In May, Dr. Elizabeth Anderson, newly appointed Assistant Professor in International Training at American University, took advantage of an IREX grant to embark on a journey aimed at understanding a major educational transition. As a specialist in international education and former Peace Corps volunteer in Moldova, Dr. Anderson sought to better understand the transition from the old Moldovan history curriculum to the new one, adopted in 2006. Her IREX Individual Advanced Research Opportunities (IARO) [9] grant was made possible through support from the State Department’s Title VIII Program.
Following three months of interviews and classroom observation, Dr. Anderson left Moldova with results that were at times surprising. First, she found that teachers had not made a full transition from the old textbook, History of Romanians, to the new one, Integrated History. She noted in her research report that during observations, in many cases teachers were still alternating daily from one book to the other. Dr. Anderson identified that without proper teacher training on new models of education, it has been difficult to effectively manage the new curriculum.
Despite the challenges that educators have faced with regard to changing the history curriculum, Dr. Anderson found that educators in Moldova have made significant strides toward integrating multi-media tools into their daily lessons. Not only does this change provide diversity of methodology in the classroom, but it also allows students to get multiple perspectives and gain access to resources like maps and diagrams. Dr. Anderson noted that although this change has been far-reaching, it has not been universal throughout Moldova. In the southern region where internet access was limited and many of the educators did not know how to use the internet effectively, students and educators were not afforded this benefit.
During her time in Moldova, Dr. Anderson collected extensive information and shared her knowledge with the Moldovan people. Participating in conferences, lectures, and radio interviews, she hoped that the work she was doing would not only affect policy toward Moldova, but also domestic policy with regard to curriculum reform in Moldova. Thanks in large part to an outgoing personality, an ability to communicate effectively across cultures, and a passion for international education, Dr. Anderson was able to meet her research goals and provide Moldovan teachers and administrators with potential tools for further curriculum development.
Reflecting on her grant, Dr. Anderson commented, “The data gathered during my IREX fellowship will be a critical component of my planned book on the role of history education in nation building and democratic development in the former Soviet Union. As I actively seek to connect my work to policy makers, it is my hope that my book will find a range of audiences. This work would not have been possible without the support of IREX.”
