Assessing The Influence Of Career-Linked Experiential Opportunities On The F-1 Undergraduate Student Enrollment Decision-Making Process, Harrison Fuerst

Capstone Collection

International mobility efforts in the United States have garnered increased attention and funding in recent years, with such government-led initiatives as Generation Study Abroad and 100,000 Strong driving up inbound and outbound student numbers. Recent inbound mobility reports from the Institute of International Education show double-digit percentage increases in international student enrollment. Other countries also experiencing an influx of international students continue to research these trends to shape their own education strategies. Research conducted by the International Education Association of Australia points specifically to hands-on professional experience and enhanced employability as key factors important to Australia’s international student population. As …

Looking Within While Working Abroad: Experiences From An Ihp Trustees Fellow In The Field, Caitlyn Clark

Capstone Collection

International travel has the potential to be a life-changing and transformative experience. Those who travel, work, or study abroad are likely to learn about themselves and their place within the greater global community. Studying abroad, in particular, can foster this by introducing new experiences, creating opportunities for meaningful self-reflection, and encouraging the application of new ideas, whereby students develop a sense of agency and capacity for change. Study abroad practitioners have the responsibility to aid in this process of discovery, by supporting students’ emotional and physical well-being while encouraging them to embrace discomfort and disruptive experiences. For educators committed to …

How Anti-Racist Participatory Policy Advocacy Can Change Delaware’S Education System, Shyanne Miller

Capstone Collection

Non-profit organizations fighting for change in the education system are more likely to realize their mission by engaging members of the public, particularly parents and students. However, engaging the public in a meaningful way requires an understanding of barriers to participation in the education system (racism), a shift away from colorblind, liberal ideology typically used to drive non-profit activity, and the undertaking of an anti-racist agenda when working within communities. Here, I offer a set of guidelines which the Rodel Foundation of Delaware can follow to implement anti-racist, participatory policy advocacy. Starting with a review of racism in Delaware’s education …

The Principles Of Universal Design For Learning Implemented In A Non-Profit Organization: The Discovery Center., Rose Albert

Capstone Collection

This capstone focuses on the implementation of Universal Design for Learning within The Discovery Center—a non-profit organization that provides educational programs for children in Connecticut. The intention of this capstone project is to raise awareness and share introductory knowledge around Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Universal Design for Learning is a framework that relays clear information for educators and people, in general, to mirror into their curricula to increase learning for multiple individuals (Rose, 2009). This paper proposes the adaptation of UDL into The Discovery Center (TDC) curriculum to increase access to students with different learning styles and abilities. TDC …

Drama For Social Justice: Embodying Identity And Emotion In Elt, Riah Werner

MA TESOL Collection

In this thesis, the author makes the case that drama is a powerful tool for language acquisition because it develops and engages embodiment, emotion and identity, important aspects of learning and communication that are often neglected in traditional language classrooms. The thesis establishes a theoretical foundation for the use of drama in the social justice-oriented language classroom, reviews research on drama for language learning and describes common drama techniques. The author connects the theories of embodied cognition and multiliteracies to an intersectional model of identity and argues that drama helps students re-examine the way society positions them based on their …

Gëm Sa Bopp: A Case Study Of Peace Corps Senegal Girls’ Camps, Tesia A. Eisenberg

Capstone Collection

This research explores the design, curriculum, and monitoring & evaluation efforts of Peace Corps Senegal Girls’ Camps through the lens of Youth Program Leadership and Design theory. The literature review reveals a research gap in youth camp programming and hopes to draw attention to this fact to promote more literature on this subject in the future. Interviews were conducted to gain information on the design and monitoring & evaluation experiences of camp facilitators from the 2015 and 2016 PCS Girls’ Camps. This research draws upon data collected from literature, interviews, personal experience, and relevant documents from Peace Corps Senegal to …

Ease On Down The Road: From Diagnosis To Graduation And Beyond, An Auto-Ethnography, Amber M. Alford

Capstone Collection

This study was envisioned following a personal acknowledgement of perceived suppression of the author’s “unorthodox” approach to the research design process resulting in the desire to explore the role of the researcher’s experience in research design and ultimately in higher education. The author began feeling lost and overwhelmed in the pursuit of her Master of Arts degree. She felt that her particular values and methodology were not being validated or supported. Through the use of narrative, the author analyzes her own experience navigating higher education as one of the first in her entire family to do so, with the added …

A National Bilingual Education Policy For The Economic And Academic Empowerment Of Youth In St. Lucia, West Indies, Gabriella Bellegarde

