Sustainable Development Across Morocco

The overall goal of the program is to provide a comprehensive introduction to the cultural, political, socioeconomic and historical context for sustainable development policies, discourse and projects in Morocco, in order to develop skills in assessing current issues and solutions in local and comparative contexts.

CURRICULUM TOOBOX HOME ​

 We will experience and witness an extremely wide range of human development throughout the program, by staying and working with Moroccans from a myriad of socioeconomic sectors in the regions of Marrakesh, the Sahara, and the Atlas Mountains. While students will register for different course prefixes, we will conduct the program as a single class, with students being able to individualize their research and written work. Morocco will be our classroom this summer as we explore issues of sustainable development in this North African country. This region provides an excellent context for us to learn about issues of socio-economic disparity, politics and sustainable energy challenges in varying environments. We start program in Morocco with a visit to Rabat to meet with relevant government officials, followed by a stay in Marrakesh to work with a non-governmental organization (NGO) that has projects in rural community sustainable development. Next we stay in the desert city of Ouarzazate where a major concentrating solar power (CSP) site is currently being built, and where we will visit villages in the vicinity that struggle with socioeconomic, including energy, issues. As we travel to the Sahara Desert we will experience areas with less reliable access to the energy grid, consider issues of sustainable development, followed by a transit of the Atlas Mountains to spend time working with an local association in the town of Boumia, near Midelt. In the three main sites of Marrakesh, Ouarzazate and Boumia, we will visit and work with the local NGOs on community needs assessments and projects for sustainable solutions to development issues, considering social, economic and environmental aspects.

What are the learning goals for this course?
• Students will evaluate current solutions for sustainable development at the national policy level in Rabat, and at the local level in three specific locations, considering the multiple layers of policy and implementation at different scales
• Students will demonstrate understanding of the complexity of some aspect of development and sustainability in Morocco.
• Students will apply cross cultural perspectives, gained from cultural immersion activities on the program, to concept of sustainable development in Morocco.

How do you measure student learning and development outcomes?
Students will complete a team project report at each site.
Each student will submit a final research paper with appropriate historical background and political context on a particular aspect of sustainable development in Morocco.
Students will have frequent meetings with faculty to debrief experiences of the day and follow up with pre-departure study of the dimensions of culture.
Students will also engage in a photo project where they take pictures of what they deem sustainable and not sustainable, and explore why they feel this way, uncovering their own cultural assumptions and perspectives.

In what ways does the curriculum leverage the unique learning opportunities of your host context?
The program travels to main regions of Morocco, allowing students to experience geographical diversity, from the Atlantic coast, to the Sahara desert, to the High Atlas Mountains. This diversity includes an exploration of the rural versus the urban in Morocco, which also illustrates ethnic distinctions as we spend time in rural Berber areas. We also are able to visit NOOR I, the largest concentrating solar power facility in the world, currently being built, as well as visit nearby villages that lack clean drinking water – it is unique for U.S. students to see such disparity and consider that the benefits of large infrastructure projects produce uneven results.

To what extent is your course curriculum integrated with curricula of the students’ home institutions?
This course is integrated with the curriculum of the School of Sustainability, exploring the area of sustainable development, and offering program elective credit at the undergraduate and the graduate level. It is also integrated with the M.S. in Global Technology and Development in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society where it provides three credits of a required elective.

Did you consult any resources on education abroad that were particularly helpful in designing this course? If so, please describe.
I was a study abroad professional in the past, working as a study abroad coordinator, so I have a myriad of sources with which I can consult. I also attended the WISE conference in 2014 where I gained more resources on cross cultural orientation and preparation.

Additional Resources

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Bio

Mary Jane Parmentier
Affiliation: Arizona State University | mj.parmentier@asu.edu
Mary Jane Parmentier is a Clinical Associate Professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University, and Chair of the M.S. in Global Technology and Development. She has been involved in international education for almost 30 years, and has led programs to Morocco, Spain, Cyprus, Turkey, UAE, and Ecuador. She has a PhD from the Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco, and speaks Spanish, French and Moroccan Arabic.

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Basics:

Education Abroad Program Name	Sustainable Development Across Morocco: National Policies and Local Solutions
Level	Undergraduate
Number of Credits for Course	3
Number of Credits for Education Abroad Program	3
Does this course carry major/minor credit? Elective credit?	Yes
Typical Enrollment	15
Language of Instruction	English
Duration	Short-term: 3-4 weeks
Time Spent On-Site	Short-term: 3-4 weeks
Last Taught	Summer 2016
How many times has this course been taught?	4
Curriculum Strong Points/Innovations	Staying in a girls boarding school and integrating the U.S. students with Moroccan students; a full day workshop with U.S. students and Cadi Ayyad University students in Marrakesh on sustainable development perspectives; meetings with leaders in village of Boumia to assess development priorities and offer solutions while learning about the village context; overall, significant immersion in Moroccan culture.