Teacher Education Students to Do Internships in Sweden, Peru

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Students doing their teaching internships in Sweden and Peru this spring are, front row, Anna Bagwell, Spencer Schwede and Libby Minshall, back row, Marshall Starr, Mary Kay Massanelli, Maggie Steines and Annie Williams. Not pictured are Cindy Ruiz and Alana Gilmore.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Spencer Schwede is the type of university student for whom study abroad programs were designed. He has been out of the country a few times, including a summer trip to Spain with his high school Spanish club, and he would like to teach in another country for at least a few years.

The six weeks he will spend in Sweden as part of a group of University of Arkansas education students doing teaching internships abroad should give him valuable information to plan what he’ll do following graduation this spring.

“I was disappointed I didn’t study abroad as an undergraduate,” said Schwede, who is in the Master of Arts in Teaching program. He is a secondary education social studies major who earned a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in political science from the U of A.

“What I really like about this trip is that I’m interested in applying for jobs internationally. I would like to teach at an American school in Europe, Asia or Australia,” Schwede continued. “This internship will be good experience for what it would be like to work in one of these countries, what to expect, what difficulties there will be teaching and living abroad. This will be a good preview.”

Cindy Ruiz, an art education major, was born in Los Angeles and is fluent in both Spanish and English. She will be the first in her family to graduate from high school and college. Ruiz will teach for six weeks at a school in Peru.

She wants to learn about the culture of other people and how to broaden her perspectives. She plans to come back and teach in Northwest Arkansas or in Texas.

“Teaching in another country means that I will be able to experience a range of cultural diversity,” Ruiz said. “Not only will the students be learning something from me, but I as well will learn things that I will remember forever.”

Overseas Field Placements

The College of Education and Health Professions began offering out-of-area field placements regularly two years ago. Previously, a couple of foreign-language education students studied abroad in the 1990s. This semester, nine students will teach for six weeks in Sweden and Peru.

Leah Chamberlain, director of the Office of Field Placement and Licensure in the college, worked with Jönköping University to make the arrangements with five Swedish schools. The college has a previous relationship with Jönköping University as part of its Health Teams Abroad program, and seven students will go to Sweden at the end of March. Along with Schwede, they are Anna Bagwell, secondary education English; Alana Gilmore, secondary education social studies; Mary Kay Massanelli, art education; Libby Minshall, art education; Marshall Starr, secondary education science; and Maggie Steines, secondary education mathematics.

The other two students will teach in Lima at the Peruvian North American Abraham Lincoln School, through arrangements the U of A made directly with the school. In addition to Ruiz, Annie Williams, secondary education social studies, will make the trip to South America.

The program is similar to the internships education students complete in Arkansas. They spend time in different grade levels and different types of schools to get as well-rounded an experience as possible. They start by observing their mentor teacher for a few days and then take over the classroom as if it were their own, preparing lessons and teaching them.

“We had five students participate in this new international student teaching program last year and they all had transformational experiences,” Chamberlain said. “This is a wonderful opportunity for our teacher candidates to get experience working in school systems different from what they see in the United States and to work with students and teachers from other cultures. We are very excited to see the program grow and expand this year.”

Students have to pay for their flights, housing and meals, although in some cases, such as for the students this semester in Peru, they will live with families of their students, reducing their costs. Students are eligible to apply for additional scholarships from both the Study Abroad Office and the College of Education and Health Professions to help cover additional costs, Chamberlain said.

The college placed 291 interns in 75 schools in 18 districts in Washington and Benton counties this year. These are students enrolled in the childhood education and secondary education Master of Arts in Teaching programs and students in the college’s four-year bachelor’s degree programs in elementary education, physical education and career and technical education.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.