USCB Receives Fulbright-Hays Grant for South Korean and Asian Literacy Education Project
Participants in USCB’s Fulbright-Hays grant “South Korean and Asian Literacy (SKALE) Project” will visit Woosong University (Daejeon) during a four-week educational experience in Summer 2024.
As Hyundai Motor Group builds an electric vehicle plant at a mega site some 37 miles from the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Bluffton campus, USCB’s preparations to welcome incoming South Korean neighbors and businesses just got a huge boost. The university was selected for a competitive Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) grant. This program will fund an in-depth educational experience in South Korea for faculty, USCB students and K-12 educators in summer 2024.
A group made up of four USCB faculty members, two USCB students majoring in education, six K-12 teachers, a project director and a subject-area scholar will travel to South Korea for a four-week exploration of Korea’s history, culture, economy and educational system. This curriculum development program aims to offer in-depth South Korean and Asian educational training to educators to help them prepare their students for cultural, demographic, economic, and social changes that lie ahead. Through their transformational experiences in South Korea, the participants will gain insights that will shape their teaching practices and foster intercultural understanding and collaboration in their communities.
USCB’s South Korean and Asian Literacy Education (SKALE) Project collaborate with Ehwa University and other institutions for immersive, in-depth experiential learning.
USCB received a grant with the budget of $161,778.27 for its 18-month initiative entitled “South Korean and Asian Literacy Education (SKALE) Project,” which includes the experiential learning trip and follow-up research and educational activities. It will culminate in a Korean Cultural Studies Conference in October 2024 at the university’s Hilton Head Island Campus.
While in South Korea, participants will receive Korean language instruction and participate in workshops and lectures about Korean traditions, customs, and contemporary issues. Excursions to historic and cultural sites will take place in Seoul and five other Korean cities, in partnership with Asia Campus-Incheon, Mason Korea in Incheon, Woosong University (Daejeon), Ewha University Language Center, and Seoul National University of Education. UC Berkeley’s Dr. Greg Choy, who specializes in comparative ethnic studies and education pedagogy, will be the group’s scholar-escort. USCB’s Dr. Juanita Villena-Alvarez is the project director.
Dr. Greg Choy, Ethnic Studies expert at UC Berkeley, will be the SKALE Project’s subject-area scholar.
In South Korea, the participants will work together to design mini units focused on history, geography, social studies, or other area studies disciplines. This collaborative effort will result in the creation of educational materials that can be integrated into their teaching practices. The project’s aims include developing curriculum content related to Korean and Asian studies (at both the K-12 and university levels) and sharing these materials with other higher education institutions in the region and beyond.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the Fulbright-Hays-Group Projects Abroad Program provides grants to support overseas projects in training, research, and curriculum development. Learn more
