The world is changing. People and cultures across the globe are becoming interlinked and connected. Rapid globalization is reshaping economic, political and social systems in most countries. The question many experts in education are asking is whether or not the U.S. educational system is preparing young adults for this new world reality. The answer is a resounding no. But Bluffton’s program may be an exception.
Experts speculate that U.S. dominance on the world stage for most of the last century has hindered our preparation for living in a globally-connected world. It has led instead to an ethnocentrism on the part of most Americans—a tendency to view the world primarily from the perspective of U.S. culture. According to Dr. Lynda Nyce, Bluffton associate professor of sociology, ethnocentrism has shaped the U.S. educational system. “This idea of being a superpower has influenced the curriculum at all levels. There is a sense of ‘why do we have to pay attention to the rest of the world?’.”
Unfortunately, the lack of attention to the rest of the world has led to a major knowledge gap on the part of U.S. students. A 2002 study by National Geographic revealed that young Americans were next to last in their knowledge of geography and current affairs compared with young adults in eight other industrial nations. Only one in every seven U.S. students in the study could find Iraq or Iran on a map of the Middle East. A study by the National Commission on Asia in the Schools found that: “Vast numbers of U.S. citizens—particularly young Americans—remain dangerously uninformed about international matters. They lack even rudimentary knowledge of world affairs and cultures beyond our borders that is necessary to lead America in today’s global environment.” In addition, only about one-half of today’s high school students study a foreign language. About 1 million U.S. students study French, a language spoken by only 80 million people worldwide, while fewer than 40,000 study Chinese, a language spoken by 1.3 billion.
Nyce recalls her 2003 experience as a teacher with the “Semester at Sea” program in which 640 college students from across the U.S. circled the globe for a semester. The students in her classes, she says, became increasingly self-conscious as they interacted with students from other cultures and realized how little they knew. “One student even pulled me aside after class and wanted me to give her a mini-course on world affairs. The student admitted, ‘I feel like I don’t know anything.’”
Bluffton students, Nyce says, suffer from the same knowledge gap. Since the majority of Bluffton students come from rural areas and small towns, they have had little to no exposure to other cultures when they arrive on campus. But this inexperience has an upside, she says. “Despite having little exposure, they are very open to the idea. Students from bigger cities can tend to have pretty cemented reactions or stereotypes that can be harder to change.”
Global education is not a new concept. It’s been emphasized by politicians on both sides of the fence since the end of World War II. Soon after September 11, President George W. Bush spoke out forcefully about the importance of global education. Former Secretary of Education Robert W. Riley expressed the growing concern in a recent report from NAFSA: Association of International Educators: “Democrats and Republicans alike recognize that our nation’s future hinges significantly on the international competence of our citizens and that, in this day and age, to be fully educated is to be educated internationally.”
A global education is important on many levels, according to Dr. Bill Trollinger, Bluffton’s vice president of academic affairs. “We often hear the phrase ‘the world is shrinking,’” he said. “But even if that weren’t the case, we shouldn’t want to remain ignorant of the world. As persons with Christian commitments … as U.S. citizens who want to make informed political decisions … as educated people we should seek awareness and knowledge of other cultures.”
While ‘shrinking world’ may be a trite phrase, it’s certainly true. Globalization has expanded within the last 10 years, linking the U.S. and its economy more closely than ever with other nations. There’s a high probability that today’s Bluffton students will embark on careers that require knowledge of other countries and interaction with people from different cultures. Business students, for example, may work for a multinational corporation. Education students may be required to teach in a classroom with students from diverse backgrounds.
But Bluffton also views the importance of global education from a Christian perspective. “Christianity is global,” said Trollinger. “As human beings and as Christians it should matter to us what happens to our brothers and sisters across the planet.” Through global education, Bluffton students can obtain an understanding of what it means to live in “God’s universal kingdom” and to serve others, seeking justice and peace worldwide.
