Session 19

You CAN Get There From Here: First Steps to Involvement in International Development Programs

Session Description:

How often have YOU thought about living and cooperating in a developing country? How often have you thought about cooperating in an international program for development? The tendency to reflect upon our “giving back’ to community and society is a very normal one. The tendency to examine ways of ‘giving back’ to the global community we live in conjures up many more exciting and challenging possibilities. The goal of this session is two-fold. First, we will examine the various levels of participation possible in international cooperative work, the skills and contacts needed to become an international worker or volunteer, and examine ways to get your ‘foot in the door’. Second, we will examine the important role for distance and distributed learning strategies to deliver the skills and knowledge for human capacity development which you will be involved with. In addition, participants will learn about current government policies and non-government opportunities for individual and institutional participation, be sensitized to some of the special challenges involved in international development participation, and learn how to prepare yourself to function personally and professionally in these new environments.

The following questions will be addressed in this session:

1. What are the rewards and challenges related to working and living in developing countries?
2. How can I get involved with organizations doing international development?
3. What skills do I need? Where can I begin to get the skills? What resources are available?
4. What are current policies and initiatives by donor agencies such as CIDA, World Bank, UNESCO, etc?

Presenter: Arnold Novak, Ph.D., Brandon University

Arnold Novak has been a member of the Faculty of Education at Brandon University for more than 30 years. He became involved in international development activities in 1980, and has worked with CIDA projects in Swaziland, Kenya, and Malawi. The Swaziland project involved a CIDA Tier 2 grant to in-service secondary school teachers, using a distributed delivery technique. The Kenya project involved developing guidelines for national curriculum development. The Malawi projects involved developing teacher education programs at both the primary and secondary level. Arnold was Field Coordinator for two years in the primary teacher education project (1990-91) and Field Manager for four years in secondary teacher education project (2000-04). The latter program involved the development of distance delivery
modalities and institutional capacity to sustain this program delivery.

Arnold received his M.Sc. in Educational Technology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout (1976) and his Ph.D. in Instructional Systems Technology from Indiana University (2004). At Brandon University he teaches courses in technology and instructional methods at the undergraduate level, and courses in instructional systems design and technology, and educational planning at the graduate level. This has background has provided opportunities to consult and teach in all areas of teacher education and participate in project planning and implementation, management, and evaluation.