The Office of International Studies in Education
By Chris Reimann and Lauren Knapp
From Ireland to Indonesia, from Argentina to Vietnam, the MSU College of Education’s Office for International Studies in Education (OISE) has supported the global engagement of faculty, staff and students in teaching and learning, research and service for 40 years.
Let’s look back on how it started, where it has been and where it is going.
Editor’s note: Much of this retrospective is based on Professor Emeritus John Schwille’s book “Internationalizing a School of Education” (MSU Press, 2017) and interviews with OISE staff and directors past and present. Learn more about international and comparative education by contacting OISE or reading Schwille’s book.
THE EARLY YEARS
The Office for International Studies in Education began as a bold idea.
Budget cuts in the early 1980s eliminated graduate programs in international studies and closed the college’s Institute for International Studies.
Still, world events argued for the value of exploring and including a global perspective in all aspects of the college’s work.
In 1984, a college committee was charged with making recommendations to then-Dean Judith Lanier and the faculty on how to do so. They recommended a novel integration and infusion approach.
In their vision, a college-wide office could support interested faculty in collaboratively pursuing research interests in broader international contexts. Moreover, curricula could be infused with global perspectives so that students could gain a greater appreciation of the contextual dimensions of educational concepts.
The committee, which included John “Jack” Schwille, recommended that an office be established that could support faculty in identifying funding opportunities that combined multiple research interests and expertise and support revising curricula to include global perspectives. The office could also sponsor events and programming that exposed Spartans to the educational practices and approaches of other nations.
Thus, rather than serving as a locus of international work, the office could serve as a nexus of information and opportunity to encourage faculty and student growth.
The Office for International Studies in Education (OISE) was established in 1984.
Schwille, then an associate professor and well-established in the wider international education community, was named director, a position he would hold for nearly 30 years.
The college-wide integration of global perspectives included attracting faculty with expertise in an aspect of education in another country, including Reitu Mabokela and Lynn Paine.
Mabokela, whose research background includes South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania and others, succeeded Schwille as director of OISE.
“I came to MSU as a young scholar; I chose MSU … based on the college’s reputation as highly committed to international education,” said Mabokela. “The experience of a decade working with [Schwille] prepared me to become a director.”
Paine, an educational sociologist with first-hand experience in China, succeeded Mabokela two years later when Mabokela became associate vice chancellor and associate vice provost for global affairs and strategies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“We’ve been able to recruit and amazing group of internationally oriented faculty members,” Schwille said. “We have made great progress toward our goal.”
OVER THE YEARS
OISE initiatives have changed and expanded based on faculty and student interest and external opportunities.
“The list of faculty who have benefitted from support from OISE is extensive,” said Paine. “The resulting research has made significant contributions to our understanding of teaching and learning in the U.S. and in other countries.”
Faculty found opportunities in China, Egypt, Ghana, Ireland, Pakistan, Tanzania, Vietnam and many other locations. OISE staff have the experience and expertise to support faculty and staff in proposing, securing and administering grants of all amounts. Today, OISE maintains active partnerships or projects in over 20 countries globally.
“It has been a valuable and happy association,” said S. Giridhar, the chief operating officer of Azim Premji University (APU). Scholars from MSU and APU connected in the early 2010s when APU created India’s first university focused on education. They selected MSU as a strategic partner for its expertise in teaching, curriculum and learning and for its commitment to social purpose. “People-to-people relations often determine the health of such associations and, in this, both of us have been fortunate that colleagues from MSU and Azim Premji University forged and sustained warm relationships.”
THE OISE OF TODAY
For the past 15 years, OISE has offered the Fellowship for Enhancing Global Understanding (FEGU). This month-long education abroad program enables College of Education graduate students to immerse themselves in the academic culture of nations such as China, Cyprus and Cuba. A similar program provides opportunities for undergraduates, as well.
OISE also offers Global Curriculum Fellowships (GCF) to faculty, which was built on previous efforts to encourage faculty to infuse global and international content in their courses.
“OISE works to highlight faculty in order to bring their amazing work into new contexts,” Julie Sinclair, OISE associate director, explained.
Doctoral students can also apply to work on GCF efforts, allowing students to contribute their international knowledge and experiences.
