Overview

For the first time in its history, the College of Education offered a Summer Study Abroad Course in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China during Summer, 2007.The purpose of the course was to enhance students’ understanding of globalization and its effects on California education. This summer course, offered in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong, enabled students to critically examine the trans-Pacific Chinese diaspora and recent educational developments in China, and to conduct cross-cultural observation and study. Students were able to combine theories and praxis by directly observing, comparing, and contrasting educational practices in the Bay Area with those in Southern China—one of the most rapidly developing areas of the world.

The course was co-taught by Associate Dean David Hemphill, Associate Professor Ming-yeh
Lee, and Dean Jacob Perea, in collaboration with faculty from the University of Hong Kong. A generous donation from Chris Larson made possible a scholarship to underwrite all lodging, in-country transportation, and instructional costs.

The course began in the week of May 21st with three evening lectures at SFSU, followed by two weeks of coursework at Hong Kong University and intensive classroom observation/study at schools in Hong Kong and Guangzhou between June 3rd and June 16th, 2007. A total of nine schools sites were visited—five in Hong Kong and four in Guangzhou.

Background

Teaching an increasingly diverse student population in the San Francisco Bay Area is a continuing challenge for educators. In San Francisco Unified School District alone, almost one-third of the students are of Chinese origin, and almost half the students in the district are of Asian origin. In addition, many of the students throughout the District are English language learners. This special summer educational seminar was developed to that enable San Francisco Bay Area educators to gain an exposure to Asian educational practices—specifically those of Hong Kong and Southern China. The goal of this seminar was to help educators understand patterns of globalization in education and its impacts on California education; effects of diasporas on California education and countries of origin; and skills in cross-cultural classroom observation and lesson study. The belief was that doing so would make them better teachers overall—in terms of their practices, and in terms of their ability to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. This program represented one phase of a major international thrust being implemented by the SFSU College of Education to help our teachers develop the understandings they need for the future.

2007 Syllabus and Schedule

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Syllabus       Schedule