Capstone Collection

This campaign portfolio argues the case for a national bilingual education policy on the island of St. Lucia, where youth speak both St Lucian Creole and St. Lucian standard English. The portfolio consists of a policy paper and brief, an advocacy plan, a communications plan, monitoring and evaluation plan. The Bilingual Education Taskforce (BET), made up of teachers, parents and principals, is an advocacy organization that discovered the need for a bilingual education intervention when they observed, assessed and analyzed the written work of struggling readers at their school, the Anse la Raye Infant School on the west coast of …

My Neighborhood Is Changing: Positive Youth Development In The Historic Near East Side, Fevean N. Keflom

Capstone Collection

In this paper, I consider the impact of positive youth development in the lives of Black youth, in the Historic Near East Side of Columbus, OH. More specifically, I examine initiatives centered in cultural arts, holistic support, and African centered education in order to identify positive trends impacting urban Black youth. My research is guided by the question: How are Black youth impacted by urban development in a historic African-American neighborhood?

The Near East Side(NES) is a distinguished neighborhood, and in the past laid the foundation for some of the most prominent and successful African American owned businesses in Columbus, …

Producing Knowledge: The Social Made Visible In The Division Of Environmental Biology Of The National Science Foundation, Patrick Southern

Capstone Collection

This inquiry explores how knowledge is produced in the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) of the National Science Foundation. Beginning from a poststructuralist understanding of science as firmly embedded in the unequal relations of society, this study sought to examine how the policies and procedures of funding research proposals in DEB influence and are influenced by those relations. Using an institutional ethnography approach to analysis, data were collected from analyzing publicly available texts from the division, NSF, Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and the research community. The analysis demonstrates how the activities of DEB could maintain or exacerbate …

The Current State Of Access To Basic Education For Syrian Refugee Children Living In The Za’Atari Camp, Theresa L. Frey

Capstone Collection

Using Rodman’s (2006) International Education Analytical Inquiry Matrix as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this study is to examine the current state of access to basic primary education for Syrian Refugee Children Living in the Za’atari camp. Within the scope of this study, access is examined in three parts, including:

(1) Who is accessing education within Za’atari and who is not?

(2) How are certain groups accessing education?

(3) What is the learning environment of Za’atari?

In addition to addressing existing issues of access to basic education in Za’atari, this study examines efforts made towards increasing access. By examining …

Reflect & Connect- Helping Students Make The Most Of Their Study Abroad Experience, Rachael L. Dean

Capstone Collection

In our world of internationalization and global networking, students that study abroad have a definite advantage when transitioning into the professional world after graduating college. However, when asked, many have a difficult time articulating and marketing their international experience. When transitioning back to the United States and campus culture, students also go through varying degrees of reverse culture shock. They want to talk about their experience and share their newfound love of another culture, however many run into disinterested friends and glossy eyes.

The Education Abroad office at Central Palm International University is looking to expand their outreach and commitment …

U101: Global Perspectives A Semester Course For First-Year Students, Chrissie Faupel

Capstone Collection

This capstone paper introduces a special section of the already existing, and quite successful, University 101 programs at the University of South Carolina (USC). U101: Global Perspectives is a semester-long program proposal for first-year students (freshman and transfer students), offered by the Study Abroad Office (SAO) at USC. Functioning as part of the Global Carolina initiative, the USC SAO is committed to providing students with the knowledge and cultural awareness to be responsible and successful citizens in today’s globally integrated world. With the goal of increasing the number of students studying abroad, as well as creating unique opportunities for students …

Traditions And Proficiency Abroad - Spain (Tapas) Program: A High School Study Abroad Program For District 128, Michaela Kendzior

Capstone Collection

As colleges begin to internationalize campuses and global competencies continue to become a demand in the workforce, secondary schools should also aim to internationalize the curriculum and offer international education opportunities to their students. In an effort to do this, I have created the Traditions And Proficiency Abroad - Spain (TAPAS) Program for Community High School District 128 in Illinois. The TAPAS program is a 20-day summer intensive cultural and language immersion program created to maximize learning potential in D128 students. While the program’s focus is on Spanish language and culture education, the orientation and instructional activities have been designed …

Kickact: The Implementation & Evaluation Of A Youth Empowerment & Leadership Program, Crystal M. Denny

Capstone Collection

KickAct is a program that combines martial arts and performing arts to empower youth and engage them in creative social change. Youth experience a lack of community engagement and partnership with the adult. Many youth face additional challenges, ranging from lack of support in school to violence at home, that can negatively impact their life. KickAct is designed to provide youth with the necessary skills and experience to thrive as active participants in their communities. Due to inconsistent attendance and participation, it was not possible to determine whether the workshop format was a successful method for youth empowerment. However, the …

Beyond Embracing A Multicompetent Self: An Autoethnography Of A Nnest, Seullee Talia Lee

