A new two-credit course will be offered in the spring semester for education majors looking to travel without participating in a semester-length study abroad program.
Peace Education and Integrated Schools in Northern Ireland and the United States will meet once a week to discuss and learn the history, process and practices of the Irish education system. Students will cover these specific topics through discussion forums, experimental activities, readings and an independent research project. During the process of conducting the independent research projects, students will work closely with the instructors that are co-teaching this course – Associate Professors of Education Dr. Rachel Finley-Bowman and Dr. Elizabeth Coyle and Assistant Professor of Education Dr. Shannon Haley-Mize – while gaining a better understanding of peace education and integrated schools by identifying their individual topic, utilizing the project and giving an oral presentation at the end of the course.
The education department designed the course to “provide a rich opportunity to comparatively explore educational practices, as well as enrich the education programs of study, through opportunities for undergraduates to conduct research with faculty members, make connections between peace education in a global context and their own practice,” Haley-Mize said.
The travel opportunity is available at the end of the term in May to Belfast, Ireland. It was planned for those who could not study abroad for an entire semester due to scheduling challenges such as pursuing the dual certification in early childhood and special education.
Nicole Morgan, a sophomore early childhood education major, said she would definitely be interested in taking this course: “I would take this course because many of the education courses that we enroll in only give the perspective of the school systems in Pennsylvania or the Lancaster County area. It would be extremely helpful if the classroom in which one of us was teaching is culturally diverse. I think that if there was a way for all education majors to take it, then they should definitely take advantage of that opportunity.”
Although the course is designed mainly for upper level education majors, it is also available to those who are involved in a different department and are simply interested in taking this course.
