Faculty Forum Papers
May 1978 - International Education: A Neglected Resource
By
C. Warren Hovland
Religious Studies
May 8, 1978
In a society where the search for "roots" has become increasingly
important, I would like to suggest that the programs offered through
our Office of International Education can provide a valuable adjunct
to student's educational experience. Through foreign study programs
third and fourth generation Americans are finding some of the values
and traditions of our ancestors as a source of self-understanding and
a clarification of life goals. Entering another society and staying
at least a year in that country, learning another language, trying to
understand its history and culture can provide the student with a
perspective and educational dimension that can be achieved in no
other way. Having observed this process for the past two years in
the German Study Program, these seem to be some of the more obvious values:
1.
A reduction of parochialism and the tendency to stereotype.
The day to day association with a variety of different types
of people in another culture helps to reduce stereotypes like:
"All Frenchmen are great lovers"; "All Germans are fat and hard
working." Our students also encounter stereotypes like: "All
Americans are rich and culturally deprived." By experiencing
friendships with students and with families some of these
stereotypes are reduced. "Pseudospeciation," the tendency
to regard our own society as superior and ultimate, is thus
minimized.
2.
A less naïve and more critical analysis of our own society.
Exposure to politically sensitive and more sophisticated students
challenges our students to examine their assumptions about
American democracy. Frequently they discover that foreign
students actually know more about America then they do. As
Robert Burns aptly put it:
O wad some power the giftie gie us
To see ourselves as others see us.
It wad fra monie a blunder free us.
3.
A time to reflect on the meaning of education.
Students who have been conditioned to think of education
in terms of credit hours and GPA's are confronted by an
alternative view of the educational process which stresses
individual research, much greater freedom to pursue individual
interests and offers little supervision or control. Many
students respond with uncertainty at this lack of structure
but when they experience the positive results they are encouraged
to view their own learning in a new light.
4.
A moratorium from pressures at home and society.
The demand to conform or get into an established groove is
temporarily suspended while students are abroad. As Erikson
has pointed out such a moratorium is a need for some individuals
to achieve a genuine sense of their identity.
5.
A discovery of the importance of language.
Language is a basic tool for understanding people, societies,
cultures. Most Americans are "language-poor" and by studying
at universities where students often know two, three, or more
languages and where one has to really know the language to
communicate with people is a great learning experience.
6.
Encounter with great art, music, ballet, theatre, and museums.
Many of our students have a minimal exposure to these resources
in America or universities. In Europe it is a substantive part
of student's experience and a critical analysis of each performance
is a regular part of the experience. Population centers provide
daily performances of great masters and the art collections are
freely available to all.
A true center of learning is not local or statewide or even
limited to national borders. Oregon State University has a
responsibility to educate for global interdependence. Like all
institutions of learning we should make the study of world affairs,
Western and non Western civilization, foreign languages, international
relations, international economics and agriculture and the
encouragement and opportunities for study abroad an integral
part of undergraduate and graduate programs.
