Internationalization Mini-grants
Report: 2003-2004

"Teaching and Learning for Intercultural Understanding, Human Rights, and a Culture of Peace"
Christine M. Cress, Postsecondary, Adult, and Continuing Education Program (PACE), 5-4682
Vicki Reitenauer, University Studies, 5-5847
In collaboration with Seanna Kerrigan, Capstone Coordinator, 5-8392

This project will promote teaching and learning for intercultural understanding, human rights, and a culture of peace through a threefold process:

1. the project will link Portland State University with other higher education institutions around the world that are interested in utilizing college classrooms and community engagement for laying the foundation for democracy and social equity;
2. the project will enhance student learning by directly working with the faculty who teach 18 international and refugee-related capstone courses a year (enrolling approximately 270 students); and
3. the project will further integrate international dimensions into capstone courses by involving faculty in syllabus and course revision.

Progress Report- 6/03
We have had accepted a paper and will be presenting a two hour workshop at the United Nations Education, Science, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Conference on Teaching and Learning for Intercultural Understanding, Human Rights, and a Cultural of Peace in Jyvaskyla, Finland, on Tuesday, June 17, 2003. Our session is entitled, “Teaching for Democratic and Civic Capacity through Community Engagement: Pedagogical Strategies.” Currently, over 600 participants from around the world are registered for the conference. The paper will be published as a part of the conference proceedings.

Christine also recently attended the Graduate School of Education’s Exploring International Education Day. The Workshop included case study presentations by faculty have who taught, researched, and studied in three different countries. In particular, the presentation by Jacqueline Temple regarding her Fulbright experience in Jyvaskyla, Finland helped to inform our presentation for the UNESCO conference. Specifically, Jacqueline discussed Finnish cultural understanding of concepts such as social justice, equity, and community responsibility. This has given us insights about the importance of providing our audience with clearly defined terminology and opportunities for questions and discussion.

In addition, Christine has had two meetings with representatives from the Intercultural Communications Institute in Beaverton. These discussions assisted her preparation for reaching a multicultural and international audience at UNESCO as well as focused on how to better integrate a global perspective in Postsecondary, Adult, and Continuing Education (PACE) courses.

In sum, the mini-grant has served as a catalyst for thinking more deeply and broadly about the work of community-based learning at Portland State University and how to make links from a more holistic world view.

By Women, For Women: NGOs - The Driving Force of Development in India
Suzanne Feeney, Institute for Nonprofit Management, 5-8217

This research project focuses on women entrepreneurs of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in India. NGOs are increasingly important vehicles used by many governments, the United Nations and international donors to foster development and provide urgent humanitarian relief. Many foreign donor agencies frequently divert funding through NGOs in developing nations to avoid aid being lost to corruption, government bureaucracies and other interests. In an era of declining foreign aid, this project focuses on the successes and challenges experienced by entrepreneurial indigenous women who have started NGOs in India and have been able to tap into local resources to make up for aid shortfalls. Being at the grassroots level, many of these organizations are able to efficiently use resources through management strategies based on indigenous knowledge.

This project, now in its third year, examines successful women and the NGOs they have founded in order to assess and describe the internal and external factors that work together to ensure their effectiveness. This research is relevant to researchers, faculty, students and practitioners interested in understanding more about international NGOs, women’s leadership and their entrepreneurial contributions to development. Entrepreneurship in the American nonprofit sector has become a key focus of inquiry and practice in the past several years. We would hope to shed some new perspectives on that inquiry and practice.

Progress Report 7/03 - Accomplishments and What Remains to be Done

• During the first visit to India Dr. Feeney completed drafts of two case studies on women’s entrepreneurship which her and her colleagues shared with the publishers. These two cases and one chapter of the original research contributed to their receiving a contract with Sage/New Delhi.
• During the second visit to India, she completed drafts for six additional case studies.
• In June her proposal to deliver a paper on grassroots organizations in India was accepted for a panel presentation focusing on “international grassroots and community organizations” at the annual conference of the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA).
• Towards the end of the second trip one of the founders of an a social organization, Chaitanya, inquired whether or not PSU students might come to do study internships with her organization, as students from the University of Minnesota began doing a few years ago. Having led overseas study trips to England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Ireland, and Oaxaca, Mexico to study NGOs, this seems like it could be a good opportunity for both undergraduates and graduates. As PSU attempts to expand our international curriculum and the international make-up of our institution, this could be a doable project.

