Tanzania Course
COURSE DESCRIPTION

This intensive field-based course provides students with a unique opportunity to engage in interpretive policy analysis in Tanzania with a focus on children's rights. In this course, the term policy is used to describe a statement, process, or outcome that articulates an institution's stance on an issue. Interpretive analysis , through the methods of interviewing, observing, and document analysis, is employed to explore the meanings that a policy holds for different groups of policy-related actors. We will use these methods to compare the perspectives of policymakers, educators, activists, parents, and children on policies related to children's rights in Tanzania . By interpreting the rights concept and rights-related issues from different viewpoints, students will gain a greater understanding of the assumptions about economic, political, and educational development underlying national and international policy as well as local practice. The goals of the course are to expand students' skills in the area of policy analysis and to enhance their awareness of the complexity of policy implementation at the local level.

During the spring semester, students will be expected to attend a preparatory meeting about travel logistics and to read several books about the cultural and historical context of Tanzania and about interpretive policy analysis. We will discuss these readings and others during the week of coursework at Teachers College, where we will also begin or continue with the study of Swahili. The following two and a half weeks will be spent in Tanzania learning about children's rights policies and observing in schools, homes, and non-governmental organizations. In particular, visits are planned to primary and secondary schools, at homes for orphans and street children, at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (in Arusha), at the University of Dar es Salaam, at the NGO HakiElimu (Educational Rights), and at the Unicef office in Dar. Through these experiences, students will develop a deeper appreciation of the factors affecting children's lives and the goals of children's rights policies from different actors' perspectives.

**Please note : This course requires the consent of the instructor because a maximum of 12 students will be allowed to participate. Graduate students from all Columbia-affiliated institutions—Mailman School of Public Health, School of International and Public Affairs, School of Social Work, and Teachers College—are encouraged to apply. Students who are accepted into the course are also encouraged to enroll in Beginning Swahili during Spring 2005 and to continue with their Swahili studies in the fall term.

Teaching Methodology

This course is designed for students interested in participatory approaches to international development in general and in interpretive policy analysis in particular. Therefore, my role as instructor will be to facilitate participation with Tanzanians rather than to lecture about Tanzania . Lecturing will be one of the teaching methods used in the course, but students will be responsible for their own learning by participating actively in discussions at Teachers College and in Tanzania, by observing and interviewing in different venues, and by reading and writing about these experiences on a daily basis. Much of the learning in this course will take place in informal settings, for example, on hikes along the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro to visit a school or during a home stay in a rural community. It is imperative that students understand that these experiences are a part of the course and that involvement in them is required. Furthermore, appropriate conduct is essential if students are to learn from the Tanzanians whom we meet. This means abiding by local dress codes—no shorts during class trips and modest dress for women and men—as well as being respectful of cultural differences in terms of diet, religious beliefs, and attitudes about children's rights. If you do not believe you can tolerate such differences, then this is not the right course for you. I am happy to meet with individual students about any problems they foresee and how these might be overcome.

The experiential nature of this course means that we will be spending considerable time in conditions far different from those with which most of us are familiar. To help develop an appreciation for local circumstances, we will stay in modest accommodations. We will be based for most of our time at the YMCA in Moshi, the capital of the Kilimanjaro Region. This is a clean, safe facility, but it has neither bathrooms in the rooms nor hot water at all times. It is a hotel training school, which means that there are plenty of opportunities to interact with Tanzanian students but that the amenities are limited. You will also spend one weekend with a family on Mount Kilimanjaro in the community where Professor Vavrus conducts her research. The families have been selected on the basis of their interest in having a guest at their home and their ability to provide adequate accommodations for a weekend visit. The last five days of the course will be spent in Dar es Salaam , the commercial capital of Tanzania , where we will stay at the comfortable but modest guest house of an Italian development organization (CEFA).

Transportation in Tanzania will be on a bus, a taxi, or on foot. The main roads in the country are paved, but we will also travel on many bumpy dirt roads on Mount Kilimanjaro . If the rainy season has not ended by the time we arrive, then students should be prepared to do a fair amount of hiking because some roads may be impassible by motorized vehicle. If you do not travel well by bus or believe you would not be comfortable doing so, then you should discuss the situation with me before committing to taking the course. I do, however, encourage students with disabilities to enroll in the course, and I will abide by the College's affirmative action policy.

Course requirements

The course will consist of one preparatory meeting, five classes at Teachers College, and two and a half weeks of instruction in Tanzania . The required books are available at barnesandnoble.com or amazon.com, and the required and recommended readings will soon be available through ClassWeb. Readings from these three books are marked in BOLD in the syllabus.

Required books :

1) de Waal, A., & Argenti, N. (2002). Young Africa : Realising the rights of children and youth . Trenton , NJ : Africa World Press.

2) Vavrus, F. (2003). Desire and decline: Schooling amid crisis in Tanzania . New York : Peter Lang.

3) Yanow, D. (2001). Conducting interpretive policy analysis . Thousand Oaks , CA : Sage Publications.

The specific requirements for the course are as follows:

•  Class Participation (25%) : Active learning requires regular attendance at all class sessions, in class discussions, and on all trips in Tanzania . Students will demonstrate an understanding of the readings and discussions with Tanzanian speakers by asking questions, leading discussions, and engaging with classmates, teacher, and guests.

•  Field Research Journal (25%) : Students will keep a journal with daily entries throughout the period in Tanzania . Examples of field notes will be distributed during the week of course work at Teachers College, and students should strive to keep detailed, accurate notes based on their observations, discussions, and interviews.

•  Policy Analysis Assignments (15%) : Students will complete one to two policy analysis assignments to help refine their document analysis skills. One will be completed by everyone before departing for Tanzania , and the other will be completed during the trip for students taking the class for four credits.

 •  Final Paper (35%) : The paper assignment is designed to demonstrate students' ability to conduct an interpretive policy analysis. Students will select one Tanzanian policy document related to children's rights, broadly defined, and will analyze it using the methods discussed and practiced in class. In particular, students will integrate their analysis of the policy as a text with their observations and interviews, and they will be expected to recommend ways in which the policy could be modified to better reflect local interpretations of the specific issue. Many of Tanzania's national policies are available through Tanzania Online: http://www.tzonline.org/policies.htm Students taking the course for 3 credits will write a 10-12 page paper using sources listed in this syllabus; those taking the course for 4 credits will write a 15-18 page paper incorporating additional sources (books, journal articles, etc.) that discuss the topic in Tanzania or in other African countries.