Policy in Focus: Global Education

UF Faculty: Taryn T.C. Brown Department: School of Teaching and Learning College: College of Education	Partner Faculty: Levy Odera Department: Systems Acumen for Youth-Led Solutions Partner Institution: Systems Acumen for Youth Led Solutions

Project details
Title:	Policy in Focus: A Virtual Exchange on Global Education Policies and Comparative Perspectives
Project Description:	The virtual exchange project implemented across both courses explored educational policies and their impacts through a collaborative, multi-part learning process. Part 1 focused on situating the context, analyzing educational autobiographies, identifying educational challenges, and mapping the systems that influence policy. Part 2 centered on comparative education, examining the effects of global policies on curriculum, pedagogy, and schooling, with a focus on post-colonial impacts. Part 3 explored future educational possibilities, encouraging participants to envision policy improvements based on prior learning. The final part, Part 4, involved VE partners in creating and evaluating reimagined education policies through collaborative design and virtual presentations.
Learning Outcomes:	Students will demonstrate the ability to critically engage with diverse cultural perspectives by formulating and exploring deeper questions about educational systems, societal structures, and cultural values. They will initiate and develop meaningful interactions with peers from different cultural backgrounds, reflecting an openness to suspend judgment and valuing these cross-cultural exchanges. Students will apply comparative methodologies to analyze, evaluate, and contrast educational systems and cultural contexts across different societies. They will critically assess how societal structures and cultural values shape education systems, demonstrating an ability to use these frameworks to foster a deeper understanding of global educational issues.
Participating Countries:	Kenya
Number of Participants:	25 UF Students; 40 Systems Acumen for Youth-Led Solutions (SAYDS)
Discipline:	Education
UF Course Code & Name:	EDF 3083 , EDF 6812 - International and Comparative Education, Comparative Education
Project Duration:	13 weeks
Activity Type(s):	Student-to-Student Dialogue Student-to-Student Project Virtual Guest Speaker
Time allotted to each activity:	Synchronous: 1 hour per week Asynchronous: 30 minutes - 1 hour
Technology Tools:	VE Canvas Shell Google Drive Zoom YouTube Padlet
Sequence of Activities:	Icebreaker Activities included: The Power of Your Name, Virtual Background Show and Tell, Share One Song, One Word, One Insight Pre-reading work during Zoom synchronous sessions, complemented by virtual lectures provided by project facilitators Prompted reflection activity on Padlet for students to respond to, and interact with other student's ideas.