Liberal Arts students study Montessori education in Italy over spring break

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — More than 100 Penn State students spent their spring breaks traveling the globe through seven College of the Liberal Arts embedded programs, which are Penn State courses taken on campus or online that include a short-term international travel component. The students saw the classroom come to life by visiting historical and cultural sites and interacting with local people.

Students taking PSYCH 299 had the opportunity to travel to Rome and Reggio Emilia, Italy, for seven days as part of the Early and Elementary Education in Italy embedded program in the College of the Liberal Arts.

The course, which is co-taught by Cathleen Hunt and Alicia Drais-Parrillo, both teaching professors of psychology, aims to teach students about the Reggio Emilia and Montessori approaches to preschool and primary education. The course also provides students the opportunity to learn about international influences on education, visit Italian schools and connect with other passionate students and teachers.

“I love that our students get to simultaneously see the birthplace of one of the most influential pedagogical approaches in child development, absorb the culture of this amazing country and perhaps most importantly, learn about how they see themselves as global citizens,” Hunt said. “For me, our travel abroad programs exemplify one of the best parts of a liberal arts education — that is we are able to nourish our students’ humanitarian connections to other people but we also provide a practical experience that inspires them to personally and professionally engage with various people around the world and to build these connections in ways that go way beyond their four years here with us.”

While on the trip, students also had the chance to take cooking classes and visit the Colosseum, Vatican City, St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.

“Looking at these monuments and imagining life at that time is definitely the closest way to time-traveling,” said Viviana Davila, a fourth-year student from San Juan, Puerto Rico, majoring in psychology and nutritional sciences.

Students had the opportunity to take what they have learned in their studies and apply it to their experiences while in Italy, aiming to enhance their trip and better understand their experiences and interactions in the country.

“The purpose of the trip was to learn about early childhood education in Italy,” Davila said. “One of the days we visited a Montessori training center. It was so beautiful — a precious place with great pedagogical bases. I love how it focuses on sensory material and learning through the five senses.”

Lauren Williams, a third-year student from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, majoring in psychology, explained specifically how her education and in-classroom instruction prepared her for the trip.

“In the majority of my interactions, or even just walking around the cities, I found myself thinking, ‘Hmm, that is exactly what was talked about in class,” Williams said.

Williams also added that “the idea behind attending this trip was looking at myself, as well as others, in terms of combining or bringing my culture into a place with so much of its own. Many things tied in as many theories and terms discussed in class, I found myself recognizing in myself and others.”

“I was able to talk to other Italians and get to know their worldviews and experience some language barriers, which I am not familiar with,” Davila said. “I applied this information to my multicultural psychology class, where we learnt about different worldviews and how they vary by culture, issues with communication and challenges when people move from one country to another.”

Many of these students were able to participate in the trip thanks to Liberal Arts enrichment funding — money awarded to Liberal Arts students through the Career Enrichment Network to help cover the costs of out-of-classroom experiences, such as education abroad, internships and research.

“I was able to pay for my trip without sacrificing extra working hours or finding a third job,” Davila said. “I already have struggles financially and make the best effort to be able to pay for other expenses. The enrichment funding was a huge weight taken off of my shoulders!”

Liberal Arts Career Enrichment Network

The Career Enrichment Network empowers Liberal Arts students to explore, engage and define their career journey through diverse career development opportunities. Students can meet with a career coach to explore careers, internships, education abroad, research, the Liberal Arts Alumni Mentor Program and more. Through donor support, the Career Enrichment Network is able to provide Liberal Arts students with funding to support many of these experiences.