Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change

Coursework

Prerequisites:
Previous college-level coursework in education, Latin American studies, or development studies. Three recent semesters of college-level Spanish or equivalent and the ability to follow coursework in Spanish, as assessed by SIT.

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The interdisciplinary coursework in the Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change program explores the political, social, and economic factors affecting educational systems and social change in Chile and Argentina. Students examine these effects firsthand through field studies and interactions with urban and rural communities throughout Chile and in Buenos Aires. During the final month of the semester, students leverage their accumulated knowledge and research experience to complete an Independent Study Project or participate in an educational practicum.

The Chile: Comparative Education and Social Change program offers the following courses. These course descriptions can be useful for students, faculty, and study abroad offices in assessing credit transfer. Read more about credit transfer.

Comparative Education and Social Change Seminar - syllabus (PDF)
(LACB-3000 / 6 credits / 90 class hours)
An interdisciplinary course conducted in Spanish examining the political, social, and economic factors affecting educational systems and social change in Chile and Argentina. The course includes required readings, field trips, and school placements. Resources utilized in the delivery of course content include faculty from the Universidad Alberto Hurtado research centre, the Chilean Teachers’ Federation, experts from the Ministry of Education of Argentina, Mapuche teachers and leaders, and local experts in Santiago, Valparaíso, Temuco, and Buenos Aires. Of particular interest is the visit to the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo, the principal human rights organization in Argentina.

Intensive Language Study: Intermediate Spanish I - syllabus (PDF)
(SPAN-2000 / 4 credits / 60 class hours)
Intensive Language Study: Intermediate Spanish II - syllabus
(SPAN-2500 / 4 credits / 60 class hours)
Intensive Language Study: Advanced Spanish I - syllabus
(SPAN-3000 / 4 credits / 60 class hours)
Emphasis on speaking, reading, and writing skills through classroom and field instruction. Based on in-country evaluation, including oral proficiency testing, students are placed in intensive intermediate or advanced classes, with further language practice in homestays, lectures, and field visits.

Field Study Seminar - syllabus (PDF)
(ANTH-3500 / 2 Credits / 30 class hours)
A course in the concepts of learning across cultures and from field experience. Introduction to the Independent Study Project. Material includes cross-cultural adaptation and skills building; project selection and refinement; appropriate methodologies; field study ethics and the World Learning/SIT Human Subjects Review Policy; developing contacts and finding resources; developing skills in observation and interviewing; gathering, organizing, and communicating data; maintaining a work journal.

Independent Study / Practicum Project - syllabus (PDF)
(ISPR-3000 / 4 credits / 120 class hours)
Students can choose to conduct an Independent Study Project on a topic of their choice related to the program theme or they can participate in a guided, month-long educational practicum in a primary school in either Chile or the Buenos Aires area of Argentina. In both cases, the local director must approve the project and the student must produce a written paper. Sample topic areas: intercultural education in primary rural Mapuche schools; education and identity in indigenous rural schools; cultural identity through children’s arts expressions; English language practicum in a primary urban or rural school; the Penguin Revolution (high school student protest) and its social consequences; recuperation school in Buenos Aires; ethnicity in child care in marginalized areas of Buenos Aires; gender behavior in female, male, and mixed high schools in Santiago; attachment and national identity in high school students; curriculum, memory and human rights; popular education and social change.

Browse this program's Independent Study Projects/Undergraduate Research

Credits: 16

Duration:15 weeks

Program Base: Santiago

Language Study: Spanish

Prerequisites: Coursework in education, Latin American studies, or development studies; 3 semesters Spanish Read more...