ELPS 550: GLobalization and education

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page"

-St. Augustine

Commitment to Social Justice

          Our ELPS 550 Globalization and HE Seminar asked us to consider the ways that globalization have affected higher education on a global scale. In this course we were asked to create a study-abroad program that taught students about complexity theory and provided an experiential learning experience. I have been working with Sacred Heart University since my internship to develop a study abroad program in Brisbane, Australia for their medical/healthcare graduate students. The lesson I focused on in this paper addresses the relationship between Indigenous Australians and the history of colonization and the impact it has on their medical practices. Creating a lesson on complexity theory and providing students with experiential learning opportunities demonstrates my desire to increase student awareness of the ways that colonialism and neocolonialism are continuing to influence theories and practices today. It also asks them to consider the ways that our colonial history is affecting medical practices today. I was watching a CNN interview about vaccine reluctance, and the nurse being interviewed suggested that the way people learn in Arkansas is related to their reluctance to get the vaccine-in Arkansas they are taught to distrust big government. 

Analytical Inquiry

          When I wrote this paper, I thought that focusing the lesson on unpacking the colonial history of Australia and its effect on Aboriginal medicinal practices and providing a cultural experiential experience I was providing a unique experience for students, but Dr. Sobe pointed out there wasn’t much beyond the cultural experience that couldn’t been done in any other location but Australia. This made me consider our conversations in ELPS 529 Rome, regarding whether the study abroad programs we create are just glorified travel/tourist trips.  This program has challenged me to dig deeper to find not only what international higher education experiences mean to me, but what they mean to our students with their plethora of experiences. Because I want to demonstrate that study abroad can provide unique experiences, I researched some additional opportunities to consider including in this lesson. I did not have time to do an extensive search, but a quick search did not identify any organizations that were similar to these these in the United States.

          The first is The Royal Flying Doctor Service that partners with Aboriginal Australian Traditional Custodians and Elders of the nation to provide better access to rural and remote Australia. This could provide students with a very unique insight into how Australian healthcare professionals are working to improve healthcare access. Improving our healthcare workers understanding that access to healthcare options, in particular more complex healthcare needs such as surgeries, in many nations, requires long distance travel that is a large barrier to access and decreases life expectancy for these populations disproportionately. 

          Another potential partner could be the University of Sunshine Coast, Australia’s tropical diseases research team . This could be an opportunity for students to tour and possibly complete and experiment with a team of USC tropical diseases researchers that improves their knowledge and experience about these diseases. For example, they have developed a rapid test that is easy to use to detect diseases such as Zika, Malaria, Ebola, West Nile, etc. By providing students with an opportunity to study the ways that tropical infectious diseases spread, and the management of those diseases both in cities and rural settings we are deepening their knowledge about global diseases that can inform about how potential mutations or new diseases will behave in the future. Talking to researchers about developing rapid tests for these types of global diseases will be a key to increasing our medical and healthcare professionals ability to respond locally when things like an outbreak or pandemic occur.

          Finally, Australians are known for their love of environment and preserving nature, and that is demonstrated through their dedication to combatting climate change. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners group is dedicated to advocating for policies “to protect human health from climate change at a local, state, national and international level”. Talking to doctors that are a part of this group, or attending a meeting to discuss the ways that they organize, what policies they support and how they are dealing with the new issues (such as “increased mental health issues among rural Australians due to drought”) will expand the ways our students think about climate change and their role in supporting policies that directly affect the health of their patients. As educators, we will have to be conscious of the fact that some may not consider climate change as serious of an issue as it is, but it is our duty to expose them to people that do take it seriously.