EHE News
Study in Indonesia, U.S., earn master's degrees in education
Sue Dechow
Indonesian teachers and teacher educators, earn two master's degree in elementary education or English language teaching in the new International Dual Master's Degree Program.
Students in the U.S., broaden your global outlook by spending a semester abroad in Indonesia, one of the most culturally diverse, exotic, archipelago nations in the world. You will take core courses that fulfill requirements for the MA program in education or that augment any graduate program.
Students from American and Indonesian universities will study together in Indonesia with American and Indonesian faculty, according to Sue Dechow, executive director of the U.S./Indonesia Teacher Education Consortium (USINTEC) housed in the School of Teaching and Learning.
"The core courses in the program are designed for those interested in comparing education in the two countries – how teachers are prepared, how instruction is based on cultural values, how issues of pluralism and equity influence the major educational reform movements under way," she says.
If you are a student from Indonesia, you will:
- Be admitted to both an American and an Indonesian university
- Begin study in mid-May 2011 or mid-May 2012
- Earn both a U.S. and an Indonesian master's degree in English language teaching (Teaching English as a Foreign Language, TEFL) or elementary teacher education
- Access the strengths of the 16 USINTEC member institutions
- Spend two semesters in the U.S. and pilot your thesis in U.S. schools
- Conduct your research in Indonesian schools
- Be advised by both Indonesian and American faculty
- Apply for scholarships being sought by USINTEC universities
If you are a student enrolled at a U.S. university, you will:
- Study from mid-May to mid-July 2011 or 2012 in Indonesia
- Earn credit at your home institution: either The Ohio State University, Indiana University or the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, or transfer credit to your institution
- Take up to three courses (12 credit hours) with Indonesian students, team taught in English by American and Indonesian faculty. They are:
- Education in Indonesia and the U.S.
- Diverse approaches to research on teaching and learning
- Global perspectives on pluralism and equity in education
- Observe Indonesian education practices and policies at work in the schools
Benefits to Indonesia in developing its educational system
A view of the Indonesian countryside.
Indonesia announced its independence in 1945 after 350 years of rule by the Dutch. From that point forward it began to develop its educational system. Indonesia is now engaged in a massive movement to improve education by certifying its 2.7 million teachers over a 10-year period.
Dechow has spent 25 years representing Ohio State in consistent service to teacher educators at Indonesian universities, a greater investment of time than any other U.S. university. Ohio State and its institutional partners in Indonesia and the U.S. are offering the International Dual Master's Degree Program to promote mutual understanding of the United States and Indonesia. The program also helps Indonesia build institutional capacity to address its national needs.
In Indonesia, the International Dual Master's Degree Program is meant for elementary and secondary teachers from public and private Indonesian schools, including an increasing number of internationally benchmarked schools in which the language of instruction is English.
The program is also intended for junior lecturers in Indonesian universities who must hold master's degrees, at a minimum, to teach in undergraduate programs.
Although the initial fields of study are elementary education and English language teaching, within a year or so, the program will expand to other fields of education, including math and science.
Benefits for students enrolled at U.S. universities
Jakarta, located on the northwest coast of Java.
Students traveling to Indonesia will receive predeparture preparation. Three professors will be with the students in Indonesia, one from each participating U.S. university. Ohio State students may sign up to study in Indonesia with Associate Professor Adrian Rodgers, teaching and learning, who will teach the core course that compares U.S. and Indonesian education after spring quarter ends in 2011.
The destination in 2011 is the State University of Semarang in Central Java. Touring the island of Java, as well as trips to famous historical and cultural sites in Indonesia, will be offered.
"Students studying abroad have experiences that are crucial to understanding people who are culturally different," Dechow explains. "Employers see such students as having broader perspectives of our world and our field of study. They have greater flexibility. The world demands that employees have the ability to understand their work within a global environment."
For more information, including contact details, see: www.usintec.org
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