Program Overview:
Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary Educators (SUSIs) are intensive postgraduate level academic programs that provide foreign secondary school educators and administrators the opportunity to deepen their understanding of U.S. society, culture, values, and institutions. The ultimate goal of the Institutes is to strengthen curricula and to enhance the quality of teaching about the United States in secondary schools and other academic institutions abroad.
Study of the U.S. Institutes for Secondary Educators will take place at various academic institutions throughout the United States over the course of five weeks in summer 2024. Each Institute includes a four-week academic residency and a one-week integrated study tour in another region of the United States.
The SUSIs will provide three multinational groups of 20 experienced secondary school educators (including secondary school teachers, administrators, teacher trainers, curriculum developers, textbook writers, Ministry of Education officials, and others) with a deeper understanding of U.S. society, education, and culture – past and present. The Institutes focus on providing content and materials for participants to develop high school level curricula about the United States. Two of the Institutes are tailored for secondary school teachers; please note that the Institutes for teachers focus on content and materials about the United States rather than teaching methods and pedagogy. The third Institute is tailored to experienced administrators, including teacher trainers, curriculum developers, textbook writers, Ministry of Education officials, and others.
Through a combination of traditional, multi-disciplinary, and interdisciplinary approaches, program content will examine the history and evolution of U.S. institutions and values, broadly defined. The programs will also illuminate contemporary political, social, and economic debates in American society. The four-week academic residencies will take place at U.S. university and college campuses and will consist of a balanced series of lectures, panels, seminar discussions, readings, workshops, site visits, meetings with practitioners in the field, and cultural activities. One-week study tours in a different region will complement the academic residencies and showcase the cultural, geographic, and ethnic diversity of the United States. The program features curriculum based on the study of how America’s foundations and historical development have shaped and continue to inform U.S. politics, economics, and society. Community service activities are a key cultural component of the program and provide participants with first-hand experience of how volunteerism plays a vital role in U.S. civil society. The program will offer multiple opportunities for follow-on engagement through alumni webinars, grant-funded follow-on projects, social media, and an alumni workshop.
One Institute for teachers will explore U.S. studies through the lens of democracy and citizenship, and the second Institute for teachers will explore the ways in which individual rights and social obligations have evolved through American history.
The Institute for Administrators will focus on sociocultural understanding, equitable learning communities, and diversity and inclusion in U.S. education and society.
Other Program Information:
- All participant costs are covered by the program, including program administration; domestic travel and ground transportation; book, cultural, mailing and incidental allowances; and housing and subsistence, as well as international travel and visa costs.
- All participants are expected to participate fully in the program. Note that this is an intensive program and there will be little time for personal pursuits unrelated to the program. The Institute is not a research program. Participants must attend all lectures and organized activities and complete assigned readings. Family members and/or friends may not accompany participants on any part of the program. Institute curriculum will not formally address teaching methodology and pedagogical methods.
- All candidates must be proficient in English so that they can actively participate in the academic program.
- Should health, safety, and travel conditions pose significant challenges, the SUSI will pivot to a virtual format.
Candidate Eligibility:
Applicants must:
- Be mid-career, typically between the ages of 30-50, highly motivated, experienced secondary school teachers and administrators whose students are approximately 14-18 years of age.
- Demonstrate English language fluency. Institutes are rigorous and demanding academic programs conducted entirely in English. Participants will be expected to read and comprehend substantial written materials and assignments in English and to participate in all seminar and panel discussions fully and actively.
- Be willing and able to fully take part in an intensive postgraduate level academic program within a campus and with an active program schedule.
- Candidates must be willing to respectfully engage with fellow participants representing different backgrounds and different points of view.
Priority will be given to candidates who have firm plans to enhance, update, or develop courses and/or educational materials with U.S. studies focus or component; who have no prior or limited experience in the United States; and who have special interest in the program subject areas as demonstrated through past scholarship, accomplishments, and professional duties.
Ideal candidates are individuals whose home institution is seeking to introduce aspects of U.S. studies into its curricula, to develop new courses in the subject of the Institute, to enhance and update existing courses on the United States, or to offer specialized seminars/workshops for professionals in U.S. studies areas related to the program theme.
How to Apply:
Applications for candidates in Bosnia and Herzegovina must be submitted by e-mail to the U.S. Embassy by December 4, 2023 at 11.59pm local time. Applicants must fill out the application form and submit the form by email to bhexc@state.gov with the Subject line “2024 SUSI Educators Application.”
Qualified candidates will be contacted by the Embassy for an interview in mid-December 2023.
Izvor: ba.usembassy.gov
