Educators Travel to South Africa
For the third triennial IAACS Conference
Four members of the Department of Teaching, Learning & Curriculum (TLC) participated in the third triennial conference of the International Association for the Advancement of Curriculum Studies (IAACS) in Cape Town, South Africa, Sept. 6–10, 2009. The conference theme, “Rethinking Curriculum Studies,” generated a variety of papers and presentations on the impact of current social issues on curriculum development, design, theorizing and practice. This year’s location provided the opportunity for reflective conversations on the impact of Apartheid on education in post-Apartheid South Africa. Papers from the Andrews group reflected the diversity of topics addressed.
Larry Burton, professor of teacher education, presented "Reframing ‘traditional’: Relational pedagogy in STEM education.” Calvin Joshua, 2009 PhD graduate from the School of Education, spoke on “Intercultural studies for clergy in the era of globalization.” Faith-Ann McGarrell, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, presented “Academic service-earning in first-year writing: Implications for practice.”
IAACS convenes every three years with the intent to provide a space where conversations about curriculum and curriculum theorizing are shared and valued regardless of national or international borders, policies, politics or government influences. Attendees included scholars in the field, teaching faculty, graduate students and supporters. The first conference met in Shanghai, China, the second met in Tampere, Finland, and the next conference is scheduled to take place in Brazil, South America. Burton has attended all three conferences, while McGarrell and St. Juste have attended the last two conferences.
TLC participants,
L–R: Faith-Ann McGarrell, Pretoria St. Juste, William Pinar (conference initiator), Calvin Joshua, Larry BurtonFrom Focus Magazine.