Montclair State U. receives grant for partnership with Kirovohrad (10/10/99)

Montclair State U. receives grant for partnership with Kirovohrad

UPPER MONTCLAIR, N.J. - The United States Information Agency has awarded Montclair State University a $296,549 grant to establish an educational partnership with Kirovohrad State Pedagogical University (KSPU) in Ukraine.

"This is the first time the university has received a USIA award," said Marina Cunningham, director of MSU's Global Education Center. "It is a very prestigious award and will allow Montclair State to become more deeply involved in global development and democratization in other countries. As such, it is a perfect fit for the international expertise and experience of our College of Education and Human Services."

The three-year partnership seeks to assist KSPU in the development of its faculty and curriculum, and to help bring about changes in higher education as well as education at the primary and secondary levels. The program will focus on the processes of learning and teaching, whereby critical thinking is encouraged and fostered as a means of promoting democratic practices in the classroom and, ultimately, in society. This theme will be carried out through the development of courses and curriculum in research methodology and critical thinking in the field of philosophy for children.

"The premise of the USIA grant is to help countries become stable democracies," Ms. Cunningham explained. "Whatever we can do to help the faculty and students at KSPU will be very important in Ukraine's move to democracy."

Project directors Ms. Cunningham and Margaret Mukherjee, a professor in MSU's department of human ecology, have worked with their KSPU counterparts for the past two years, both here and in Ukraine. They see this program as a perfect match between the two institutions.

"We are pleased to be a partner with KSPU as it enters into a time of increased autonomy," Ms. Mukherjee said. "Both institutions will gain from the exchange of ideas."

The partnership has three goals, Ms. Cunningham said: "First, faculty development to enhance understanding of the meaning of democracy, and the development of curricula and pedagogies that promote democratic practice and understanding. Second, adaptation and integration of courses in research methodology in the KSPU undergraduate curriculum. Third, preparation of teachers for the Philosophy of Children Program and the establishment of an affiliate Philosophy for Children Center at KSPU."

"We feel strongly that a vital facet of the program is access to information," Ms Cunningham said. "The partnership's state-of-the-art technology will provide participants with access to information over the entire world and will allow for innovative concepts, including distance learning classes."

When Ms. Mukherjee visited in May, she discovered an exciting educational atmosphere in Ukraine.

"Students were enthusiastic. The faculty is hard-working and talented, committed to pedagogy and their profession. It will be a pleasure to work with them."

There will be short exchanges of faculty and administrators to foster the development of critical thinking in the curriculum. Additionally, the program will allow several KSPU faculty members to participate in two year-long training programs for philosophy for children. Lastly, one of the project directors, Ms. Mukherjee, will spend a semester at KSPU, introducing research methodology into the curriculum as a vehicle for the development of critical thinking among undergraduates.

By the end of the third year, courses in critical thinking and research methodology will be incorporated into the curriculum. A Philosophy for Children Program and an affiliate center will be in place and introduced into the schools connected to KSPU. Faculty and teacher training in critical thinking and philosophy for children will take place routinely. The program will be disseminated to other universities in the region.

"This partnership will provide MSU faculty and administrators the opportunity to reflect seriously and examine how their own educational practices promote democracy," said Nicholas Michelli, dean of MSU's College of Education and Human Services. "Developing collegial relations on a global scale will broaden MSU's perspectives on education and learning in a different social and cultural context. MSU's teachers will have access to the perspective of colleagues who are newly embracing thinking on democratic practices in the United States.

"The Ukrainian participants can fulfill their expressed purpose of learning more about ways to promote democratization in their own university and in the region through the infusion of current thinking into the curriculum of the university," Mr. Michelli added. In addition, a collaboration will result in Ukrainian students, many of whom will be future teachers, becoming more critical, creative and independent - skills they can in turn develop in their own students.

MSU's teacher education program has as its dual theme the preparation of teachers who can use critical thinking to promote the understanding of knowledge and train young people to be more effective citizens in a political and social democracy. The program has been recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in this approach. Dean Michelli chairs the National Network for Educational Renewal, a consortium of 34 universities and more than 500 schools in 14 states committed to preparing young people for democratic citizenship.

"Montclair State is pleased to receive this sort of recognition for its Global Education Program, and we are thrilled to be part of the effort to bring democracy to Eastern Europe," said Gregory L. Waters, vice-president for institutional advancement and deputy provost at MSU.

MSU's grant is part of the USIA's College and University Partnerships Program. According to the USIA's homepage (www.usia.gov.), the program, funded through the Freedom Support Act, "is designed to strengthen the capabilities of institutions of higher learning to contribute to the transitions to democracy and market economies. Benefits of program participation include strengthened teaching, research and public service capability for all partner institutions; opportunities to establish new academic programs or expand existing ones; successful collaborative research improvement and sharing among partner institutions; and outreach to local communities and relevant professional and government entities."

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