Equity and Access: An International Perspective on Student Engagement

• In Event: Poster Session 6
  In Poster Session: Cultural (Mis)Understanding

Abstract

This proposal reflects both the process and learnings of a K-16 collaborative effort to learn and reflect on international engagement strategies. Racially isolated public neighborhood schools in Los Angeles established international sister school partnerships with Beijing, China, that provided an increased understanding around student engagement, creativity, and reflective practice. These educational and cultural exchanges served to highlight the importance of developmentally appropriate engagement strategies in the classroom. For teachers, administrators, and university faculty, this exchange provided a space for reflection and refinement of pedagogical and leadership practices that contributed to the vision of a more equitable global community. Preliminary findings suggest this exchange has generated highly reflective meta-cognitive processes among participants that can have positive implications for pedagogy.

Authors

• Marco Nava, Los Angeles Unified School District

• Imelda Nava, University of California - Los Angeles