USC Rossier around the world

By Andrea Bennett Published on February 19, 2014

Rossier’s most recent international activities continue to make news and make a difference. Study tours, collaborative student projects, and faculty appointments are addressing issues in education from a truly global perspective. Rossier continues to nurture and expand its partnerships throughout the world.

Costa Rica

Doctoral students visited a San Jose-area public elementary school with laptops donated by Intel — Doctoral students visited a San
Jose-area public elementary school
with laptops donated by Intel

In June 2013, 12 EdD candidates travelled to Costa Rica to study the impact of globalization and multinational corporations on schools and universities in that country. Led by USC Rossier Executive in Residence Michael Escalante, the doctoral students are the first to base their thematic dissertation on research conducted in another country.

The study is also the first to examine how Intel and other multinational corporations are investing in schools and universities in Costa Rica, collaborating with education, government, and economic leaders to move the country toward a more knowledge-based economy. In the past 30 years, Costa Rica’s economy has shifted from reliance on agricultural products including bananas, coffee, and sugar cane to technology exports and technology services. Government leaders and national policymakers have expressed their support for and anticipation of the USC Rossier study’s findings.

In 2014, a second cohort of doctoral students will expand on this research, and visit the country to study the growth in project-based learning, STEM education, and 21st-Century skills as a result of the annual national science and technology fairs mandated in every K-12 school in Costa Rica.

Hong Kong

University Professor William G. Tierney was awarded a visiting fellowship at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) to contribute to the development of HKU’s higher education policy studies, and lend his expertise to the creation of an Institute of Higher Education Studies at HKU.

During a series of month-long visits to HKU that began in 2014, Tierney has been advising university leadership, conducting a lecture series, consulting on research, and helping HKU expand its role in the U.S. and globally.

Tierney is only the second scholar in education to receive the fellowship, and his appointment is expected to enhance HKU’s stature and its impact on education policy at a time when the region is grappling with issues of access, privatization, learning quality, and research capacity in higher education.

Dr. William Tierney to Build Higher Education Studies at Hong Kong University

Thailand

EdD student Jim Feigert at Wat Meta Rang School in Bangkok — EdD student Jim Feigert at
Wat Meta Rang School in Bangkok

Nearly 50 EdD students participated in USC Rossier’s largest international study tour to date in Bangkok, Thailand, in August 2013.

The trip, led by USC Rossier Professors John Pascarella and Larry Picus, was designed to give doctoral students the opportunity to study Thai K-12 and higher education, compare these systems to their American counterparts, and gain insight into the role Thai culture plays in education in the country.

Rossier students visited the Thai Office of the Higher Education Commission (OHEC), the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, multiple universities, and several K-12 institutions. They also met with a number of policy officials, including Thai Deputy Secretary-General Aporn Kanvong and officials from Chulalongkorn University, Mahidol University, and Bangkok University-Rangsit.

USC Rossier’s Largest International Study Tour Returns from Thailand

Botswana

In August 2013, USC Rossier Professor Michael Diamond led a group of 22 doctoral students to Botswana to experience the K-12 schools, institutions of higher education, education agencies, and cultural sites of the country.

In addition to observing and interacting with students at each location, USC Rossier students were able to meet with school and university staff and faculty, including the dean for the school of education at the University of Botswana, to discuss best practices and future collaboration.

Over the last several years, Diamond has been helping the university, located in the capital city of Gaborone, to build a new graduate school of business.

Dr. Mike Diamond Helps Build Business School in Botswana

Tanzania

USC Rossier Professor Robert Filback led a service learning trip to Tanzania along with master’s students in February 2014. The group spent five days in Endupoto Primary School in a rural Maasai village near Arusha, a school established in 2008 by alumna Cheryl Kyle ’62 and village elders.

The trip involved knowledge exchange between Rossier students and teachers at the school, with Rossier students studying the school’s unique public-private partnership model while providing collaborative support to Endupoto faculty.