Little by Little the Bird Builds its Nest: First Steps in Cross Cultural Curriculum Training

A team of educators from the University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College and Northern Kentucky University, working with a Haitian activist living in the United States and with the approval of the Haitian Education Ministry, developed the Respecting Haiti curriculum. It aims to raise awareness of child slavery, or restavèk, and the devastation of the natural environment in Haiti while supporting active teaching strategies.

The team facilitated the Respecting Haiti Teacher Workshop with approximately 35 teachers over four six-hour days, modeling parts of the curriculum and asking teachers to demonstrate a sample lesson. From journals, curriculum materials and notes the authors draw four themes needed to avoid barriers to implementation: negotiation, confrontation, preparation and connection. They report that the team was inadequately prepared for cross-cultural collaboration and that physically crossing borders proved easier than crossing cultures. The authors suggest the process may be a model for curriculum development and training in developing countries.