8411 research outputs found
Sort by
JEST
No full textThere is a low percentage of first generation, low income and underrepresented groups of students who participate in study abroad. As an academic advisor in Student Support Services (SSS) working with the above group of students I have designed a study abroad service learning trip for this group of students. The study abroad service learning trip will take place in Ecuador because of the diversity of Ecuadorian people and a shared history of marginalizing groups of people by the colonizers. Students will spend four weeks in Ecuador studying the social, economic and cultural aspects of this society. The schedule includes language learning and application, opportunities for students to interact with the host country residents, cultural excursions and service learning projects with the Working Boys Center and Hogar de Cristo. This trip has been designed so that the participants will be able to travel and learn in an environment where they feel accepted by the other participants. When the participants return home, they will give presentations about an aspect of Ecuador of their choosing to present to other students in SSS so that other first generation, low income and underrepresented groups of students will be exposed to study abroad and service learning.
Keywords: study abroad, service learning, underrepresented group
Why is the Color of One’s Skin so Significant in Southern Mexico?
Get PDFThe following research examines and addresses an ideology about race and the color of skin. The goal is to bring forth knowledge about a Mexican community that experiences discrimination and racism due to their skin color. It will view how and why skin color became a tool against a community that has existed in Mexico for centuries. The villages reside off the coastal areas of Mexico evolved from the ramifications of slave trading and owning. Mixed marriages between villages altered the color fabric of Mexico’s society in many ways; fair skin was not the dominant player any longer. This began a new caste system among an already existing archaic hierarchy that has existed for centuries in Latin American. Mexico’s idea about race and color is not common amongst most colonialized societies. It will show how Mexico’s views one’s skin as a major denominator in one’s social position due to their law of exclusion and inclusion. Although, they believe that speaking about race is impolite, their reasoning for different skin color relies on the coastal sun as the reason for dark skin. This research will show Mexico’s ideology about race, color and their caste system. The following information address why and how the idea of race and color is viewed amongst their “melting pot” society
Case Studies in Sustainable Development Abroad with ProWorld Service Corps.
No full textThis is a paper about an organization formerly known as ProWorld Service Corps. (PW) and my experiences as a Volunteer Affairs Coordinator in Peru. My sites were located in the South of Peru with offices in Urubamba and Cusco. Today, PW is owned by the cultural exchange company Intrax. As a United States-based social enterprise, PW worked within a network of not-for-profit development sites in rural communities across the globe. This paper examines my observations of PW’s organization and projects, in this case with a particular focus on sustainability, while also exploring the influence of gender, privilege and conflict in multicultural teamwork, crisis management and the Global Citizen’s Initiative (GCI). Primary inquiry methods and data collection included interviews, observation, focus groups, informal dialogues, and reflections on personal experiences. Secondary inquiry methods included reviewing previous planning exercises and workbooks, websites, and literature available on PW\u27s website. The paper includes academic and field-based concerns in community development
From Leader to Experiential Educator: Professionalizing Facilitation of International Service-Learning Programs through Effective Leader Training
No full textLeaders of international service-learning programs are the catalysts of participant experience. This paper describes a leader training designed for Global Student Embassy’s (GSE) Ecuador team, that serves as a model for other organizations seeking improved leader training. GSE is a small, California-based nonprofit that operates high school and college winter and spring break environmental service-learning programs in Ecuador and Nicaragua. This paper presents the rationale for maximizing the impact of short-term international service-learning by cultivating effective experiential educators as program leaders. Following an experiential learning model (Kolb, 2008), the pre-departure training, in-country training, and ongoing professional development serve to establish high standards of accountability within a growing program (Thomas, 2008). It is not enough for program leaders to simply facilitate a program for participants. Program leaders will be skilled educators able to recognize learning opportunities; adept group managers able to cultivate and engage students; and professional facilitators primed to administer all that is required on such programs (Spencer & Tuma, 2007). As it cannot be assumed that students will decipher their own meaning from experiences without reflective practice, it likewise, cannot be assumed that leaders know how to be effective without structured training. The training described in this paper professionalizes the leader role, builds educational integrity within the program, creates necessary accountability and structure within the leader team, and deepens the learning experience for participants.
Keywords: international service-learning, experiential education, leadership development, training, short-term, program leade
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE JÓVENES EN ACCIÓN PROGRAM
No full textThis paper uses a review of relevant literature on empowerment and youth empowerment theories and models to develop a comprehensive understanding of key elements that are found in youth empowerment programs. Through the literature review, there are five themes identified which can be used to analyze youth programs for the presence of empowerment. The five themes considered are: a power sharing adult-youth relationship, an individual and community level orientation, a safe and supportive environment, peer collaboration, and reflection. A World Learning youth program, Jóvenes en Acción (Youth in Action, or JenA) is used as a case study to understand the practical application of these youth empowerment themes. Each theme is analyzed within the program implementation and within the youth-centered pedagogy which informs JenA program design. Program reports, blog posts, and student newsletter articles are used to evaluate the JenA program through the lens of the five youth empowerment themes. The purpose of this Capstone project is to use youth empowerment theory as a method of illuminating the practice of youth empowerment program design and implementation.
