Civil G8 Mobility

1
US- Russian Educational Exchange and the Shaping
of New Competencies in the Work-Force Knowledge
Production, Innovation, and the Collaborative
Mindset. Prof. Dan E. Davidson,
President American Councils for International
Education Carnegie Endowment Conference on
US-Russia Exchange 50 Year Anniversary of
US-Russian Educational and Scientific Exchanges
Moscow, RUSSIA June 21, 2007
2
The cultural dimension in international business
and innovation diffusion

• Our cultural perspective can constrain or
  enlighten.Most disciplines are situated in
  socially constructed contexts. If we only know
  and understand a single cultural perspective, our
  ability to interact globally is impaired, whether
  that be the ability to develop worldwide
  products, solve public health crises, or find
  peaceful resolution to conflicts. U.S. Senate
  Testimony of Dr. Diana Oblinger, Executive
  Director of Higher Education, Microsoft
  Corporation, Given on March 4, 2004 to the
  Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

3
Higher Education in the 21st Century (Frank,
Gabler, 2006)

• The University builds the cosmos and structure
  of society. It tames and scientizes and
  universlizes nature it rationalizes models of
  society and it celebrates the extraordinary
  capabilities for agentic action of the modern
  individual.
• It thus creates the cultural conditions enabling
  contemporary society, rather than providing a
  sort of storehouse for technical activity within
  this society.
• The University does not serve the knowledge
  society, it defines it. -John Meyer (Stanford)
  
• To summarize the value of a Harvard education,
  it comes down to the ability to think
  critically. Derek Bok

4
Current Trends in Academic Mobility 1995 - 2007

•  EU 8 study abroad at some point in their ed.
  career (ERASMUS goal is 10)
• US 206,000 studied abroad in 2005-6 (doubled
  over the past decade)
• Proposed Abraham Lincoln Fellowship Program would
  increase US SA to 2 million by 2016
• 650,000 foreign students in US (Open Doors) 
• Russian Federation lt 1,0 to RF 100.000, but
  new initiatives now take shape, e.g., Tatarstan

5
Current Trends in US-Russian Student Mobility

• US Study Abroad (SA) students to Russia (ACTR,
  2007) (N4190 from 275 US universities)
• 94 graduate from university within 5 years
•  50 went on to post-graduate study
•  65 state that SA helped getting first job
•  50 consider the SA experience relevant to
  their job tasks
•  25 saw an income advantage
• And 68 rank the time in RF 1-3 among most
  significant educational experiences in their
  life! (Davidson, Lehmann, RLJ, 55, 2005)

6
(No Transcript)
7
The personal benefits of SA?

• 1.      Academically worthwhile
• 2.      cultural enhancement
• 3.      personality development
• 4.      foreign language proficiency (see
  this afternoons panel on Russian)
• 5.      Helped students in entering work force
  (seen be recruiters as interesting.)
• 6.      More able to work with people of
  different backgrounds. 

8
Rankings of job-related competencies aided by
SA?

• Business-related communication in L-2 47
• Business-related research in L-2 47
• Application of subject matter knowledge in
  work 37
• (economic, legal, sociological knowledge)
• First-hand knowledge of host country
  culture (cultural differences, modes of behavior,
  life styles, etc.
• 30
• Professional travel to other countries 25
  

9
Competencies Microsoft seeks in their employees
(2004, Senate Testimony)

• 1. Communication and interpersonal skills,
  including negotiation skills. (S-3, R-3 or
  higher)
• 2. Strategic perspective. Seeing the big
  picture, understanding the underlying forces
  that influence the system
• 3. Creativitythe ability to see patterns, find
  new alternatives and create viable solutions to
  problems.
• 4. A deep understanding of global and
  cross-cultural communities and the history and
  values underlying their own society.
• 5. Intentional Learners who can adapt to new
  environments, integrate knowledge from different
  sources and continue learning throughout their
  lives.

10
Levels of Representational Structure for
Cognitive Tasks
Verbal Mode
Imagistic Mode
Tactile/ Kinesthetic Mode
11
Levels of Representational Structure for
Cognitive Tasks
Thinking is not only a matter of cognitive
mapping. Thinking is the process of moving
information from mode to mode and back again.
Each level has its focus, magnifications, and
constraints. Existing mental structures,
hierarchy memberships, set relations, and
histories may be transformed and new knowledge
may be generated. Vekker, Thinking and the
Intellect, Mental Processes, Vol. 2. Leningrad
State University Press, 1976.
12
Success/?????
N 1723 US, 1555 Eurasia
13
?????
2003 2524 1990 1555
14
Exchangee Response to SA

• Study abroad students often report that their
  trip changed them deeply by challenging all that
  they know and believe about the world and
  themselves. (Pellegrino, 2005)

15

• Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX)
• First of all the program helped me start a
  career. I worked as an interpreter the language
  practice was a necessary condition to get my
  current job. The program also awoke in me such
  qualities as confidence, communication skills,
  persistence in reaching goals, flexibility and
  the ability to adjust in an unknown environment.
  All that helped me do my job and get promotions.
• Galya Palieva, Regional Manager, Lebedyansky
  Cannery Plant, Volgograd, Russia. Flex 1993-1994.

