Education Sector

Teach lessons that last a lifetime. Education is the Peace Corp’s largest program area. Volunteers play an important role in creating links among schools, parents, and communities by working in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools as math, science, conversational English, and resource teachers or as early grade reading and literacy teacher trainers. Volunteers also develop libraries and technology resource centers.

1. Training and experience

3 courses + 50 hours related experience

For PC Prep, you need to complete at least 3 courses (or 9 credits) that align with a specific work sector (they can but do not need to come from your academic major or minor). Think carefully about which courses in your program of study make the best argument for your preparedness (choose upper level and seminar courses rather than lower level or survey courses); you will need to provide a justification for your choice of coursework. You also must accumulate at least 50 hours of volunteer or work experience in the same sector as your coursework, preferably in a teaching or outreach capacity.

Peace Corps Tip! If you intend to apply to the Peace Corps, the best way to assure that you will be astrong candidate is to identify your preference for type of assignment by reading the sector-specific paragraphs delineating each sector’s scope in the following pages and by checking out sector-specific job description links. Enjoy!

Leveraging concrete knowledge and skills is central to on-the-ground international development work. Assistance in tailoring your Purdue education to each sector follows.

Note: Actual Peace Corps assignments are based on local needs and thus may or may not align seamlessly with your qualifications. Flexibility is central to the Peace Corps experience!

Fulfilling the Coursework Requirement for the Education Sector:

You may choose three 3-credit education or learning sciences courses taken as part of an approved teaching or learning sciences major at Purdue to fulfill this requirement.

Purdue has a wide variety of teacher education programs which can fit with most majors, including Health Sciences Education, English Education, Math Education, Physics Education, Technology Education, etc. Find out more at the website above.

Or you may choose three 3-credit teaching-related Purdue Core Curriculum electives.

If you are not majoring in Education but wish to volunteer in teaching-related placements, you are advised to complete the following courses

Fulfilling the 50-hour Field Experience Requirement for the Education Sector:

Formal (e.g. classroom teaching) or informal instructional experience (coaching; tutoring) is the best preparation for volunteering in this sector.

Options for doing so include, but are not limited to:

• Purdue Oral English Proficiency Program ( oepp@purdue.edu)
• Tutoring in a local area school or at Lafayette Urban Ministry
• Purdue chapter of College Mentors for Kids
• Selected Engineering Program in Community Service (EPICS) projects (which work with local schools)
• Purdue 4-H Association
• Alternatively, check out your School’s “Beyond the Classroom” choices or Purdue’s B-Involved Office.

 

Course	Purdue Core Requirement
EDCI 205: Exploring Teaching as a Career	Written Communication
EDCI 285: Multiculturalism & Education	Behavioral Social Science
One course from EDCI, EDPS, or SLHS	Check here

2. World Language Skills

Requirements vary by region of interest.

Working across cultural communities often entails verbal and nonverbal languages distinct from your own. PC Prep minimum requirements align with those expected of applicants by Peace Corps, and these vary by region. In instances where Spanish or French are official languages of a country, you may also need to learn a local indigenous language.

Note: If your first language, mother tongue, or national language is not English and you are a strong speaker of that language, you may substitute that competence for coursework on the Purdue PC Prep Planning Sheet. If you are not sure if you qualify, please be in conversation with PC Prep.

• Latin America: If you would like to work in a Spanish-speaking country, you must demonstrate strong intermediate proficiency by completing two 200-level courses or by showing that you have attained that proficiency level through another medium.*
• West Africa: If you would like to work in French-speaking African countries, you must demonstrate intermediate proficiency in French or in another Romance language (Purdue offers Spanish and Italian) by completing two 200-level courses or by showing that you have attained that proficiency level through another medium.*
• Everywhere else: Although Peace Corps has no explicit language requirements for most other countries, most Peace Corps positions entail learning a local language. The best way to prepare is to practice learning how to learn a language and/or learning about language and how it functions. For this reason, Purdue PC Prep requires the equivalent of two courses in any language, including ASL, and/or two courses in linguistics.

