Derbyshire, England
London, England
Quito, Ecuador
Piacenza, Italy
La Garriga, Spain
Linkoping, Sweden
Belize City, Belize
Werne, Germany
London, England
OstBeuern, Germany
Seoul, South Korea
Barcelona, Spain
BENEFITS AND RESULTS OF 2011 WKU SISTERHOOD GRANT
The Office of Teacher Services of WKU was very fortunate in being selected for a WKU Sisterhood Grant on October 11, 2011. The grant
proposal was titled “Student Teaching With An International Flavor.” It was proposed that the $40,000 grant funds would be divided into
eighty (80) separate $500 scholarships which would be awarded over the course of the following year to WKU students who applied for and
were accepted to student teach in an international placement beginning with the spring semester of 2012.
What actually occurred as a result of the generosity exemplified by Sisterhood members exceeded our optimistic expectations. Instead of
“only” impacting a total of 80 student teachers, the Grant actually was presented to a total of 105 student teachers during the spring and fall
semester of 2012 and again during the spring semester of 2013. Owing to the success of the program, CEBS Dean, Dr. Sam Evans, generously
added funding to the Sisterhood Grant funds to be able to impact additional student teachers in such a positive manner. These students
traveled to Belize, Ecuador, England, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Spain, and Sweden.
For the first time in our proud history of teacher education, 25% of our student teachers during this past year have added an international
component to their student teaching experience. Even more exciting is the fact that, even though the scholarship dollars are no longer
available, interest in international student teaching continues to grow and to flourish. In fact, as our applications are being returned for the
upcoming spring 2014 student teaching assignments, fully 50% of applicants are now requesting consideration for international opportunities.
The really exciting news, however, is that our teacher education graduates continue to experience an extremely high employment rate upon
completion of the teacher preparation program – far exceeding state and national employment rates! We are also beginning to see our
graduates being employed internationally as well with one recent graduate accepting employment as an English teacher in China for the
upcoming year and another accepting similar employment in Belize.
Although we had a thriving international student teaching program, the added funding and support exhibited by the WKU Sisterhood Grant
enabled us to tell our story in a more effective manner, to more easily recruit students for this experience, and ultimately, to embrace and
support WKU’s mission of being “A Leading American University With International Reach!”
Thanks, Sisterhood!
Dr. Fred P. Carter
Director of Teacher Services and School Relations
Western Kentucky University
Berlin, Germany
OstBeuern, Germany
Werne, Germany
We have two new contracts with China and Spain for placement of our student teachers there and we are working toward adding Australia
and Argentina to our listing of possible destinations.
Seoul, South Korea
Barcelona, Spain
La Garriga, Spain