To expand the college’s visibility outside the university, OISE developed its Global Education Engagement (GEE) initiative. GEE provides diverse learning opportunities for educators and those who support them.
Recent projects include:
- a two-year collaborative grant for higher education leadership with the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan;
- a 10-month residential program for university instructors from Kazakhstan;
- a six-week online program for teacher educators in Indonesia;
- and a three-week program at MSU and local school districts for visiting teachers and school leaders from Argentina.
“Over the past [few] years, the University of Cape Coast has experienced firsthand OISE’s leadership commitment to providing global experiences across cultures and educational systems to all students,” said Ernest Kofi Davis, professor and provost of the College of Education Studies at the University Cape Coast (UCC). In 2019, MSU and UCC partnered for the Reeves Scholars Program for undergraduate students wishing to become educators. The program, Davis said, was built on “the principle of reciprocity and genuine respect and valuing of the contributions of each partnering institution.
“We have seen our scholars becoming culturally responsive educators/global educators due to the new friendships and professional relationships formed amongst the scholars from MSU and UCC,” Davis added. (Read more about the Reeves Scholars Program in our 2023 New Educator!)
In 2024, the College of Education expanded its post-bachelor’s world language program areas. The World Language Teacher Certification Program provides an expedited pathway for individuals who have earned bachelor’s degrees to become certified teachers in Chinese and Spanish. The program is jointly offered by OISE and the Department of Teacher Education.
The office also provides instructors for Michigan Virtual’s Chinese language program for middle and high school students in Michigan and 24 other states, all of whom receive world language high school credit and the opportunity to study a world language. In addition to outreach, the partnership supports research in language learning and technology.
Outside of academic-based learning experiences, OISE offers networking opportunities — such as lunch meetings and international breakfasts — to encourage informal conversation on relevant topics, and a speaker series featuring visiting scholars from abroad.
“Some faculty want international experience but don’t know how to get started,” said Nancy Romig, a senior academic specialist. “Fortunately, there are a lot of great problem-solving skills in this office.”
The office provides information and advice for the college’s many international undergraduate and graduate students. OISE works with the college’s Office of Academic and Student Affairs and MSU’s Office of International Studies and Programs (ISP) to raise awareness of how MSU and the college foster a supportive learning environment for international students and scholars.
“OISE’s initiatives have and will create real impacts for communities here in Michigan and around the world,” said Isabella Tirtowalujo, assistant dean for administration and diversity, equity and inclusion for ISP. “Many have had their lives and careers changed because of the innovative, game-changing, out-of-the-box work conducted by OISE.”
OISE IN THE FUTURE
Transitions in leadership are a good time to reflect, revise and reimagine.
Lynn Paine stepped down as director of OISE at the end of 2023 in preparation for her well-earned retirement. Professor Amita Chudgar currently serves as interim director.
“This office has given so much to international and internationally oriented scholars like me,” Chudgar said. “I look forward to continuing to support and expand the incredible work of this office with our wonderful, and growing, OISE team.”
The “team” includes an array of alums who now play critical roles in their own countries as teachers, administrators and leaders. Current and future students will add to the wealth of Spartans committed to continuing OISE’s efforts now and in years to come.
NEW BOOK FROM PROFESSOR EMERITUS JOHN “JACK” SCHWILLE
In 2023, Schwille published “What Would It Take to Make an Ed School Great? Voices from an Unfinished Revolution” through MSU Press. The book takes a look back at educational history in the United States and zeroes in on “the ambitious reform agenda” at MSU from the “1980s and 1990s.” The book includes perspectives from current and former Spartans, alums and others.
The book is not a specific examination of the Office of International Studies in Education. However, many of the topics showcase how the transformational efforts touched many aspects of the college, including (but not limited to) OISE.
“This is an opportunity to reflect on the past to inform decision-making in the future,” said Schwille, who suggests stakeholders across the educational spectrum read the book. “Broadly, schools, colleges and universities can compare the historical perspective with what they’re doing now and consider if they should change.”
Order the book from MSU Press at: msupress.org
Help us improve the New Educator! Fill out this survey (via Qualtrics) to provide your feedback on our print/digital publication. The survey will take 5-10 minutes to complete. All feedback is anonymous.