Bluffton strives to integrate a global perspective across the curriculum, from the general education program, to individual classes in each major, to numerous study abroad opportunities. Since 1995, Bluffton has required students to complete a cross cultural requirement in order to graduate. Students have the choice of fulfilling the cross cultural requirement by taking six credit hours of a foreign language or participating in a cross cultural experience, usually at the end of their junior year. Although statistics vary each year, approximately 90 percent of Bluffton students in each class opt for the cross cultural trip.
In a 1999 book titled Global Perspectives for Educators, the authors define global education as having three kinds of outcomes: cognitive, affective and participatory. The cognitive aspect is knowledge-based, what students learn about other cultures and how world systems operate. The affective aspect deals with how students relate to and empathize with the values of other cultures. The participatory aspect is the extent to which students are willing to take a stand on issues.
Bluffton’s cross cultural program is closely linked to this model of global education. For each cross cultural experience, the goal is for students to experience geographical immersion in order to 1) more fully understand and appreciate another culture and engage in critical reflection (cognitive and affective), and 2) examine what it means to be a responsible citizen in the global community and grow in developing an ethic of justice, service and peacemaking (participatory).
Trips take place during May term, after spring semester has concluded. At least one experience is planned for later in the summer to accommodate students who are still wrapping up spring sports during May. A mix of domestic and international experiences is offered and each experience lasts a minimum of two weeks. This year, students could choose from eight opportunities: Chicago; Florida; New York; San Antonio; China; Poland; Italy; and Trinidad.
During spring semester before the trip, students participate in a four-credit hour course to prepare them for their experience. For the first half of the course, they receive a general orientation on visiting another culture—learning, for example, about the role of an outsider in different cultures and common barriers and conflicts that can arise when interacting with people from different backgrounds. They then break into their individual trip groups to learn in-depth about the culture they will be visiting.
Each trip experience is designed to be a true “immersion” into the culture. Service projects, field placements and host family stays are planned to give students the opportunity to build relationships with people and learn from the host community.
“Bluffton is one of a small number of schools that intentionally seek connections between students and the people from the cultures they are visiting,” said Nyce. “Many schools with semester abroad programs have ‘island programs’ where students live with fellow U.S. students and attend classes, but there is no formal effort to connect them in meaningful ways with local people or cultures.”
Upon their return, students are required to write a reflective essay on their experience. This fall, Bluffton is adding a new component to the program. Students will be invited to participate in a one-day workshop that will help them process their experience. “There will also be a vocational slant to the day,” said Nyce. “Students will be asked to reflect on their career options and how their experience may have shaped their vocational choice.”
The one-day workshop was made possible through Bluffton’s Pathways to Mission and Vocation program, with generous funding from Lilly Endowment, Inc. Through Pathways, Nyce has been granted release time from teaching for the next several years to concentrate on enhancing Bluffton’s cross cultural program. Her plans include implementing assessment measurements, exploring ways to make the program sustainable and expanding opportunities through additional funding. “We need to be thinking about what we could be doing,” she said. “Smaller group sizes, having groups travel to more than one place, and exploring locations that are currently cost prohibitive, such as Africa, are all on the table,” she said.
Students who go on cross cultural trips are definitely impacted by their experiences. Dr. Mary Ann Sullivan, professor of English, has served as a leader on several experiences, including a term in Poland, as well as shorter periods in Spain, Italy and Vietnam. She says, “There are, of course, many ways to evaluate the success of our programs, but for me the most important criterion is the impact shown after the experience. I just got an e-mail from a student who went to Vietnam and is now working in Bangladesh. Several students from the Vietnam program have taught in Asia or worked in other capacities just as some of the students who went to Poland entered careers or did voluntary service in other countries. Others, while not going abroad, have continued working with Habitat for Humanity or organizations that take us out of the safe, middle-class, white American world. At a minimum I know our students have become more curious about others around the world and those different from themselves and more sensitive and sympathetic as a result. Many have truly become citizens of the world. That’s our goal.”
- Laurie Wurth Pressel
