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The International Democratic Education Institute at BGSU has received $1,060,000 from the Higher Education Development program
office of the U.S. Agency for International Development to conduct the Civic Education Partnership Initiative in Lebanon and
Morocco.
Dr. Alden Craddock, School of Teaching and Learning and director of the institute, and Dr. Awad Ibrahim, School of Leadership
and Policy Studies, will lead the effort to assist Lebanese and Moroccan educators in developing democratic citizenship curricula
for schools and universities in both countries.
The IDEI-led partners include the Lebanese American University and Lebanese Center for Civic Education in Lebanon, the Hassan
II University and Moroccan Center for Civic Education in Morocco, and the Center for Civic Education in Calabasas, Calif.
The organizations will work together to advance democratic citizenship education policy and practice in Lebanon and Morocco,
based on the successful model IDEI has used with previous partnerships in Poland, South Africa and Ukraine.
“Being awarded this grant is really a testament to the success of our institute's efforts in our other partnerships,” Craddock
said. “I believe our success results from the fact that we don't tell our partners what to do or simply translate our materials
for them. Instead, we work together to provide them with an understanding of our experience, both good and bad, and trust
them to choose what they think will work in their context.”
Activities will begin immediately with travel to the region to begin planning for the three-year project. Within a year's
time, educators from both Lebanon and Morocco will come to BGSU to participate in an intensive curriculum development seminar
and to work with teachers in the local community. Other program activities will include developing teacher education courses
and conducting a series of educational workshops in Lebanon and Morocco.
According to Craddock, the partnership has benefits for all. “While these programs are technically done to help others, we've
found that all parties learn a great deal and that our understanding of democracy and democratic citizenship grows with each
experience.”
For additional information about IDEI, see http://bgsu.edu/idei/.
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