Cross-Cultural Issue in Work and Family Research
Leslie Hammer, Psychology, 5-3971

The research project aims to examine work-family issues in the context of cultural values, political, and economic situations across three nations. We plan to collect pilot data on work and family issues in the US followed by the data collection in Russia and Iran. Specifically, we are interested in (1) examining 'universal' as well as culture-specific patterns of work-family issues; (2) understanding how cultural values (individualism/collectivism, gender role ideology), political and economic systems and family characteristics (interdependence of family members) influence people's perceptions of work-family conflict; and (3) exploring cultural differences in levels of perceived social support and its influence on work-family conflict. We expect that the information gained from this project will increase our awareness of the cultural processes that contribute to how people manage their work and family lives in this and other countries. This will enrich our understanding about how culture and national origin can impact people's ability to balance work and family, a situation experienced by many PSU students who work, have families, attend school, and are from diverse cultures. Additionally, this research opportunity will establish the bridge between faculty and students at Portland State University and collaborators from other cultures.

Progress Report - 7/03:
This project is part of a larger international study of work and family issues initiated in the summer of 2002 and being lead by Zeynep Aycan, an Associate Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology at Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey. The purpose is to investigate cross-cultural variations in work-family conflict and we have collaborators from eight countries at the moment: Turkey, India, Indonesia, USA, Canada, Israel, Iran, Russia and Ukraine.

Methods: After completing the literature review (North American and cross-cultural), most countries conducted focus group discussions and began to work on the measurement issues. A meeting of the researchers was held in Istanbul Turkey in early February for all collaborators who had funds to attend to discuss and clarify our conceptual framework, sampling strategy, and measures. Although we could not physically take part in this meeting we were provided with CD ROM recordings of the meeting and were part of a conference call that took place during the meeting. In addition, Dr. Hammer met with two of the collaborators in Toronto, Canada while attending the Work, Stress and Health Conference in March, 2003. At that meeting further refinements of the survey instrument occurred. In addition, both Maggie Shafiro and Dr. Hammer met with another collaborator at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology meeting in April, 2003 to discuss additional refinements of the measures. In all, these meetings proved to be extremely useful in moving us forward.

Data Collection: Unfortunately, when one works with an international team of over 10 collaborators finalizing a questionnaire always takes more time than one would expect. We are currently in the phase of translating the survey for both the Ukraine and Iranian data collection efforts that will take place in late summer for most current draft of the survey instrument. In addition, pilot data will be collected from a US sample (approximately 200 men and women employees of a local power company) in July to establish psychometric properties of the scales that were designed for this study. Thus, although we have made significant progress on this project, the timeline has had to be adjusted as follows: Revised Timeline: Finalizing the measures (deadline: July, 2002), Pilot data collection in US (deadline: July, 2003), Pilot data analyses and adjustments of the measures (deadline: August, 2003), Data collection in Iran and Ukraine (deadline: August, 2003)

Dissemination Plan: Based on the pilot data collected in the US in July, we plan to prepare a paper for submission to the national conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology that is due in mid September. In addition, once we have data collected from US, Ukraine and Iran, we will prepare a paper for publication, most likely submitted to the Journal of Cross-Cultural Management.

Exploring International Education: A Collection of Essays, Case Studies and Photographs of International Education by Educators
Samuel Henry, Curriculum & Instruction, Education, 5-3304
Jacqueline B. Temple, Curriculum & Instruction, Education, 5-5858

This project expands the International Collaboration in Teacher Education scholarship and research conducted by Samuel Henry in Moralia, Mexico and Jacqueline B. Temple, in Jyväskylä, Finland, respectively. Under the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights framework, professors Henry and Temple will discuss their individual perspectives regarding Teacher Education Reform in the United States. Both professors explore what it means to be a teacher and delve into their efforts to level the educational and social playing field for their students. In bridging the Atlantic, their collective purpose is to provide a critical, yet, richer and deeper global understanding of diversity and cultural competence in teacher education. Thus, the project will be a forum to advance the discussion of the implications of their initial research in intercultural competence. In so doing they will also bring forth concrete tangible examples of what International Teacher Education could encompass. These examples will be illustrated in essays, case study presentations, and photo journals which depict the social histories of culturally and ethnically diverse pre-service educators. Therefore, embedded in this proposal is an examination of who will teach the children and the role the academy plays in providing equal educational access and opportunities for international understanding through inclusive partnerships.