MA TESOL Collection

This article represents the identity transformation process of a non-native English- speaking teacher (hereafter NNEST) in the format of an autoethnography. Through the vignettes of the author, the evidence that English language plays a vital role as cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1991) in expanding circle countries (hereafter ECCs) (Kachru, 1985, 1986) such as South Korea (hereafter Korea) becomes apparent. Also, her narrative adds more credence to how the newly imagined identity options such as multicompetent self and English language teaching (hereafter ELT) professional have a tremendous constructive impact on the personal and professional development of NNESTs. Lastly, this study proposes the …

Building Hope: An Experiential, Interfaith And Peacebuilding Leadership Curriculum Design For American, Israeli And Palestinian Teenagers, Jack M. Karn

Capstone Collection

This research explores the design, implementation, and results of an interfaith and peacebuilding leadership curriculum prepared for the 2015 Jerusalem Peacebuilders Leadership Camp in Brattleboro, Vermont. Drawing upon different theories of moral and transformative leadership, experiential education, youth leadership, and peacebuilding and conflict transformation, this curriculum design offers a new and unique approach to leadership development for Israeli, Palestinian, and American teens. Spanning six 1.5-hour units, the curriculum includes: icebreaker and teambuilding activities, theory and practice connections, dialogue, and opportunities to practice leadership and peacebuilding skills on several small group projects. Supported by a literature review, eight interviews from youth …

Travel Tales: The Role Of Storytelling In Abroad Experience And Healing, Colleen N. Mcmurray

Capstone Collection

This capstone paper examines the perceived effectiveness of storytelling in the healing process. It aims to answer the question: What role does storytelling play in the healing of returning travelers? The study was conducted by analyzing forty digital videos, categorizing themes, and analyzing the themes in relation to themes found within several articles about the power and effects of storytelling. Five principal themes were used from the data collected. The themes were then used to gain a deeper understanding of how storytelling makes the storyteller feel and how storytelling can be used for healing. The author of this paper has …

Giving A Voice To The Powerless: Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation As A Tool For Inclusive Development Through Microfinance, Evan T. Burke

Capstone Collection

The greatest experts on the situation of the marginalized peoples of the world are the marginalized communities themselves. This paper explores how participatory monitoring & evaluation can be a powerful tool for giving voices to marginalized communities, ensuring that the voices of beneficiaries and local stakeholders are heard and inform sustainable project design. It analyzes a participatory monitoring and evaluation methodology implemented for women’s credit cooperatives in Gujarat, India by the Human Development & Research Centre, and examines lessons to be learned to design evaluations facilitating inclusive development.

Strategies for the monitoring and evaluation of microfinance have evolved along with …

Strategic Study Abroad: A Program Proposal For Continued Faith Development Of Chi Alpha Students Studying Abroad, Erin Leonard

Capstone Collection

With around 28,000 individual participants, Chi Alpha is a diverse network of Christian students on U.S. college campuses. By regularly meeting in groups and collectively reaching out to the community, students develop their faith and build lasting relationships.

Faith development is an integral part of Chi Alpha students’ lives. Yet, because community is an important aspect in faith development, studying abroad can cause challenges. Students expressed missing accessible Christian peer support and mentorship while abroad. They further expressed disconnection from their faith and felt their spirituality had declined while studying abroad.

As study abroad participation has been increasing over the …

Breathe To Understand, Maxine Swisa

MA TESOL Collection

BREATHE is an acronym for Breathe, Reflect, Empathize, Accept, Thank, Hearten, Engage. The addition of Understand allows for a holistic approach to living a healthy and balanced life both inside and outside the classroom. This paper took form as a result of my personal, spiritual journey, as well as my teaching practice. I noticed that the majority of my students enjoyed experiential activities that included time and space for self-reflection, relaxation and meditation. I began looking for books, seminars, and workshops that explored these areas. Deepak Chopra, Jonathan Kabat-Zinn, Dan Siegel, Eckhart Tolle, et al. offer insights into the benefits …

American History Content-Based Instruction In China, Matthew K. Ingalls

MA TESOL Collection

This project demonstrates materials developed over a three-year period in Chinese international schools for the teaching of U.S. history to ESL learners. It includes an outline for a two-year curriculum with a regular weekly cycle, as well as a close look at strategies and tested activities intended to facilitate understanding of this complex topic and to encourage students to participate beyond passive reception. Specific cultural issues of teaching U.S. history in China are discussed, including issues of ideology and censorship.

