Ten William Jewell elementary education majors spent their summer studying the British educational system as part of the college's extensive overseas study programs.

Professor of education Dr. Ronilue Garrison '63 facilitated the month-long experience. Requirements for completion of the seminar and fieldwork included the planning of a mini-topic to be presented in the British classroom to which a student was assigned and an action-research paper based on an area of interest to the participant.

Participating students shared a variety of interesting mini-topics with their British students. Topics such as American farms, tornadoes, American football and cheerleading, Cheyenne Rodeo Days, American beaches and United States mountain ranges are but a sample of the variety of ways the Jewell students took a bit of America to the British primary classrooms.

Participants spent Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in their fieldwork placement and enjoyed a seminar every Wednesday, led by a British educator. Topics explored included history through drama, design and technology in science and emotional literacy in the elementary classroom. On weekends, students traveled throughout the United Kingdom.

“The influence of the British Teacher Education Program has been felt throughout the elementary education program at William Jewell College in both coursework and fieldwork,” Dr. Garrison says. “Area administrators and teachers who have participated in the program have had a positive impact in their respective districts. Most importantly, the school experience of countless American elementary students has been enriched by the participants in the British Teacher Education Program.”

After visiting several schools and spending a month at St. Paul 's in Chippenham, student Stefanie DeLong reflected on the lasting impressions of her experience: “I am struck by one thought,” DeLong says. “A classroom is only as good as the teacher. No matter the grade, the place, the country or the school, the teacher is the single most important element of all classrooms. Respect starts with the teacher. Inspiration starts with the teacher. That is why I want to teach.”

Planning for the British Teacher Education Program began in 1982 following the faculty workshops at Oxford University where Dr. Garrison and the program's co-developers, Dr. Mary Ellen Bleakley and Dr. Faye Moore, were impressed with the exemplary primary education models in British schools. Upon their return, a formal proposal to establish the British Teacher Education Program was submitted to the Dean of the College. After two years of correspondence with British colleges and universities, the developers selected five possible sites for the program. Through the generous funding of alumni and friends of the college, the developers were able to visit the five sites, including 27 primary schools in Britain , during the summer of 1984.The British Teacher Education Program officially began in the summer of 1985.

The program consists of two major components. A two-credit hour seminar begins in the spring on the campus at William Jewell. Course work continues into the summer session held at various sites throughout the United Kingdom , culminating in a four-credit month-long fieldwork experience in a British primary school from mid-June to mid-July.

Since its inception in 1985, the British Teacher Education Program has attracted over 200 students and area teachers. Drawing from a pool of approximately 40 junior/senior level elementary education majors, an average of approximately ten students participate annually. William Jewell students are given priority sign-up privileges until December 1 each year, after which the program is opened to area teachers who wish to participate. In-service teachers are offered the option of five hours of graduate credit through a cooperative arrangement with the University of Missouri at Kansas City.