Connecting with counterparts in Tanzania and Kenya for a month is the answer. The question was how do American-based educators build curricula that more accurately convey the complexities of Africa to address the deficit in the knowledge and awareness American students often have of the continent?

Research has shown that biases and omissions remain in public school education. On the college level, U.S. engagement in student exchange and study abroad in African nations also lags behind other areas of the world.

To tackle this widespread concern, the Global Education Office developed the East Africa Summer Institute for Educators through an $89,595 grant from the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program, a program of the U.S. Department of Education and the Bureau of Cultural Affairs.

At the beginning of June, six faculty members and two graduate students from Virginia Tech and four Virginia-based high school educators landed in Tanzania for this immersive, intensive four-week curriculum development program.

From three different Virginia public school districts and seven different colleges and departments across Virginia Tech, the group members represent a variety of different disciplines and teaching interests.

  • Eric Bendfeldt is a faculty member in the School of Plant and Environmental Sciences and an extension specialist for community viability and food systems.
  • Frances Coffey teaches history, social studies, and human geography at Chantilly High School with Fairfax County Public Schools.
  • Austin Council is a faculty member in the Agricultural Leadership and Community Engagement Department and coordinator of the leadership and social change minor.
  • Lindy Cranwell is the director of international education and graduate education in the Charles Edward Via, Jr., Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and a global engagement faculty fellow with the College of Engineering’s Office of Global Engineering, Engagement and Research.
  • Rob Emmett is the associate director of international programs at the Cranwell International Center.
  • Lisa Gibson teaches social studies, world history, and geography at Ocean Lakes High School with Virginia Beach Public Schools.
  • Grant Hamming is a collegiate assistant professor in the College of Art, Architecture, and Design and program director of the Rhizome Living-Learning Program.
  • Robert Lemieux is an instructor of social studies and department head at Granby High School with Norfolk Virginia Public Schools.
  • Cydny Neville teaches English at Mount Vernon High School with Fairfax County Public Schools.
  • Josh Thompson is pursuing his Ph.D. in English education.
  • Keaton Unroe is an instructor in the School of Neuroscience.
  • Zuleka Woods is a doctoral candidate studying planning, governance, and globalization.

The group is led by Tom Hammett, professor of sustainability, design, and innovation in the College of Natural Resources and Environment’s Department of Sustainable Biomaterials.

Each participant has a similar core motive for joining, but everyone is pursuing widely different outcomes. Each is pursuing projects to incorporate in future curricula. These range from engineering and soil conversation to social justice and mental health. For example, Council intends to launch a podcast for students in the Leadership and Social Change Residential College to record conversations exploring East African history, leadership, and more. For Cranwell, the aim is to develop a new class focused on humanities in engineering through an East African lens.

Although the participants’ disciplinary perspectives and project goals vary considerably, all the projects share a common thread. They are all integrating African studies elements into the curricula they are developing with the aim of strengthening U.S. education about Africa. Further parallels lie in their focus on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals with special emphasis on good health and well-being, quality education, climate action, and life on land.

According to Hammett, the East Africa Summer Institute for Educators is an innovative and powerful method for educators to source and then incorporate content from East Africa into their teaching. “There is a wide range of projects, including building modules, adapting or revising existing courses to make them relevant to East African history, culture, and use and management of resources. Some will develop study abroad classes that will bring Virginia students to the region. All will establish valuable linkages in East Africa and opportunities for future collaboration,” he said.

The four weeks are focused on opportunities for making connections, discovering culture, and building partnerships. Participants will study Swahili, live for one week in homestays with Tanzanian families, attend seminars and engage in cross-cultural exchanges with faculty and administrators from the University of Dar es Salaam, Sokoine University of Agriculture, and Ardhi University in Tanzania as well as Egerton University in Kenya. They will also visit Tanzanian and Kenyan schools, community organizations, and individuals from the private sector and government.

“One of the highlights of this program is that participants will engage in place-based professional development focused on global and intercultural learning as they develop their curriculum projects,” said Tiffany Shoop, director of special programs at the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. “Through making connections in Tanzania and Kenya and participating in this culturally immersive program, the participants will have the opportunity to intentionally design global education experiences for their students.”

The participants will be traveling through nine cities and visiting four university campuses and several schools. The participants will be guided by EDU Africa, a local organization specializing in curating intentional programs and educational experiences in Africa.

“There is so much we all can learn from African countries, and we are all going hungry to see what we can learn from the professionals we’re meeting in Kenya and Tanzania. The opportunities for partnerships and future information and education exchange are abundant,” Emmett said.

When they return, the participants will focus on implementing and sharing the projects they have developed and sustaining collaborations with partners in Tanzania and Kenya. At local and regional conferences, participants will share their experiences with a wider community of educators. Together, each participant’s project will reach hundreds of students each year, which will in turn, create a space for the local community to rethink their perceptions of Africa.

“We are so excited about this opportunity because it builds off of Virginia Tech’s existing partner network in Tanzania and Kenya with a focus on educator development and intercultural exchange. The program will strengthen institutional ties in East Africa and create a foundation for future student and faculty exchange” said Theresa Johansson, director of the Global Education Office, part of Outreach and International Affairs.

Since 1961, the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program has awarded grants to universities, state departments of education, and private nonprofit educational organizations to provide training opportunities for faculty, teachers, and students in foreign countries where the United States has diplomatic representation. Under this program, awards are made to conduct overseas group projects in research, training, and curriculum development.

Written by Amanda Broome

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