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HDFS faculty at Greek ruins

HDFS faculty and grad students in Greece

Faculty at the University of Delaware recognize the value of fostering international collaboration in early childhood education and teacher education in general. That is why, this spring, they took steps to establish a partnership with two Greek universities and an international school in Athens.

In May, a team from the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) visited the University of Patras and the University of Athens.

The ECE programs at Patras and Athens have a strong emphasis on early childhood research. They are known throughout Europe for excellence in social science research, especially in the learning sciences, and offer a wide spectrum of educational opportunities, specifically for early care settings.

The group visited classrooms and child care centers, talking with educators and administrators and meeting with dignitaries, including the vice minister of international affairs of the Hellenic Ministry of Education, Research and Religious Affairs.

As a result, CEHD is now looking to formalize a partnership that will:

  • Engage in student and faculty exchanges with the Universities of Patras and Athens.
  • Provide a supervised field experience for up to 10 education students. These students could fulfill one of their two required student teaching experiences at the American Community School (ACS) in Athens.
  • Enable five human service majors to work with the guidance counselors or with the admissions faculty to complete their internship at ACS.
  • Give opportunities to select graduate students to intern at ACS, join an ongoing research project or gain permission to gather data independently on a topic of interest to them.

To learn more about this exploratory trip, read the UDaily article.