Mission Statement (revised August 1998)

The International Center for Curriculum Studies at Seattle Pacific University was founded in 1993 as an integral part of the Doctor Education (Ed.D) degree program. The primary purpose of the Center is to support the research and development work of School of Education faculty and graduate students, particularly as that work applies to comparative and international educational settings. The work of the Center is expressive of a Christian World View and, although scholarship is clearly emphasized, it is within the broader purposes of promoting this perspective that the academic and cultural functions of the Center are carried out. Since its founding in 1891, Seattle Pacific University has maintained an abiding interesting in international work, and in that spirit the Center is dedicated to carrying on this tradition.

History

Since its founding in 1993, the International Center for Curriculum Studies (ICCS) at Seattle Pacific University has been actively carrying out its mission of supporting faculty and graduate students in their research and development efforts. In conjunction with scholars from leading academic institutions from around the world, ICCS has been supporting research and scholarship that is expressive of a Christian World View as it applies to comparative and international educational settings.

Although the Center's purposes as originally conceived are being fulfilled, there is still reason to expand its activities and mission. It is particularly beneficial for an institution such as SPU to have opportunities for international work, especially with Pacific Rim nations because of our own geographical location. The fact that more than half of the full-time School of Education faculty has had the opportunity in recent years to visit, gather data, and offer presentations abroad is indicative of the high level of commitment to this venture on the part of the School of Education.

Throughout its history, ICCS has mounted an agenda which includes travel opportunities for faculty and graduate students, the establishment of formal relationships with foreign universities, conferences held here and abroad, and a number of research investigations.

The overseas connections established by ICCS have included Russia, Ukraine, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, Spain, the Netherlands, Lithuania, and the United Kingdom. To date, most of the emphasis has been upon work in Russia and China. These contacts have been fruitful and have long-term qualities about them.

Major highlights throughout ICCS history:

2002	ICCS co-sponsors the New World of Education conference with the University of the Russian Academy of Education.
2002	ICCS co-sponsors the Innovations in Psycho-Pedagogical Research conference with Shuya State Pedagogical University, Russia.
2001	ICCS initiates research on the subject of teacher beliefs on students, teaching and learning with data being collected in Russia, China, England, Spain and the USA.
2001	ICCS representatives present papers at the Center for Christianity Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
2001	ICCS representatives present research papers at the third Conference on the Social and Moral Fabric of School Life at the University of Hull, England.
2001	ICCS representatives present research papers at Kursk Pedagogical University and the University of the Russian Academy of Education in Moscow.
2000	ICCS representatives present research papers at the annual meeting of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) in Cardiff, Wales.
2000	ICCS cosponsors the Education for the New Millennium conference in Moscow on the topics of teacher growth and development in conjunction with the University of the Russian Academy of Education and the Institute for Social Sciences Research, Moscow.
2000	ICCS representatives visit Hangzhou, China for paper presentations and consultation concerning research projects and teacher training at Zhejiang University and Hunan Normal School.
1999	ICCS agrees to financially support the work of Dr. Alexander Abramov and the Moscow Institute for the Development of Educational Systems.
1999	ICCS sponsors the second Conference on the Social and Moral Fabric of School Life in Edmonds, WA, with speakers representing institutions from the United States, Canada, England, Russia and Spain.
1999	ICCS representatives present papers at the British Educational Research Association (BERA) Annual Conference in Brighten, England.
1999	ICCS Director delivers the Keynote Address at the III International Congress on Language for Specific Purposes in Canet, Spain, a gathering sponsored by the University of Barcelona and the Scientific Council of Europe.
1999	ICCS works with the National Middle School Association on issues of curriculum goals, teacher inservice, and assessment of learning.
1999	ICCS works for the National Science Foundation and the American Association for the Advancement of Science as a reviewer for the forthcoming Atlas of Science Literacy.
1999	ICCS representatives visit the University of Barcelona.
1999	ICCS assists in efforts to send food shipments to orphanages and schools in the Russian Far East.
1998	ICCS representatives present papers at Moscow State University.
1997	ICCS Director presents a paper at the Guangzhou Normal University in Guangzhou, China.
1997	ICCS sponsors The Social and Moral Fabric of School Life Conference in Edmonds, WA, with speakers representing 15 different institutions from the United States, Canada, England and Russia.
1997	ICCS cosponsors a Conference on the Works of C. S. Lewis with the Department of Educational Philosophy, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
1996	ICCS representatives visit Moscow and St. Petersburg.
1995	ICCS works with Dr. Alexander Abramov, a member of the Russian Academy of Education and Director of the Moscow Institute for the Development of Educational Systems, in the publishing of a new generation of textbooks for Russian school children.
1995	ICCS assists Dr. Olga Polykovskaya of the Russian Ministry of Education in the development of a new charter for the Culture Clubs of Russia, formerly the Young Pioneer and Komsomol organizations.
1995	ICCS cosponsors the publishing of two Russian editions of Readings on Moral Education in the Schools in partnership with the Center for Human Values in Moscow. The articles were written by faculty members from SPU and the Russian Academy of Education.
1995	ICCS cosponsors a book on educational methods in partnership with the Red Guard School District of St. Petersburg, Russia.
1995	ICCS representatives visit Hangzhou, China to sign protocols of agreement with the Department of Educational Philosophy at Zhejiang University.
1995	ICCS cosponsors a conference on Russian and American Worldviews in Education in Moscow, Russia.
1995	Representatives from Seattle Pacific University and Moscow State University sign protocols of agreement inviting SPU faculty to Moscow State to present lectures in the department of educational philosophy.
1995	Representatives from Seattle Pacific University and Moscow State Pedagogical University sign protocols of agreement, agreeing to scholarly exchanges and conferences.
1994	ICCS representatives present research papers at the annual meeting of the British Educational Research Association (BERA).
1993	ICCS representatives present research papers at the annual meeting of the Hong Kong Educational Research Association (HKERA).
1993	Founding of the International Center for Curriculum Studies at Seattle Pacific University.

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