*Students must speak Jennifer Strickland-Poole first before completing an application through the Education Abroad Office.*

Course: EDUC 340

Dates: 05/16/2025 - 05/31/2025

Program Contact: STRICKLJ@email.sc.edu

Program Description:

EDUC 360 is a study abroad course that entails experiential learning in educational settings in a foreign culture. This course will immerse students in the culture of the school systems of Reggio, Emilia. Before departing, participants will have four on campus meetings that will serve as an orientation to the study abroad experience and an introduction to the academic content of the course. The academic content focuses on the multidisciplinary field of comparative international education with an emphasis on issues in early childhood and elementary education. The students will compare and contrast inquiry based practices, standards driven learning, inclusion of children with special needs, and other issues of schooling in the US and Reggio. Students in the course will gain a comparative understanding of the ways in which education and schooling interact with aspects of broader national, regional, and global contexts (e.g., society, politics, culture, history) and explore and analyze specific educational policies and practices during the study abroad experience. When they return to campus students will engage in reading and reflection and communicate what they learned abroad through various assessments including a journal and a written report. All assignments will be differentiated for graduate students.

Application Deadline:  March 1