Progress Report 5/03:

Exploring International Education*
May 21, 2003, 9:30 am-1:30 pm

**Presentations and discussions will be videotaped/photographed.

The Hungarian Playwrights Residency Project
Karin Magaldi, Theatre Arts, 5-4642

For the past two years, the PSU Theater Arts Department, the professional company Artists Repertory Theater, and the Portland International Performance Festival (PIPFest) have collaborated in bringing a Hungarian playwright and a dramaturg to Portland. For the past two years, the two artists-in-residence participated in a play development workshop and public reading of a recent English translation of a new play by the playwright in residence at Artists Repertory. The two Hungarians co-led a workshop/panel discussion with the local professional theater community, and give a joint public lecture at PSU. Further, they met with students in the PSU Theater Arts Department courses in New Play Development and Multicultural Theater. This past June, the dramaturg returned to teach a course in New Drama from Eastern and Central Europe and a short, intensive workshops in critical writing and dramaturgy for Summer Session.

The goals of the past project has been: 1) to introduce important contemporary Hungarian playwrights to PSU students, Portland professional artists and the general public through these public readings, workshops, lectures and discussions; and 2) to continue to build interest in and knowledge of Hungarian theater, particularly Hungarian contemporary theater and its cultural context.

Even though the PIPFest no longer exists, those of us involved in the project (Allen Nause, Artistic Director of A.R.T.; Michael Griggs, former Artistic Director of PIPFest; and Karin Magaldi, Assistant Professor at PSU in Theater Arts) felt strongly about continuing the cross-cultural connection we had forged. Specifically, we would like to create an international bridge between Portland and Hungarian scholar/artists. The bridge would work both ways: a Hungarian playwright, dramaturg and/or an actor/director or director/dramaturg would work here at PSU and at ART. Subsequently, a PSU dramaturg/scholar/playwright and an ART actor/director would work with their Hungarian counterparts in Budapest.

Progress Report 9/03:

The Hungarian Playwrights Residency is a large, on-going, international theater initiative Project. Allen Nause, project director and artistic director of A.R.T., Karin Magaldi, dramaturg and assistant professor of Theater Arts at PSU, and Michael Griggs, project coordinator, traveled to Budapest for two weeks in September, 2003, We attended over fifteen plays (one involved a overnight trip to Prague in the Czech Republic), met with scores of playwrights to tell them about our project, observed several rehearsals in Budapest and Solnok, and discussed our project with Pétér Fabri of the Hungarian International Theater Institute (ITI), Erzsébet Kígyós of the Hungarian Ministry of Culture, Pétér Müller of the Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute, and Lilla Matos, a Cultural Affairs specialist at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest. Everyone there was very excited about our proposal that has come to be know as the “Portland Project” by the theater community there. László Upor, a Hungarian dramaturg, writer, and translator, coordinated the Hungarian side of the project, including making preparations for our visit.

Pétér Fabri of the Hungarian International Theater Institute (ITI), invited Karin to return to Hungary in late November 2003 (November 23 – December 1, 2003), to further explore the Budapest theater community by attending a five day Hungarian Theater Symposium as the guest of the ITI. It was an excellent opportunity for seeing several more productions of plays/playwrights they were considering for their project, as well as finalizing some of their arrangements with László Upor.

Only five people were invited to the ITI symposium: one each from Croatia, Romania, Germany, France and the United States (Karin). Hungarian historians, artists, playwrights, directors and administrators met with their small group and provided a complete overview of Hungarian theater history, current theater practice and important developments. Additionally, they met with several of the leading critics and artists in Hungary. Karin also attended six productions and met with a few additional playwrights and directors they had not seen on their first trip. On her final day there, she had a lengthy meeting with their Hungarian counterpart, László Upor, in which they discussed each playwright, script and director under consideration for the project.

