Efficacy by Elizabeth

Efficacy by Elizabeth - January 2018 Scholarship Essay

If I had to use one word to describe my educational and professional goals the word would be the same: efficacy. Through my personal and professional lives I have learned to value the importance of leading young people to become efficacious and active members of society. I have worked with students as they have taken ownership and thought critically about the world around them and consequently grew their efficacy to bring positive change in their communities. With this in mind, I hope to increase my own efficacy in the field of civic education by studying a masters in International Education Policy.
Through my educational and professional experience, I have on many occasions witnessed the power of the young people when they feel efficacious about their political and societal role. During my undergraduate career I took part of a research project through the program Intercultural Studies for the Future(Interfuture.) I conducted a two year long cross-cultural research project in both the US and in Costa Rica that examined what influenced young people to vote in presidential elections. I was, and am, frustrated by much academic work and social consensus focusing on youth absenteeism. Instead I flipped the question and looked at those who did indeed choose to participate. The entire process, from initial brainstorming, to field research, to eventually winning a national conference and getting published took about two years. In that time I not only cemented my desire to continue my understanding of youth political participation, but also become part of the solution through education. One of my conclusions, which aligns with much academic work, is that young people who believe in their own efficacy through voting and other political participation are much more likely to participate.
Seeing this result, I began to work with young people through many different lens. My experiences range from teaching English in high schools across Spain, working as the highest director of educational summer camps for international students, and lobbying to change laws regarding bilingual education in Massachusetts. By having a diverse resume I have been able to better understand the different players that influence young people’s education and thus increasing my own efficacy to work with and alongside them in the future.
I believe that before I can increase my student’s advocacy I need to work on my own. The best way to accomplish this is by continuing my education with a master's degree. Therefore, I am looking to attend Harvard Graduate School of Education to study International Education Policy. In studying this I will be able to study how different worldwide communities are implementing civic education programs in order to increase political and community participation, and therefore efficacy, of young people in their communities. By studying many different areas I hope to understand what works in effective civic education so that that information can be extrapolated and then disseminated to as many communities around the world as possible. By continuing my education I will be able to invest in tools such as increasing my qualitative analysis abilities, and understanding how to effectively adapt program contents to fit the need of a specific learning community.
Studies have shown that efficacious citizens are much more likely to take advantage of the power in front of them. Therefore it is important that young people have the tools to address the topics that are directly influencing their generation. My future goals include working alongside community leaders and young people to implement programs that teach these tools in communities across the globe. I look forward to improving my efficacy in the implementation of said programs and hence passing it along to the young people in the world.