GBSEALD hosts joint summer doctoral classes of the University of San Francisco and Ateneo de Manila

From 15 to 30 June 2024, the University of San Francisco’s (USF) School of Education and Ateneo de Manila University's Gokongwei Brothers School of Education and Learning Design (GBSEALD) jointly offered two summer courses to the doctoral students of both institutions. Held at the Ateneo Loyola Heights campus, nineteen USF doctoral students joined eighteen of their GBSEALD counterparts to attend two courses, one on Ignatian Paradigm for Leadership Development and the other on Mission-Centered Technology—both co-designed and facilitated by USF and GBSEALD faculty members.

The USF students came from China, India, Colombia, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, and the United States.

The first course was facilitated by professors Dr Jane Bleasdale and Dr Ursula Aldana, assisted by Ms Rita Atienza, ATC Director, and Fr. Francis Alvarez, SJ, Chairperson of the GBSEALD Department of Catholic Education Philosophy and Practice, while the second one was jointly taught By Fr Johnny Go, SJ, GBSEALD Dean and Dr Alicia Tapia, USF adjunct professor, assisted by Mr Galvin Ngo, Director of SALT. 

The CEL Summer Session has become a well-established international community hosted annually at the USF campus—a vibrant space for students to live, study, connect, and share faith and fellowship as educators with a common mission, advancing justice through education. This year was the first time it was held overseas in partnership with GBSEALD. The collaboration connected the strengths of both institutions and provided both USF and GBSEALD students with a richer and more diverse educational experience. 

The CEL Summer Program courses were designed to use Ignatian pedagogical practices and an immersive multicultural environment to create a space of critical pedagogy and spiritual discernment, allowing students to reflect on their leadership contexts and practices. Highlights of this international immersive experience included a visit to Xavier School Nuvali, a talk by Filipino scholar on missiology and intercultural theology Dr Gemma Cruz-Chia, and a guided tour of Intramuros led by no less than renowned Filipino historian Dr Ambeth Ocampo, who portrayed Intramuros as a site of Filipino resistance.

Here is what Skilty Labastilla, Ateneo College faculty and GBSEALD doctoral student, has to say:

“I didn’t plan on taking this course because my schedule is super packed but I’m glad I did because I got to be part of a class that treats everyone as equals. [The] collaborative approach to creating the syllabus and community norms and experience in a class where grades were not the focus but rather learning from each other were really refreshing. And I must say as an anthropologist, I value the emphasis on autoethnography as a tool that brings out our own positionalities as researchers and as human beings.”

Sara Brabec, USF student and Program Director at Jesuit High School in Sacramento explains,

“The one thing I am taking away with me from this experience is the beautiful universality of Jesuit education and the way that we can operationalize our mission in so many diverse contexts and how the real call is to discernment in our own context…”

Other than the time spent doing coursework, the international community dined and wined together on Tuesday, 18 June for an evening of delicious Filipino food and unforgettable Filipino music. Needless to say, the Closing Lunch on Friday, 29 June was a time for nostalgia, where they shared one another’s learnings from the course and countless memorable experiences during the program. There were many fond farewells, thank you’s, and promises to keep in touch and, God willing, to see each other again soon!