David K. Wilcox, PhD, Director, International School Services for Asia and Latin America, Association of Christian Schools International
The annual meeting of the InterMission MK Education Consultation (IMKEC) includes mission agency representatives who have MK education as a part of their responsibilities. Since 1993, they have been meeting to learn from each other and to sense whether there are general trends or needs that can best be addressed through collaborative action. When the mission representatives see an issue that is important to all of them and when they generally agree on a course of action, they issue Consensus Statements.
This year’s statements are messages to school personnel, college teacher education programs, and mission agencies. Although these consensus statements have no binding power, they are worth your consideration. Whether you are a teacher or administrator serving internationally, a teacher educator in a Christian college, or someone connected with a sending agency, IMKEC participants hope these statements will inform our community about what others see as pressing needs or worthy goals. The IMKEC attendees value responses and questions regarding these Consensus Statements. If you have any comments or concerns, please email them to International Services.
IMKEC 2003 Consensus Statements
Consensus Statement 1
Assessment of MK Education Usage by Non-American Families
The InterMission MK Education Consultation supports the development, distribution, collection, and analysis of a survey of non- American parents on the field to better assess the educational needs of non- American families.
[Note: IMKEC supports efforts to collect by survey information regarding education options used by non-American missionary families. Data for American families have been collected. We hope that as the information becomes available, it will make sending agencies and MK schools better able to address the needs of their families.]
Consensus Statement 2
Support for MK-TEP of Teachers in Service
The IMKEC recognizes the goals and importance of the Teacher Education Program for prospective teachers of missionary children (MK-TEP), and
- supports its ongoing development
- encourages individuals interested in becoming MK teachers to participate in the programs
- encourages mission agencies and schools to consider waiving teaching experience requirements for individuals who complete the program successfully
- encourages MK teachers on furlough or home assignment to assist with the program
- hopes a MedSend-like program for college debt repayment might be developed
[Note: MK-TEP is a developing program that seeks to equip teacher education majors with sufficient experiences specifically related to professional and cross-cultural readiness so that home country experience following graduation can be justifiably waived by sending agencies and schools.]
Consensus Statement 3
Support for the Development of a Nontraditional Education Support Agency for Africa
IMKEC recognizes the need for additional coordinated support and resources for families in Africa using nontraditional education options, such as distance learning, homeschooling, and national schools. IMKEC recommends that mission agencies consider deployment of additional education resource personnel and services to meet those needs, and that such personnel and resources be provided in a structure similar to SHARE (Europe) or AERC (East Asia). It is hoped that the survey results (see Consensus Statement above) will assist in determining the actual needs of a particular region.
Consensus Statement 4
Meeting the Educational Needs of a More Diverse Mission Community
IMKEC urges MK schools to continue their efforts to internationalize the curriculum and meet the needs of non–North American families. We believe the following principles could be helpful in doing this:
- Thinking internationally and being culturally sensitive
- Recognizing and respecting pedagogical and learning differences
- Purposefully integrating international principles into the classroom
- Deliberately blending multinational curriculum models to provide the best benefit for the students, given the international makeup of the student body
- Honestly acknowledging what the school can and cannot offer
Mission Agencies
In traditional sending nations:
We further urge mission agencies and other support agencies to provide more effective support for non–North American families. We urge working with home country sending agencies to include the educational needs of prospective candidates as an important factor in placement and ministry assignment.
In newly sending nations:
We also urge home country mission agencies to do all they can to provide continuing educational support and resources for children’s education (including counsel, assessment, and assistance with transition issues) for the families they send cross-culturally. We recommend the use of the sending countries’ national Christian school movement as a resource for personnel and curriculum resources.
[Note: IMKEC recognizes that mission agencies are becoming more internationally diverse and that the range of available education options for non–North American families may be limited because of cultural and financial factors. We wholeheartedly welcome our international brothers and sisters, and commit ourselves to come alongside them especially in the area of children’s education.]
InterMission MK Education Consultation Challenges All of Us! Q1 2004