Institute for Educational Leadership Global Education Policy Fellowship Program (GEPFP)

Program Description Co-Coordinators: Robert J. Monson, Ph.D. Adjunct Associate Professor of Education Leadership Teachers College, Columbia University rjm210@columbia.edu (203) 536-8747 & Daniel Schultz, Coordinator Michigan Education Policy Fellowship Program dws@msu.edu (517) 324-5369

Purpose of the Program

To provide GEPFP Senior Fellows with the opportunity to study education policy in the Age of Globalization by investigating education development challenges in economically developed and developing countries.

Program Goals
GEPFP Senior Fellows will: Become aware of the approaches that developing and developed countries are taking to ensure their schools are preparing young people for a globally competitive economy. Develop a global perspective of the United States efforts to ensure its schools are globally competitive. Observe first hand and engage with policy makers shaping Chinas school reform efforts. Develop networking relationships with influential Chinese policymakers as well as a growing network of professionals working in the global education policy arena.

Tentative Schedule of GEPFP Meetings in 2011-12

Note: Dates are tentative and subject to change (except for the trip). All times are Eastern Time Zone. A series of Friday three hour meetings will be held on-line using Adobe Connect Pro which enables participants to see and hear each other simultaneously provided their computers have a webcam, audio microphone, speakers, and Adobe Flash Player 10.0 or later installed. Friday, August 26, 2011. 10A to 1:00P. Program orientation and expectations, introductions. Overview of the Age of Globalization. Readings to be discussed: Friedman, T. (2007). The World is Flat: A brief History of the 21st. Century. New York: Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux. Slaughter, A. (2009). Americas edge. Power in the networked century. Foreign Affairs. 88(1), 94-113.

Friday, September 16, 2011. 10A to 1P. Establishing context: China in the 21st Century. Guest speaker: Dr. Karen Kane, Associate Director, Weatherhead East Asian Institute, School of International & Public Affairs, Columbia University. Overview of the education policy analysis. Reading: The Grand Tour, The New Yorker.

Friday, October 14, 2011. 10A to 1P. An Introduction to Chinese Education Reform: The Challenges of Transforming a Test-Driven, Centralized Education System. Guest speaker: Dr. Yong Zhao, University of Oregon (invited). Framing and sharing your question that will be the focus of the education policy analysis. Reading: TBA

Thursday, October 20 through Sunday, October 30, 2011. Study Tour to China. The study tour to China is designed to provide Fellows with:
An opportunity to develop relationships with educators in China. An opportunity to visit schools, ministries of education, and other educational organizations. An opportunity to collect data relating to the policy analysis project. An opportunity to visit historic and cultural sites in three Chinese cities.

Suggested Day-By-Day Itinerary Beijing, Xian, Shanghai OCT 20 Thursday OCT 21 Friday OCT 22 Saturday OCT 23 Sunday OCT 24 Monday OCT 25 Tuesday OCT 26 Wednesday DEPART U.S Depart the US for Beijing, China. ARRIVE BEIJING

BEIJING Educational briefings & school visits. BEIJING Cultural and historical sites tour. BEIJING Educational briefings and school visits all day. BEIJING - XIAN Morning sightseeing. Afternoon flight to Xian. XIAN Morning tour of cultural and historical sites. School visit in the afternoon. XIAN SHANGHAI Flight to Shanghai.

OCT 27 Thursday

OCT 28 Friday

SHANGHAI Full day educational briefings and school visits.

OCT 29 Saturday

SHANGHAI Full day visiting cultural and historical sites.

OCT 30 Sunday

DEPART SHANGHAI for U.S.

Friday, November 18, 2011. 10A to 1P. Post trip de-briefing facilitated by Dan Schultz and Bob Monson. Sharing data collected in China for the policy analysis. Making Sense of Education

Reform in China. Professor Lynn Paine, Department of Teacher Education, Michigan State University. Reading: Gifford, R. (2008). China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power. New York: Random House.

Friday, February 10, 2012. 10A to 1P. Discussion about the Global Achievement Gap and whether one exists for China and the U.S. Reading: Wagner, T. (2008). The Global Achievement Gap. Why Even Our Best School Dont

Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need And What We Can do About It. New York: Basic Books, 1 -42.
Friday, March 9, 2012. 10A to 1P. Strategic Leadership for the Age of Globalization.

Reading: Mumford, M, Zaccaro, S., Harding, F, Jacobs, T., Fleishman, E. (2000). Leadership skills for a changing world: Solving complex social problems. Leadership Quarterly. 11(1), 1135.
Friday - Saturday, April 20-21, 2012. Washington, DC. Sharing the outcomes of the education policy analysis. Reflection of the years activities. Discussion of the implications of education reform in China and the U.S. Fellows would fly into Washington, DC on the Friday preceding the start of the WPS, meet for dinner in the evening, and have sessions from 9:00 AM 2:00 PM on Saturday. At the conclusion of the GEPFP meeting in DC, Senior Fellows would have the option of attending the Washington Policy Seminar at a reduced cost.

GEPFP Program Project (Optional)

Completion of an Optional Global Education Policy Analysis. Each Fellow would have the opportunity to complete a written capstone policy analysis of an education policy initiative in China. Working individually, or in small (2-4 person) collaborative teams, Senior Fellows would analyze a Chinese education policy initiative and identify any implications this challenge might have on education in the United States and/or the organization that sponsors the GEPFP experience. The focus of this brief would be identified prior to the October study. One or more researchable questions would be developed prior to the study tour to the country where data would be gathered. Post tour Friday meetings will provide opportunities for fellows to share and discuss their findings and the likely implications they see for U.S. education. Details about this project will be provided at the August 26 on-line meeting.

Suggested Readings:
Friedman, T. (2007). The World is Flat: A brief History of the 21st. Century. New york: Farrar, Strauss, & Giroux. Gifford, R. (2008). China Road: A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power. New York: Random House. Hesler, P. (2007). The Oracle Bones: A Journey Between Chinas Past & Present. New York: Harper Collins. Kissinger, H. (2011). On China. New York: Penguin Books. Mumford, M, Zaccaro, S., Harding, F, Jacobs, T., Fleishman, E. (2000). Leadership skills for a changing world: Solving complex social problems. Leadership Quarterly. 11(1), 11-35. Slaughter, A. (2009). Americas edge. Power in the networked century. Foreign Affairs. 88(1), 94-113. Wagner, T. (2008). The Global Achievement Gap. Why Even Our Best School Dont Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need And What We Can do About It. New York: Basic Books, 1 -42. Note: Additional readings will assigned later by our Friday on-line meeting speakers.