SABBATICAL LEAVE REPORT - VALUE TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

SABBATICAL LEAVE REPORT Page 2

Name: Scott MacDougall
	VALUE TO EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM Briefly reflect and highlight the value of your sabbatical leave to the educational program.  In particular: 1.     How will it benefit students, programs, or staff/colleagues?  There is an international dimension to almost everything I do at DVC. Two of the three courses I teach are centered around the government and foreign policies of foreign states. Even my US government class emphasizes “options” typically drawn from practices in other countries. Having had the opportunity to experience the world first-hand has enlivened and improved my curriculum immeasurably. 2.     How will it enhance and/or improve your professional competence?  Having had the opportunity to study comparative politics, international relations and political philosophy in the extraordinarily cosmopolitan atmosphere of the Université Libre in Brussels, Belgium has brought a breadth and depth to my thinking, well beyond that which I possessed before. My understanding of these fields and their key concepts has been refreshed and expanded beyond even what I had hoped for. 3.     How will it relate to your ongoing professional assignment?  The three courses I teach US Government, International Relations and Comparative Politics have each been improved by the collection of new insights and experiences that are being used to add content and color to a curriculum I have taught for 13 years. 4.     How are the breadth and depth of the project appropriate for the sabbatical leave rather than the regular teaching year?  I studied for four months in Belgium, visited 10 countries, engaging in extensive study of five of these. That study involved executing a project with 24 distinct elements in each place, or 120 total elements. It actually took significantly longer to complete than the eight months granted. No complaints.  The time was extraordinarily well spent and though I'm glad the home, I'm not really glad to be done. Include what you experienced and discovered during the process of completing your sabbatical.  Please see the accompanying reports, organized by country: Russia, Germany, Turkey, Cuba, China

10-22-92, Rev. 11-1-94, 10-31-95  (Sabb\Forms\report.frm)