Location

Guanajuato, Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

Program Description

This 3-week, faculty-led program focuses on four areas to promote global learners and educators:

1. Hands-on and practical experience in educational settings
2. Cultural and linguistic immersion
3. Research-based educational practices
4. Service to the local community

Students gain knowledge of the education of regular, exceptional, and bilingual/multicultural populations in Mexican schools.

Spanish language classes are available for students interested in developing academic language in school settings. Participants have the opportunity to observe Mexican public schools in action, observing, teaching and working with Mexican educators, children, youths, and their families in Guanajuato.

Students engage the local community and spend up to 4 hours a day doing service-learning projects in schools, non-profits, and other social agencies in both rural and urban environments working with local, national, and international scholars and faculty. Students will also volunteer at Resplandor International, an educational center in a rural community near Guanajuato.

Location Description

Mexico: Teaching, Education, and Special Education is a 3-week program. The first week will take place in Mexico City where we will visit the National Museum of Anthropology to learn about the origins of the indigenous civilizations of Mexico. While in Mexico City, we will visit other major landmarks such as Teotihuacan and other Meso-American pyramids, Xochimilco, and Frida Kahlo's Museum.

After several days in Mexico City, the group will spend the next 2 weeks in Guanajuato, which is the capital city for the state of Guanajuato. Once in Guanajuato, the group will travel to nearby cities and landmarks such as San Miguel de Allende, Dolores Hidalgo, and the natural hot springs to learn about the cultural and historical significance of the Del Bajio region.

Director

Rudy Molina | molinarm@jmu.edu| Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities

Accommodations

While in Mexico City, students will be in hotel rooms. For the remainder of the program and once arriving in Guanajuato, students will be assigned home stays with families who live in or close to the center of the city.

Students will be allocated a weekly meal stipend that will cover approximately 14 meals per week.

Applicant Criteria

Applicants must have a GPA minimum of 2.0.

Open to all class levels and majors, including graduate students. 

Spanish proficiency is not required, one Spanish language course of any level is highly recommended.