary and secondary teachers from the United States abroad and brings international teachers to the U.S. for a semester-long program. Participating countries are Argentina, Finland, India, Israel, Singapore and South Africa. Peabody College was selected as the program’s first host institution.
During their year at Peabody, teachers will enroll in graduate-level classes, conduct research, lead classes and seminars for U.S. teachers and students, design and complete a capstone project, and may team-teach or guest-lecture at local secondary schools or at the graduate level. Upon returning home they will be expected to share what they learned with teachers and students in their home schools and communities.
The second new Peabody international program is the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program. Peabody is hosting seven educational leaders from developing and emerging countries during the course of the 2009–10 academic year. The fellows, who are leaders in fields such as higher education, secondary education and program evaluation, hail this year from Colombia, Jordan, Malawi, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia and Swaziland.
Humphrey fellows will design and plan their activities and interests for the fellowship year and plan to implement in their home countries what they’ve learned; participate in a weekly class about the U.S. education system; audit up to two classes per semester; and participate in a variety of training and professional and cultural development activities.
“Peabody has a strong tradition and excellent reputation in delivering professional development programs for practitioners,” says Xiu Cravens, assistant dean for international affairs. “With 20 experienced educators from 13 countries here with us, these two programs bring global dialogues and mutual learning to our campus.”