After returning from her second trip to Budapest, Allen Nause, Michael Griggs and Karin met to discuss and finalize their choices for the “team,” and to make offers to a playwright, director and dramaturg. They commissioned an American translation of a new play, My Mother, Cleopatra, by contemporary Hungarian playwright, Attila Bartis. Director Peter Forgacs, and Dramaturg László Upor were asked to complete group for this project. The three will conduct a month-long series of script development activities in residence at ART and PSU in Spring 2005. While in residence, the Hungarian artists will be involved in activities with students, the Portland theater community, and the general public. The three artists have accepted this commission. Currently, they are waiting to hear about the status of our $50,000 grant application to the New York based Trust for Mutual Understanding so they can set their plans in motion.

Watershed Ecology, Sustainability Education and Community Service Learning in South Africa
Lauri J. Shainsky, Center for Science Education, 503-939-7174

This international project involves formal collaboration and exchange of knowledge, human resources, and service on the Kruger to Canyons (K2C) Biosphere Reserve Project, on behalf of PSU, with Wits Rural University in South Africa, and other partners involved in this project. The goals of the Biosphere project are to (1) recreate a continuous watershed/wildlife conservation area by reconnecting several large game reserves, parks, and other lands, thereby (2) reestablishing historical wildlife movements and improved wildlife management and (3) improving watershed health and availability of clean water to all members of the community, while at the same time (4) developing utilizing local indigenous skills, human resources, and enterprise and (5) cultivating stewardship and long-term sustainability in the nature-watershed-human complex. PSU’s role will be to assist the development and implementation of the community service learning and sustainability education component of the program. This project will become one of PSU’s Portland International Initiative in Ecology, Culture, and Learning’s banner projects for establishing and utilizing cutting edge concepts and techniques in sustainability education. This project will also provide a framework and case studies for understanding science education in an international context on behalf of PSU’s Center for Science Education. This project provides PSU with an opportunity to participate in the international Kruger to Canyons Biosphere Reserve program for improving the health and well being of all the biotic and abiotic entities in an ecologically-significant watershed.

Bridging the Information Divide in an Embargoed Environment
Gretta Siegel, Library, 5-4708

This project involves building relationships and collaborations between U.S. and Cuban libraries, and transmitting information to both Cuban and American audiences. Proposed activities consist of participating as an invited panelist (invitation attached) at the annual national library conference in Havana in February; continuing with collaborative efforts with the National Library of Science and Technology; continuing to serve as a 'bridge' between these two environments; and creating a network of faculty and other researchers at PSU who have been to Cuba and who can contribute to internationalization efforts here on campus through first-hand reports to classes that are studying the language, culture, economics, politics, etc. of that country. This last element would be somewhat unique, and hopefully useful, because U.S. citizens cannot travel freely to this country, due to the economic embargo.

Summary of Progress Report - 7/03
Tasks completed:

• Participated as an invited speaker at the annual national library conference in Havana in February, Presentation title: From Gatekeeper to Gateway to Distributed Multi-Dimensional Portal: The Changing Services of the University Library;
• Met with administration and staff at the National Library of Science and Technology to continue collaborative relationship;
• Wrote and submitted an article about the two recent professional conferences in Havana that I participated in, which was accepted;
• Attended the 12th Havana International Book Fair and purchased much needed books of Cuban poetry for the Millar library collection.
  

Task in progress: Creating a website which will be used to facilitate information exchange on campus about Cuba, by providing information on courses, workshops, people resources, study abroad opportunities, etc.

International Conference on Manchu Studies
Stephen Wadley,Foreign Languages & Literatures, 5-5293

This project involves adding an international component to a project already funded by the Oregon Council on Asian Studies. The original grant is for a Manchu Studies symposium to be held at Portland State University in May of 2003. The symposium is a joint project of Stephen Durrant from University of Oregon, Keith Dede from Lewis and Clark College and Stephen Wadley from Portland State University. The two day symposium will include the top U.S. scholars in the field (James Bosson, Harvard; Jerry Norman, University of Washington; Mark Elliott, University of Michigan, etc.) as well as interested graduate students from Harvard University, University of Michigan, University of California at Santa Barbara, etc. With the addition of the mini-grant funds, the symposium could include scholars from outside of the United States. Much of the best work in Manchu studies right now is being done outside of the United States. It would be valuable for U.S. scholars to include some of the top overseas scholars in the symposium.

