Specific objectives of the
Center include:
- Learning about educational and
community renewal across different types of organizations (i.e. schools,
businesses, government and community agencies) and across different national
contexts
- Learning from the commonalities
and differences in the experiences of other educational and community
organizations, and faculty and students from other countries
- Enhanced international
understanding
- Establishment of
multidisciplinary, international research teams to address issues related to
educational and community renewal; Development of an enhanced understanding
of democracy and democratic citizenship that spans different types of
organizations and different countries
- Global citizenship development
(i.e., working on international educational and community problems together,
e.g., literacy, student motivation, health care, equity issues, authentic
learning, etc.)
- Influencing foreign policy on
education and society issues (i.e., developing a common language with direct
connections to local, national, and international policy makers)
- Reducing conflict by serving as a
support group and critical friends for each other during the turbulence
often created when significant educational and community change is occurring
Structural Components:
The work of the Center is to facilitate,
coordinate, and oversee the activities of four structural units/components that
are established to facilitate the accomplishment of the Center’s objectives. The
structural units and components that carry out the Centers’ objectives include:
- local school and community
renewal networks
- an international network of
networks
- university-school-community
partnerships
- local and international
interdisciplinary graduate degree programs in educational and community
renewal
Each unit or component has been developed
in a way that allows it to have an expanding circle of influence, a value that
extends beyond the immediacy of its members.
The Center disseminates educational and community renewal results locally,
nationally, and internationally through publications, presentations, renewal
simulations, group and individual issue-specific work sessions, and electronic
and face-to-face networking experiences.
The broad educational and social outcomes we envision achieving are to:
- Reduce poverty, crime, and
inequality by developing an educated citizenry for democracies around the
world
- Educate the public and
politicians on successful ways to transform schools and communities for
intellectual growth and democratic citizenship
- Create tools for transformation
through the development of meaningful school-university-community
partnerships designed to accelerate educational and community renewal
Statement of Congruence with
the University’s Strategic Goals:
The mission of the University of Oklahoma is to provide the best possible
educational experience for students through excellence in teaching, research and
creative activity, and service to the state and society. Through service
learning projects and volunteerism, OU students connect new knowledge and skills
to making a difference in their local communities. In addition to the commitment
to the quality education, the University has had considerable international
involvement throughout much of its history.
Currently, the University has signed partnership agreements with over 120
universities around the world to facilitate the exchange of faculty, students,
and ideas. The Center expands the current model of individual faculty and
student exchanges by focusing on multidisciplinary teams of faculty and students
who collaboratively develop meaningful school-university-community partnerships.
These multidisciplinary partnerships between OU and international faculty and
students are designed to identify, analyze, and address educational and social
problems and to help schools and communities renew themselves in Oklahoma and
around the world.