16

• The TEA program gave us something very
  important, self-confidence and an understanding
  of the importance of our work at school and in
  our communities.
• As for me, I am also a Deputy of the Town Council
  and I'll share my experience of my stay in the
  U.S.A. not only with teachers and students, but
  also with other deputies and authorities in order
  to enhance the role of the community in helping
  schools to do their noble and difficult work.
• 2002 TEA Fellow

17
Diffusion Effect 1 ? 36

• We found that, on average, each person who went
  to the U.S. on exchange, subsequently trained
  more than 36 people (superiors, co-workers,
  professional colleagues, government officials,
  and young people) when they returned home.
• 2003 Community Connections Alumni Survey,
  (N5,429).

18
Teacher Exchange Diffuction RatesJunior Faculty
Development Program (JFDP)

• JFDP alumni report teaching an average of 174
  students per year.
• Between 1998-2007 the program has graduated 2,107
  alumni.

19
Application Rates to Acceptances the Case of
FLEX Program

• 750,000 applications for 16,000 positions to date
  (CIS-wide), 1992-2007
• Numbers include participation by participants
  with disabilities
• 79 of participants are from the regions
• English language test scores steadily increased
  over years, pre-academic English no longer needed
  in RF

20

• ?? ???????? ???? ????????? ? ????? ?
  ????????????? ????????????? ? ?????????? ???????
  ? ????????? ?????? ? ?? ?????? ? ???????????
  ????? ??????. ?? ??????? ?? ???????????
  ?????????? ??? ?????. ????? ? ??????? ?? ?????
  ????? ? ??????????? ???????????? ?? ?????? ?????
  ????? ????? ? ????????????? ?????????????. ??????
  ?? ???????? ??????? ?? ???????.
• ?? ????????? ?? ?????? ??????????????? ???????,
  ?? ???????? ?? ?????????? ???????????
  ????????????? ????????? ???????????? ?????????.
  ?? ?? ??????? ????? ???????????. ??? ?
  ????????????? ???????? ? ??? ? ???????????? ??
  ???????.
• ????????, ???????, ??????, ????????? ?????????
  Community Connections .

21
Knowledge of World Languages and Cultures in US
and RF

• Apart from science, engineering, technology,
• are the US and Russia producing citizens in
  requisite numbers and levels of competence in
  world languages/cultures?
• Access to English language training? Generally
  good in RF, but less so in the hard sciences
• What about support of Arabic, Mandarin Chinese,
  Hindi, Japanese, Russian, and Urdu?
• Here are current results from US for Russian,
  where 30K Americans study Russian at 350 2- and
  4-year colleges/universities, 8K in schools.

22
The ACTR Student Records DatabaseFrequencies
Age at the time of the exchangeJune 2007
23
Student Characteristics1992-2007
Age Range 18-32 Mean 21.91 years Gender
Female 62.7 Male 37.3 Major Russian
33.1 Double major w/ Russian
29.4 Humanities 23.9 Area Studies 12.5
Degree 72.9 still ugrads 27.1 BA or MA High
School Russian 24.7 studied Russian in high
school   Non- Slavic Languages no languages
18.1 1 language 48.2 2 languages
23.9 3 languages 7.2
24
Student Characteristics1992-2005
Financial Aid 37.4 Receive Financial Aid from
ACTR Principal Host Institutions for Language
Study in Russia Russian State Pedagogical
University (Herzen) Moscow International
University Moscow State University St. Petersburg
State University Vladimir Pedagogical Institute
(CORA) And the Russophone world Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine,
Belarus Tuva, Tatarstan, Yakutiya, Bashkortostan,
Chuvashia, etc.
25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)
27
Pre- and Post-Program Speaking Levels of Flagship
Students. Comparison of US/EU Ratings
28
Main Components of the Russian Flagship Program

• Formal Learning
• Language course work in small groups
• Individual presentations (written and oral) on
  specialization area
• Professional Course Work with native students to
  support knowledge/professional discourse
  development
• Individual Language Tutors
• Internships
• Discussion groups
• Homestays
• Integrated cultural program (bi-weekly, tied to
  thematic units of the Flagship course
• On-going evaluation (testing, site visits,
  teacher/tutor reports, portfolio development,
  self-evaluation)
• Bi-weekly Language Utilization Reports
  (time-place, function)

29
Current / Recent Internship Placements

• Department of Economic Georgraphy (RGPU)
• Likhachev International Humanitarian Fund
• Center for NGO Development
• Hermitage Museum- architectural archeology
• Environmental Rights Center "Bellona"
• Center "Strategiya" (SPB Think Tank)
• ASPRYAL/SPB
• Ernst Young
• The Civil Society Fund, Eu. Int. University
• Leningrad Regional Press Service Center
• Magazine "Art Times"
• City Hospital 2. Endocrinology Division.

30

• The survey of American alumni who studied in
  Russia between 1978 and 1999 found that
• 65 of all jobs subsequently held by alumni
  required Russian, and
• 63 of all jobs required knowledge of Russian
  society.

31
(No Transcript)
32
(No Transcript)
33

• Two-Way Street FLEX Inspires U.S. Teachers
• Diana makes me try harder as a teacher. I
  thought kids like her only existed in Leave it
  to Beaver reruns. Lance Kyles, civics teacher,
  Granbury, Texas.
• I have never come across a student who embodies
  such a passion for learning. Lorrie A. Smith,
  English teacher, Pukalani, HI.

34
(No Transcript)
35
http//www.americancouncils.org Ddavidson_at_actr.org