Fulbright-Hays, a Fulbright Program funded by the United States Department of Education, offers K-12 educators (pre-teachers, teachers, administration) the funding and opportunity to travel overseas to teach or further research world languages and area studies.
According to a recent publication by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), the DOE has “awarded more than $71 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 [to] new and non-competing continuation grants to help strengthen the capacity and performance of American education in world languages, world area and international studies, and research.”
The aim of programs such as the Fulbright-Hays is “to address the nation’s need by preparing leaders who are highly competent in world languages, international studies, and critical thinking,” to create educators that will guide America’s students to achieve “greater global competence.”
This fully-funded program creates “interdisciplinary curriculum projects, [establishes] collaborations with minority-serving institutions and community colleges, and [develops] programs that expand global opportunities for K-16 educators.” There is a distinct focus on fostering world language instruction, area/international studies teaching and research, professional development for educators, and curriculum development at the K-12, graduate, and postsecondary levels.
One example of the success of the Fulbright-Hays comes directly from the publication:
“Savannah State University, a historically black university (HBCU), in partnership with the Savannah Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS), will undertake a short-term Group Project Abroad (GPA-ST) in Ghana to expose a group of SCCPSS middle- and high-school teachers and SSU faculty members to the historically significant relationship that exists between Savannah, a major port city during the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade, and the West Coast of Africa, the departure point for a large number of slaves. Through new courses and modules in existing courses, the project intends to make the social sciences more interesting and relevant to students at both the secondary and postsecondary levels.”
If there is an interest in this program, please find additional information here.