*Other ways of demonstrating language proficiency include using the results of a language placement exam you took on entering Purdue or successfully completing non-language courses taught in a relevant language during a semester study abroad program. If you have another way of demonstrating your language proficiency, please use the application process to discuss approval.

3. Intercultural Competency

Take one course from Section A. Select one option from Section B.

Engaging thoughtfully and fluidly across cultures begins with one’s own self-awareness.With this learning objective, you will deepen your cultural agility through a mix of three introspective learning experiences in which you learn about others while reflecting upon your own self in relation to others. The goal is for you to build your capacity to shift perspective and behavior around relevant cultural differences.

A. Core course in diversity and inclusion (Choose one)

One 3-credit course from the following list:
AGR 201: Communicating Across Cultures
ANTH 205: Human Cultural Diversity
ASEC 301: Building Intercultural Partnerships
EDCI 285: Multiculturalism and Education
EDPS 316: Collaborative Leadership: Cross-Cultural Settings
PSY 335: Stereotyping and Prejudice
PUBH 25000: Intercultural Development for Public Health and Human Sciences
SOC 220: Social Problems
SOC 310: Race and Ethnicity

 

B. Additional coursework and immersion experience.

Choose one of the following options.

Option 1: Semester Abroad

A semester abroad in a country or region where Peace Corps has a presence or where cultural norms are significantly different from in the US (e.g., eastern European countries as opposed to western European ones or Australia) and that involves community engagement (also called service learning) and/or a field research experience. You will be asked to choose two courses from your program to report on for the PC Prep Final Checklist.

Option 2: One course + Study Abroad/Away

1. One additional course from Section A. or from the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) Course List, found here; OR a course with a Virtual Exchange component.
2. Successful completion of a Study Abroad or Study Away program for which you earned at least 1 credit. Ideally, your program will take place in a current or former Peace Corps country (https://www.peacecorps.gov/countries/) and will involve community engagement (also called service learning) and/or a field research experience. Ideas include Global Design Team, EPICS, VIP, and programs led by sector coordinators. You are welcome to propose a program that aligns with your goals and use the application process to discuss approval. Take one course from Section A. Select one option from Section B.

Option 3: Two courses + short-term (less than one month) immersion experience

1. Two additional courses from the list under A. above, the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion) Course List, found here, or a course with a Virtual Exchange component.
2. An immersion experience for which you earned no academic credits such as an alternative spring break service program or field research in an international setting, etc. You are welcome to propose an experience that aligns with your goals and to use the application process to discuss approval.

4. Professional and Leadership Development

Resume and interview support + Leadership experience

Effective partnerships for community engagement require a high degree of initiative, awareness of your own abilities and passions, and knowledge and confidence in how you operate as a leader. This ultimately entails a high degree of professionalism. PC Prep requires five specific activities that will strengthen your candidacy for the Peace Corps or any other professional endeavor:

1. Have your resume reviewed during a Center for Career Opportunities (CCO) one-on-one resume review or at the Writing Center.
2. Participate in an interview workshop with the CCO or with your department.
3. Meet with a Peace Corps Recruiter (usually on campus 2-4 times/year) or a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer to learn about their experience and to discuss your interests.
4. Complete and record the results of this leadership self-assessment . In the application, you will be asked to reflect on yourself as a leader through this tool and through any other ways you have come to know yourself as a leader (e.g., with myStrengths, the BEVI, the IDI and IDP, a prior workshop or course, etc.).
5. Commit to at least one significant leadership experience, on or off campus. Ideally, this experience builds beyond anything you did during high school and links to your program of study in some way, e.g., by involving working across cultural differences or by connecting to your sector. Some excellent opportunities on campus are listed below, but we encourage you to propose your own.
   • Boiler Gold Rush International Group Leader
   • Study Abroad Ambassador
   • Mortar Board or Iron Key
   • Executive board of a student organization or a big campus event.
   • Leading K-12 students in extra-curriculum activities including sports, environmental and climate change campaigns, civil rights, etc.
   • Serving as Teaching and Research Assistants