An Examination Of South Carolina’S Institutions Of Reform And Their Impact On The Self-Narratives Of African American Men, Ashley E. Krejci-Shaw

Capstone Collection

In the State of South Carolina (SC), African American male adolescents disproportionately face disciplinary action in public schools and other institutions. In 2013, South Carolina’s Department of Juvenile Justice (SCDJJ) released data that listed Black male children comprising 57% of all juvenile referrals in the state. This disproportionate trend is also present in South Carolina’s correctional system. In 2013, South Carolina’s Department of Corrections (SCDOC) reported that out of 20,777 male prisoners, 13,631 were Black. For adolescents or young adults looking to continue their education, alternative programs are available. One program that captures educationally displaced children in South Carolina is …

Preparing Teen Girls To Enter The Workforce Through A Job-Readiness Training Program In The Dominican Republic, Genevieve F. Corrin

Capstone Collection

A recent shift has concentrated international community development efforts on women, many specifically aiming to work with adolescent women. This capstone explores the design, facilitation and potential developmental impact of work-readiness training for teen girls in Cabarete, Dominican Republic. Such training comes with many challenges and possibilities for positive outcome. Methodologies and frameworks introduced through SIT courses aid in the examination of these challenges, the solutions used to transform them and possible preventative approaches. Tools gleaned from the spring SIT TDEL course, to which this capstone is linked, inspire the creation of the training. These tools are also used to …

Pushing Forward: The Climate For Lgbtq Student Advising In Study Abroad Of South Carolina, Alexandra Seay

Capstone Collection

This study uses quantitative and qualitative analysis to examine issues of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) minority undergraduate student inclusivity within the 32 study abroad programs offered within the 51 of the institutions of higher education in the state of South Carolina. Findings in this study suggest that study abroad programs are delivered to students in 1 of 3 ways: Direct Exchange, 3^rd Party Provider, and Faculty-Led. Findings in this study also indicate that faculty and study abroad advisers view study abroad as a useful and transformative experience for all students and that these programs should be …

Second Lines, Story Circles, And Freedom Songs: A Call And Response, Ann-Meredith Wootton

Capstone Collection

Community Is Survival

In New Orleans, all the grandmothers tell the story about the live oaks. Our roots don't grow deep into the swamp, but they grow wide – weaving, growing, and binding together with all of the surrounding trees, so that when the hurricane winds come, we will not fall. Together we can stand up against the strongest Gulf force winds (and the many faces of the Cradle to Prison Pipeline) – pushing, pulling, and leaning on one another when we need – and survive to see another day.

Live oaks also carry the story tradition of being a …

The Journey Home From Ecuador: A Reentry Guide For Tandana Foundation Volunteers, Heidi Bohn

Capstone Collection

The Tandana Foundation is a small, non-profit organization that works with communities nestled in the Andes of northern Ecuador, providing service-learning opportunities for students and professionals in the Otavalo region. The Journey Home from Ecuador: A Reentry Guide for Tandana Foundation Volunteers (The Journey Home) is a self-directed guide that serves to prepare interns and volunteers with the Tandana Foundation (Tandana) in Ecuador for reentry after their work abroad with the organization. In addition, it introduces the concept of reverse culture shock and provides tools and resources for a successful transition home. Living in rural Ecuador generally between …

Enhancing Road Scholar Cuba Programs Through Group Leader Training, Desiree N. Shrode

Capstone Collection

In response to the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the United States imposed several embargos and restrictions against Cuba. The stipulations of these embargos have included prohibitions on not only the importation and trade of cigars, rum, and coffee, but also travel between the U.S. and Cuba. However, in 2011, President Barack Obama decided to ease these travel restrictions for educational travel that is not related in pursuant to an academic degree, also known as a People-to-People license. Due to Obama’s change in policy, many organizations have been sponsoring travel to Cuba on these People-to-People licenses, granted by the Office of …

Utilizing The Interactive Reading Model In A Continuing Education Course, Shawn Mcrae

MA TESOL Collection

This paper seeks to provide an alternative method of reading instruction to female Saudi Arabian university students enrolled in a continuing education class for banking. Rather than a teacher-centered approach that relies on textbooks for materials development, a student-centered approach has been utilized in order to encourage participation, allowing the learners to have more input in the learning process. The use of student-generated materials allows for an authentic medium of communication, enabling students to practice their language learning skills using topics of social and personal relevance. From a teaching perspective, this is extremely important; it can increase students’ motivation, stepping …

Not You/Like You, With You: Toward A Praxis Of Love, Learning, And Liberation In Teaching Efl Writing — On Zombies, De-Colonial Feminisms, And Freire In Efl Contact Zones, Jessmaya Morales

MA TESOL Collection

This paper explores EFL writing as a critical contact zone in which identity and subjectivity are found, denied, contested, de/constructed and occupied. The author opens with an account of a dream, utilized as a metaphor to examine EFL learning through the analytical lens of Paulo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed. The paper’s first section is a self-reflexive discussion of Freire’s pedagogy and why his unambiguous analyses of power, subjectivity, and the “banking system of education” are vital to the field of ELT. In the second section, the author discusses subjectivity, identity, and intersectionality as rooted in the work of …