"I enjoy the students and atmosphere here at Illinois State. I think that we as college of education are giving a lot of importance to the international connection and hope we can take it to the next level in the future."—George Padavil, Associate Professor, Educational Administration and Foundations
(October 19, 2007) Associate Professor George Padavil is focused on the global dimension of education and his research and the courses he teaches emphasizes that focus. During his tenure at Illinois State University, he has taught an array of courses, including ones on diversity and global perspectives on education. Padavil has studied in Rome; London; Pune, India; and Urbana, Illinois; and has lived and worked in many areas around the globe. Padavil says that these experiences led to the undertaking of many projects with several countries around the world. Recognized in 2001 with the Outstanding College of Education Service Award, his work has helped Illinois State become a worldwide partner in comparative education.
In 2004 Padavil received a Fulbright fellowship to support a research program in Thailand. This study focused on training Thai teachers and administers to implement education reform strategies and to think in new ways about educational reform efforts. During his research, Padavil found disparities between United States and Thailand with respect to both issues, and formulated research objectives to better understand actions necessary to promote change in the Thai education system. When looking back on the assignment, Padavil commented, "The Fulbright assignment provided me with opportunities to make significant contacts with governmental and university agencies in Thailand." After the Fulbright assignment, Padavil stayed in Thailand five more months and played a significant role in Illinois State's signing of Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with eight Thai learning institutions. Ultimately, Padavil's work made possible President Bowman's February 2006 signing of an MOU with the Thailand's Ministry of Education. His experiences in Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations encouraged Padavil to compile a special issue of the journal, Planning and Changing, with a focus on reform in Southeast Asia.
Also during his time in Thailand, Padavil sponsored an international conference in Bangkok entitled, "Making Reform Happen: Learning from the Asian Experience and Comparative Perspectives." The motivation came from his first-hand observation that "Southeast Asian nations have been doing some things that are really successful and their ideas are important to education globally." Eighteen countries were represented in this 350-person conference, which included 14 faculty members from ISU's College of Education.
The issue of language in a classroom setting is something that Padavil feels passionately about as well. This passion led him to submit a HECA proposal with partners from Northeastern Illinois University in October 2007. The new program, "Training all Teachers to Help English Language Learners (ELLs) Succeed in Schools," was allotted approximately $150,000 from the Illinois Board of Higher Education. It will provide ELL training, learning, and participation at the preservice and inservice level for teachers, administrators, student services personnel, and other education personnel through activities designed to support the integration of ELLs into the regular classroom. Because of the benefits generated from early integration of ELLs and other students, Padavil's program will focus on the grade school level. The program's development activities and outcomes are expected to serve as a reference to benefit schools across the state.
Padavil has also done extensive collaborative work with Japan. For one week a year from 2000-2002, Padavil coordinated Japanese teachers' visits to the United States to allow their research of American society, education, and culture. Padavil said the main objective for Japanese teachers was "to see how American classrooms were alike or different from those in Japan and bring that information back to Japan for their own pre-service teachers." Padavil has also served as the director of the summer study abroad in Hokkaido, Japan. Through Federal monies or otherwise, he hopes opportunities for studying abroad, especially those of non-western cultures, can be provided for students who have limited funding. "You may read about it and you may discuss diversity in the classroom, but you cannot really understand that until you experience a different culture and different cultural context," says Padavil.
Padavil is working on another project researching Vietnam refugees' experiences in the United States' education system. These former Vietnamese children came to the United States in the early 1980's, between the ages of 12 and 13. "We want to get a perspective on how they survived as students: what helped them, what contributed to their success," said Padavil. Padavil's associate, Susan Krusemark, interviewed five of these refuges from Peoria, Illinois, and the research interested him to such a degree that he plans for it to be a future avenue of study as well. Meanwhile, Padavil and Krusemark plan on presenting this research in New York for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) later this year.
Padavil notes that it is important for education in the United States to keep a beat on the techniques of other countries. "If a country is doing something successfully, then maybe we can learn from them as opposed to assuming we do not need to improve. I think the worst scenario is when you stop learning in anything," said Padavil. He notes that this is cemented by the fact that the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) decided Japan, not the United States, had a preferable technique for mathematical teaching strategy.
In the various graduate and undergraduate classes Padavil has taught since his arrival at Illinois State in 1984, his own global experiences are an invaluable tool to help broaden students' perspectives. His wealth of knowledge expands far past the textbook to help students become balanced educators with the knowledge that, "everything we do is related to different parts of the world—education has to pay attention to the global dimension. Teachers today need to be prepared to help their students live in a global society that involves both competition and collaboration."
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