Achieved Goals of the Conference (from the Final Report submitted 6/03))
The organizers of the Manchu Conference feel that from the conference there have been several significant developments of benefit to Portland State and to higher education in Oregon:

• We have developed a stronger network of collaboration between University of Oregon, Lewis and Clark College and Portland State. Professors Durrant, Dede and Wadley are already exploring new collaborative projects in the field of Manchu. The conference has also provided an incentive for Professor Durrant to return to the field of Manchu after exploring other fields of interest.
  
• We have begun to develop a network of scholars within the United States with common interests in Manchu studies. Four of the participants recently informed me they have subsequently organized a Manchu panel to present at the Association for Asian Studies national meeting this next year.
  
• We have also established important overseas connections: Jin Bingzhe in China and Carsten Naeher in Germany, both important scholars in their respective countries.
  
• Through our contact with Prof. Naeher, we have the opportunity of reaching an even larger group of scholars through the publication of the conference proceedings by Otto Harrassowitz, the largest publisher of academic books in Germany.
  
• By hosting such a successful conference, we have paved the way for future conferences; most notably, Harvard University has asked to host the next installment of the Manchu Studies Conference in two years in Cambridge.
  
• We have put Oregon on the map as a center in the United States for Manchu studies. The recent retirements of Prof. Jerry Norman from the University of Washington and Prof. James Bosson from University of California, Berkeley has left the West Coast without a regular program in Manchu language for the first time in over fifty years. Oregon is now in a good position to take a leading role in Manchu language studies for the West Coast.

Learning from Cuba: Linguistics Pluralism and Native Literacy
Manya Wubbold, Foreign Languages & Literatures, 5-9589

Manya Wubbold would like to serve as a representative of the Foreign Language and Literature (FLL) Department at the International Teachers‚ Conference on Pedagogy in Havana, Cuba. The FLL department is expanding its service learning and literacy training in the Portland Metropolitan area; the conference would enhance this work by providing access to information and materials from some of the worlds‚ foremost authorities working on linguistic pluralism within the context of social commitment and literacy. As a result, the FLL would be positioned to serve as an informational link connecting native literacy programs in the Tri-Met area with pedagogical expertise and resources normally inaccessible, due to the Cuban embargo. Finally, this conference will enable PSU‚s Foreign Language and Literature department to develop professional connections with educators and programs worldwide who are dedicated to linguistic pluralism and universal literacy; making these connections will serve the long term interests of PSU and the students of the Service Learning component of the FLL department.

Progress Report 3/03:

There were six thousand educators present at the 2003 Pedagogical Conference in Havana, Cuba, and although the majority were from Latin America, many other countries were represented. Manya was able to attend the lectures, symposiums and workshops dedicated to the dissemination of information about international organizations that promote adult and youth literacy.   Since she teaches a service learning course called “Applied Language in Service” in which the majority of the students are placed in community organizations as volunteer tutors and classroom assistants were they tutor native literacy to adults, youth and children (mostly in Spanish), it is an important component of her job to provide support and information to these students as well as to the community partners that they serve.

At the conference the lectures, symposiums and workshops were given by educators from Cuba, Brazil, and Haiti among others.   All of the lecturers were teachers committed to making education accessible to the poorest and most marginalized people in their own countries.   It was an incredible inspiration to hear about their innovative and heroic programs and to see how just a handful of people can bring about such positive change (literacy) with so many people.   Also, like the true teachers that they are, the presenters at the conference were incredibly generous and happy to share curriculum, methodology and materials.            

Manya came back to Portland truly inspired, but at the same time shocked and saddened (reverse culture shock) about the state of education in Oregon.   Hence, she is more committed than ever to developing her service learning course because she knows it is an effective way to support the social and educational organizations that struggle to serve our most vulnerable populations.   Manya has brought from Cuba the beginnings of a portable library that her students are already using to the benefit of the community partners and their clients.   She has also returned to her work at PSU with ideas and plans inspired by the methodology and curriculum utilized by the international organizations that she became acquainted with.

One day Manya would like to return and attend another pedagogical conference in Cuba.   Her hope is to continue gathering information from international sources, strengthen the connections that she has made and present her own program and research as a participant of the conference.