Maki Travels to Africa for Educational Partnership
Rehabilitation Counseling Professor Dennis R. Maki became the first UI College of Education faculty member to teach a course at Addis Ababa University (AAU) in Ethiopia as part of an ongoing partnership between the two institutions.
Maki, professor and chair of the Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation, and Student Development, was in Ethiopia from May 10 until June 6. He taught a required seminar on current trends and practices in special needs education to 18 faculty members pursing their Ph.D.s. One of the main goals of the partnership is to help increase the number of AAU faculty members who have earned their Ph.D.s and are qualified to provide doctoral programs to AAU graduate students.
Maki said the experience was enlightening for him.
“I gained a broader perspective on the role culture has in defining disability, services, and treatment toward persons with disability,” he said.
Maki also learned that some in Ethiopia believe disability is a punishment from God.
“But they’re trying to change that perspective in the culture and move from a sense of shame and hiding to inclusive education,” Maki said. “There’s a positive, passionate commitment from the faculty to work toward achieving that goal.”
The partnership between the universities was spearheaded by Tadesse Giorgis, who attended AAU as an undergraduate and earned his doctorate from the UI College of Education in 1992.
Berhan Gelan, who became the first AAU faculty member to come to the UI to earn her Ph.D. this fall, said she was impressed by Maki’s commitment to learning about her culture while he was abroad.
“Even in moments he should have been at rest, he was constantly trying to get a grip on the culture so that he could fit it in with his work with students,” she said.
Maki said the next step in the partnership is to identify other UI College of Education faculty members who are interested in teaching and research opportunities at AAU. There are also talks of AAU faculty members visiting the College to learn about the Iowa Center for Assistive Technology Education and Research.
