U-Lead Global Programs – GYLCE Argentina
December 1, 2010
1 – Academic content of this course and how it relates to the chosen country
The Global Youth Leadership and Community Engagement (GYLCE) course explores the prosocial, active roles that young people play in advancing their communities and the broader society. The course explores the history, purposes, and structures of youth engagement, leadership, and empowerment work across the globe. Perhaps the most robust approaches to youth engagement are found in Latin America, most notably in Argentina. Argentina operates a program in solidaria for youth through their aprendizaje-servicio initiative within the Ministry of Education. All secondary school students are required to complete a community-based project that advances an important social cause. Students in GYLCE will participate in a four-week trip to Argentina to explore further the concepts and theories of youth leadership discussed in the course. They will also apply and see in practice the theories they explored during the spring semester through their direct involvement in service-learning projects in Argentina. Argentina’s robust style of service learning emphasizes youth empowerment and social justice. For a more detailed description of the course please review the attached course syllabus.
2 – Preliminary list of excursions and cultural visits
Students in the course will engage in a variety of educational experiences in Buenos Aires and other cities and towns, mostly through their work on service-learning projects with Argentine secondary school and university students. In Buenos Aires, the students will take part in: 6 lessons that will explore the theory and practice of service-learning in Argentina (12 hours); 4 lessons of survival Spanish (8 hours); and observational site visits and hands on service-learning activities with schools and universities in Buenos Aires (32 hours). In addition, students will engage in additional site visits outside Buenos Aires (3 days) to observe different approaches to youth engagement. GYLCE students will also attend the 14th Annual International Service-learning Seminar at Buenos Aires University Law School (August 24th-25th) (16 hours); this event showcases the service-learning work and accomplishments of young people throughout Latin America. Students will also have the opportunity for additional optional educational excursions located in other areas of the country, including but not limited to the Argentine regions of Cordova, Tucuman and Bariloche.
3 – Draft syllabus for the first week that reflects a combination of academic content and excursions
Week 1: Monday, August 1 to Sunday, August 7
(6 Hours in Class – 8 Hours in Community-Based Service-Learning Activities)
- Monday (8/2/2011) – (2 hours) – Orientation of Argentina, the educational system, the history and theory of solidaria and aprendizaje-servicio.
- Wednesday (8/4/2011) – (2 hours) – Getting to know Buenos Aires. Survival tips and information on getting around Buenos Aires.
- Friday (8/6/2011) – (2 hours) – Survival Spanish
- Field – (8 hours) – Exploring youth as change agents. Students work with youth as the youth conduct an academic service-learning activity in the community.
4 – Assessment of student performance in the class (e.g. journaling, readings, group projects, presentations, papers)
At the end of the educational excursion in Argentina, students will submit a comparative analysis paper (10 to 12 pages) in which they explore critical issues of global youth engagement in the context of three countries (the U.S., Argentina and another country of their choice). Students will conduct a presentation of their papers to each each other in the Fall semester at the University of Minnesota. Students post their papers on Moodle prior to their presentations to allow classmates to read and review each other’s work. During the summer, students will receive 2 points for attendance per class session for a possible total of 26 attendance points (over the four weeks in Argentina). They will receive 1 point per hour of community engagement practice for a possible total of 32 points, as well as up to 40 points for the final analysis comparative paper written at the end of the summer session. In addition to these points, the students’ experience in Argentina will serve as a foundation for their final fall session paper which will be constructed from the synthesis of the material studied during the spring session, their learning abroad experience, their independent research, and feedback from their classmates as each student compares and contrasts three different countries and service learning schemes. Their final comparative study will include both a paper and a presentation. A maximum of 244 points can be earned for the course, including points earned during the pre-Argentina course sessions and assignments at the University of Minnesota as well as post-Argentina presentations. Students who earn 228 points or above receive an A.
5 – Instructor’s academic qualifications related to this course topic, international experience, language skills, and group leadership experience.
Professor Andrew Furco, associate professor in the department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development and also serves as the University’s associate vice president for public engagement. His work focuses on exploring the ways in which community-engaged practices affect teaching, learning, and schooling. A former middle and high school teacher and administrator, his research interests span all levels of education. For 14 years he served as director of the Service-Learning Research and Development Center at UC Berkeley, where he also served on the faculty in the School of Education. While at Berkeley, he led more than 20 national and international studies on various issues concerning student community engagement and service-learning. This research has continued at the University of Minnesota through his role as director of the University’s International Center for Research on Community Engagement (ICRCE). ICRCE is part of several international projects focused on a broad of issues pertaining to the practice and study of community engagement in primary, secondary, and tertiary (higher) education. Currently, Professor Furco co-chairs the UNESCO International Values Education Research Consortium, which is composed of researchers from eight countries who are exploring universal values through national and transnational studies. He is also a member of the Council of Engagement and Outreach for the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU), which works to advance the role of community engagement at public higher education institutions His publications include the books, Service-Learning: The Essence of the Pedagogy (2001) and Service-Learning Through a Multidisciplinary Len (2002), which explore the research outcomes of various approaches to service-learning. In 2003, he received the award for Outstanding Contributions to Service-Learning Research from the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE). He has participated in several conferences and projects in Argentina and Latin America since 1996. For more information about Professor Furco’s work and qualifications, visit http://www.cehd.umn.edu/edpa/people/Furco.html).
Professor Furco will be assisted in Argentina by Alfonso Sintjago, a PhD student at the University of Minnesota. Mr. Sintjago holds a masters degree in Latin American Studies, was born in and has taken previous trips to Latin America. As a previous collegiate swimmer, swimming coach and middle school teacher, he has taken or been part of various travelling abroad student groups. He is native Spanish speaker with a BA in Spanish and has taught Spanish at the High School and Middle school levels.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Attached is the rest of the syllabus, which includes a course outline. The course outline for this six-credit course is divided into three parts: (1) the pre-Argentina summer course session topics and assignments; (2) the Argentina summer session topics and assignments; and the fall semester session presentations. By extending the class through the summer and into the fall, students will be able to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of global youth leadership and community engagement. In Argentina, students will also be led by a group of CLAYSS (Latin American Center for Leader and Solidarity Service) instructors including Professor Maria Nieves Tapia, the founder and academic director of CLAYSS, and part time advisor to the National Service-learning Program at Argentina’s Ministry of Education. She is a well known researcher and professor of history in Argentina. She has focused her career on researching and advocating youth empowerment and service-learning, and was one of the founders of Argentina’s national solidaria service-learning initiative (http://www.clayss.org.ar/institucional/pnt.htm).
