Date of Award

5-2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

College/School

College of Education and Human Services

Department/Program

Educational Foundations

Thesis Sponsor/Dissertation Chair/Project Chair

Mark L. Weinstein

Committee Member

Maughn Gregory

Committee Member

Jeremy N. Price

Abstract

The number of international collaborative projects between schools of higher education has grown dramatically during the past ten years (Knight, 2004). Collaboration helps teachers to grow professionally, increase personal confidence, and accordingly, improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning (Meadows & Saltzman, 2002). This finding, and my past experiences as a school teacher in Ukraine encouraged me to inquire into the area of Ukrainian school collaborations with the foreign schools during the times of post-Soviet transition.

This dissertation is a qualitative interpretive case study examining the achievements, perceptions, and challenges of the 1999-2002 partnership between Montclair State University (MSU) and Kirovograd State Pedagogical University (KSPU). The purpose of this partnership was primarily to promote democratization in the Ukrainian university, as well as the region, through the infusion of contemporary thinking and knowledge into the curriculum and instructional practices.

An analysis of the university partnership connects with a discussion of democratization in general - in Eastern Europe, education, and other institutional partnerships. Although the research into each area will be limited in scope, comprehensive literature review will illuminate the issues, while providing context and interpretation of the empirical data.

This study of international collaboration, with an examination of components such as achievement, participant perceptions, and challenges, will aid university administrators and faculty, while fostering new affiliations with foreign educational establishments. The case study, focusing on the collaboration aimed at democratic reform in the Ukraine, will contribute to a better understanding of democratic processes overall, as well as ways in which to take further steps toward real and effective democracy.

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Education Commons

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