Keywords: experiential learning cycle, empowerment theory, youth empowerment, youth programs, Jóvenes en Acció
Implementing an Extensive Reading Program in an Intensive University EAP Curriculum
Get PDFThe goal of this project was to integrate an extensive reading (ER) program within an existing 8-week intensive reading curriculum in a university English for academic purposes (EAP) program. The merits of both intensive and extensive reading approaches were examined and used to develop the methodology for the ER program. Additionally, implementation parameters, as agreed upon by the EAP program director and academic coordinator, were used to determine the design and implementation of the ER program that was piloted on a low-intermediate level reading class. A method of anonymous student feedback, via questionnaires and reading logs, were developed and applied before, during, and after the project to determine if the implementation of the ER program met the implementation parameters
Waste Management and Environmental Initiatives in Accra, Ghana
Get PDFTitle: Waste Management and Environmental Initiatives in Accra, Ghana
Author: Aoife Genevieve Duna ([email protected]; Middlebury College, Anthropology and Dance major)
Objective: The objective of this project was fourfold: • To study the current waste management practices by government and private waste companies • To observe the perspectives of residents on waste disposal • To explore environmental initiatives by citizens, NGOs, and student groups • To investigate the potential projects that could reduce waste
Methodology: For my project, I conducted interviews, made observations, participated in daily personal waste management, visited a landfill, and visited a composting project.
Findings: Waste collection is currently inadequate to support the demand of residents. The waste is then disposed of poorly maintained landfills, which quickly turn into hazardous sites for the surrounding communities and ecology. Poorly managed waste has a number of negative health and environmental consequences, including but not limiting to malaria, cholera, acute respiratory infections, ecological degradation, loss of biodiversity, and flooding. There are some environmental groups working on waste reduction and environmental education initiatives. However, citizens lack the sense of personal responsibility to the trash issue, even though many of them are aware of the effects of insufficient waste management.
Conclusion: Much more must be done to improve the waste management crisis in Accra. Problems will continue to worsen if nothing is done in the near future, and the challenges will be more daunting down the road if they are not tackled now. Citizens and government must collaborate to find solutions to waste issues. There is huge potential for innovation in composting, recycling, and repurposing materials. The citizens of Accra could turn waste problems into new projects and green jobs
Bringing Flowers back to the Cité des Fleurs: A Geographical Study of the Sôma Beach Development Project in Mahajanga
No full textMahajanga, Madagascar is currently watching one of its biggest development efforts unfold. The Sôma Beach project will transform the previously-bustling Village Touristique, degraded over the past decades by the ocean’s waves, into an accessible hotspot for national and international tourists. This study aimed to answer the overarching questions, “How is the Sôma Beach project being carried out?” and “How is it affecting the local population and spatial organization?” Interviews, spatial observation and analysis, and review of relevant documents were used during a month-long period in order to gather information on this topic. The study concluded that space was an influential factor in the decision-making process, particularly in the assessment of local assets, and that the community’s interaction with this space will inevitably change as a result of the implementation of the project. It also found that the planning and implementation processes involve the work of a variety of public and private entities but little to no input from stakeholders in the local community. Meanwhile, Madagascar’s complex land titling system—resulting from colonization and post-independence efforts to modify it—added, and continues to add, a dimension of confusion to negotiations with local inhabitants, providing an opportunity for government corruption and exploitation of this population
An Assessment of the Impact of Sand Mining: Unguja, Zanzibar
Get PDFResource consumption is one of the most crucial environmental problems facing the world today. Therefore nonrenewable resources need to be sustainably used to ensure the survival of both future generations and the resources at stake. The goal of this study was to investigate the impacts of sand mining on the environment, economy, and communities of Zanzibar. The environmental, economic, and social impacts of sand mining activities were studied at various sites on the island of Unguja. The effects on vegetation, coastal erosion, communities, and local economies were researched based on field observations and interviews with local people and officials at the various sites. Five primary sites were visited throughout this study, three illegal quarries, one abandoned legal quarry, and one active legal quarry. The environmental impacts at each of the five sites were decidedly destructive, and the economic and social results were also found to be generally harmful as many people, children, and animals have drowned and the number of fruitbearing trees and farms are shrinking, which decreases local incomes. The accelerated erosion, lack of plant regeneration, and reported issues with mining in local communities demonstrate that sand mining in Unguja has had adverse impacts overall
The Effect of Refugees on Jordanian Identity
Get PDFJordan has become known as the home for refugees from the crises that have occurred along its borders. Several waves of large groups of refugees have come to Jordan: 1948, 1967, 1991, 2003, and 2011-present, with copious amounts of refugees coming from different surrounding countries to Jordan. The Hashemite Kingdom is ruled through keeping relations between the Bedouin tribes that have lived in the area from the founding of the country. This has led to the denial of equality for former refugees who obtained citizenship as well as the other refugee populations in areas such as work and education. As such, there have been clashes between the refugees and the people who are descended from the original tribes in Jordan. These clashes have not taken a violent nature, but rather a clash of culture. This paper explores whether the identities of the Jordanians have been affected by the identities of the refugees who have come to reside in Jordan for the long term through examining the development of Jordanian identity with research and interviews with “Jordanian-Jordanians.” The conclusion of this study finds that with the influx of refugees, the Jordanian identity has strengthened. This study helps to continue to research conducted in looking how identities are created, strengthened, and weakened