The concept
Wide Horizons (WH) was founded in 2006 by Burmese Migrant
Worker’s Education Committee and World Education (WE) as a school where young
adults from Burma, working in community-based organizations (CBO) could come to
develop their English language, computer and community development skills while
cultivating the thought process skills associated with effective leadership. By
combining a student-centered, experiential approach to education with a
curriculum that emphasizes group work, reflective practice, and critical
thinking, WH offers a program with impacts that reach beyond the classroom and
into the communities it was designed to serve.
How it works
Every year, a local network of
community organizations along the Thailand-Burma border nominates current
employees for admittance into Wide Horizons. Ideal candidates have intermediate English skills, at least
one year of work in an organization, and a dedication to developing their
community. Out of these applicants a multi-cultural cohort of 24 are selected
to join the program through a competitive application process.
Once admitted, students enter into an immersive residential
learning environment in Mae Sot, Tak Province for 10 months. At WH, students
live, study and work together. English is spoken 24 hours a day, and skills
learned in the classroom are put to immediate use in community life and work.
Students practice leadership skills through rotating positions in school
governance and through a series of projects in nearby migrant communities,
ensuring that experience and reflection drive their learning as much as their
lessons.
Curriculum
The curricular framework was designed for the academic
component of the Wide Horizons program in 2010 after a detailed needs
assessment of the target student population and their organizations was
conducted. The curriculum is accessible on an online network, drawing upon
multiple resources; this allows for standards-based instruction that is easily
differentiated and adaptable to the needs of communities in the ever-changing
border context.
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