(864)TIKONDWE TEACHERS PROJECT: THE EVOLUTION OF MISSION AND REDEFINITION OF ROLES IN A LONG-TERM INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATION

摘要

Since 2004 college students, faculty, and community partners from the US have collaborated withteachers in rural schools in Malawi on participatory action research (PAR)projects designed to savelives, improve learning, and develop trans-global teaching and leadership skill. PAR is an assetsbasedmodel that encourages participatory development in which the community members function aschange agents and researchers become facilitators of the change. US-based partners collaborativelyplan across a year for a month of in country work each summer. A goal of the projects carried outhand-in-hand with Malawian educators is to ensure sustainability once the US-based partners aregone. To this end, US-based partners engage with local teachers who are on the ground and incountry year round to identify their needs for the upcoming year. Solutions identified must besustainable using TALULAR methods (teaching and learning using locally available resources). Thiseffort is significant for many reasons, but here we focus on outcomes of its longevity, especially theevolution of its mission and redefinition of participant roles over time. As needs evolve and participantschange in status and location, tensions arise that could strain collaboration. Projects begun on an adhoc basis 13 years later require more formalization if they are to be sustained over time. For us,tenacity and trust have been sustaining factors. However it is critical to remember that trust is notstatic: collaborations must be resilient to endure across changes in institutional affiliation, teacher andhead teacher changes, economic flux impacting support for education in Malawi, as well as donorsand travel costs. This paper examines these changes in one global partnership, and the building andre-building of trust foundational to long-term collaboration. We draw on perspectives of partnersincluding US and Malawian community partners, students, educators and administrators involvedacross time to the present. What unexpected challenges rock a global partnership over time? Whatstrategies help partners to be flexible and resilient in the face of change? How are emerging needsarticulated and the mission adapted? How does the dance of partners in and out of roles affectcommunication and collaboration? What does the establishment of cross-cultural trust look like at themicro level of the US university student attempting to carry out a PAR project in the Malawian context?What about the trust between project leaders and a new head teacher, or US-based IRB boards andthe Malawian officials who oversee US work in-country? The capacity for sustainable responsesgenerated by US based students and faculty working with Malawian change agents is profound.Building cultural competence and communication skills is step one;;the continual and persistent rebuildingand re-defining of mission and relationships across time is the greater challenge. In this paperwe examine mission evolution, the redefining of roles, sustainable leadership and participatorydevelopment within the context of the challenges, strategies and accomplishments of one globalcollaboration over time as its mission grows to the meet needs of partners, and participant rolesfluctuate, with an emphasis on trust and tenacity: aspects of teaching, learning and leadership thatunite educators and change agents everywhere.