Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (Fulbright TEA)

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The Embassy of the United States of America in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is pleased to announce the Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program competition for 2023-2024.

Program Overview

The Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement (Fulbright TEA) Program  is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Fulbright program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former United States Senator William Fulbright of Arkansas. Fulbright grants are awarded to students, scholars, teachers, and other professionals from the United States and to foreign nationals to study, teach, or conduct research. Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 “Fulbrighters” have participated in the Fulbright program.

The Fulbright TEA Program will bring international secondary-level teachers to the United States for a six-week professional development opportunity to take academic seminars at a host university, observe and share their expertise with U.S. teachers and students, and develop action plans to promote media literacy and critical thinking skills in their home schools, classrooms, and communities.

The program’s Media Literacy Cohort is scheduled to take place in September and October 2024. The program will include content-specific coursework with a focus on media literacy and critical thinking classroom skills. Seminar topics may include recognizing bias, propaganda, stereotypes, and misinformation; strategies for improving students’ critical thinking; how media literacy promotes civic engagement; the role of media in society; fostering cyber safety and digital citizenship in the classroom; and technology training.

Teachers are nominated to participate in the Fulbright TEA Program (Media Literacy Cohort) based on their educational experience, academic training, leadership, and professional experience. Final selection of Fulbright TEA Program Media Literacy Cohort teachers is made by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB). The FFSB is an independent, presidentially appointed board that has oversight responsibility for all Fulbright academic exchange programs.


Program Components

Teachers who are selected to participate in the Fulbright TEA Program Media Literacy Cohort will:

1) Take part in tailored graduate-level seminars at a U.S. host university;

2) Observe classes, co-teach, and share their expertise with U.S. colleagues in U.S. secondary schools;

3) Engage in an online professional learning community with other participants to share best practices and other elements of host and home country educational systems; and

4) Take part in other educational and cultural activities while on program in the United States.

Upon returning home, teachers will share the knowledge and experience gained on the program.

 

University Coursework
Weekly Seminars:  Teachers will participate in weekly seminars at their host university featuring presentations and discussions led by university staff, faculty members, and invited educational experts. The Fulbright TEA Program provides academic seminars focusing on new teaching methodologies, student-centered learning, content-based instruction, lesson planning, and instructional technology training for teachers.

U.S. School Placements:  The program will also include a practicum of at least 40 hours with a U.S. partner teacher in a secondary school near the host university to actively engage participants in the U.S. classroom environment. Cultural enrichment, mentoring, and support will be provided to participants throughout the program.

Online Professional Learning Community:  Each Fulbright teacher will participate in a virtual community with other international educators to collaborate and share best practices about education and leadership in the participating countries.

 

What the Program Covers / Logistical Information

 

Travel: IREX will make international travel arrangements and provide all teachers with an international airline ticket and a travel allowance to cover the cost of incidental expenses. Fulbright teachers will also be reimbursed for round-trip travel expenses between their home city and the point of departure for the United States; however, participants (or U.S. Embassies) are responsible for making these domestic travel arrangements to and from the international airport.

You must arrive in the United States on the start date of the Fulbright TEA Program and return home at the conclusion of the Fellowship. Dependents may not join participants on the program.  Any personal travel during the program must be approved by IREX. You may not miss any program activities for personal travel or visits (including, but not limited to, courses, workshops, field experience, cultural and civic activities). You may not travel outside of the United States. If you do plan to travel within the United States, you are responsible for all related expenses and travel arrangements and must seek prior approval from IREX and your host university at least two weeks in advance by completing the U.S. Travel Authorization Form.

Housing:  Participants will live on or near the host university campus in housing in rooms arranged for them by the university.

Maintenance Allowances:  Each Fulbright teacher will receive a maintenance allowance during the program to cover expenses such as supplies for classes, household items, personal items, and cultural and other activities. Included in this total is a daily stipend to purchase groceries, meals at local restaurants, or food from on-campus dining services.

 

Eligibility

This program is open to anyone who:

  • Is a citizen and resident of BiH qualified to hold a valid BiH passport.
  • Is a current secondary-level, full-time teacher of English, English as a Foreign Language, social studies, civics, history, global studies, media studies, communications, journalism, law, math or science at institutions serving primarily a local population. Applicants should have at least three years of full-time teaching experience by the start of the program, with a preference for those who have completed at least five years of full-time teaching.  Ideal candidates will demonstrate interest in the field of media literacy and show leadership in their communities.
  • Has completed a bachelor’s degree or equivalent at the time of application.
  • Demonstrates English language proficiency adequate to manage coursework, develop lesson plans, and team-teach in U.S. Schools. Applicants must be able to demonstrate English language proficiency by attaining a minimum score of at least 61 on an internet based TOEFL or an approved equivalent. At the initial application stage, candidates are not required to register for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or provide additional documentation. If a valid TOEFL score report is available, it should be uploaded onto the online application. Finalists only are required to have a valid TOEFL score; there are no exceptions to this requirement. The Embassy will provide registration instructions and test fee vouchers to finalists only.
  • Is cleared by a physician to participate in the program (finalists only).
  • Is eligible to receive and maintain the exchange visitor J-1 non-immigrant visa required for the program. Participants do not have to pay fees for the J-1 visa but need to be interviewed by the Embassy’s Consular Section.
  • Committed to returning to BiH for a minimum of two years. As J-1 visa holders, participants are subject to the two-year home-country foreign residency requirement.

 

Not Eligible:

  • Candidates with dual U.S. citizenship or U.S. permanent resident status
  • Educational administrators (such as representatives or officials of the Ministry of Education) and school administrators who do not teach at least fifty percent of their time, full-time teacher trainers, university faculty, private English Language tutors, and teachers from schools primarily serving expatriates
  • Candidates who have attended undergraduate or graduate school in the United States for one academic year or more during the seven years prior to date of application
  • Candidates who have resided in the United States for five or more consecutive years in the six-year period preceding the date of application (A candidate who has lived in the United States for nine months or more during a calendar year is deemed to have resided in the United States for that year.)
  • Candidates who are in the United States
  • Grants will generally not be awarded to candidates who are concurrently recipients of all-expense grants under other auspices.
  • Employees of U.S. missions abroad who work for the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and their immediate family members (spouses and dependent children) are ineligible for grants during and for a period ending one year following the termination of such employment, association, or service. This provision includes all employees, paid or unpaid (including part-time or temporary employees, consultants, externs, fellows, and contract employees). This provision does not apply to interns and does not disqualify self-supporting children who live apart from their parents. The one-year period of ineligibility is calculated from the date of termination of employment, service, or association until the program application deadline.

 

 

Application Process:

Apply online for the 2023-24 Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program until March 5th 2023, 23:59 local (BiH) time. The Fulbright Program may request additional documentation or items as deemed necessary. The Embassy in BiH will notify nominated candidates of their status by Late Summer 2023. Further application instructions are available in this application guide.

The online application package must include:

  • Completed online application form
  • Statement of purpose responding to the prompts in the online application
  • Institutional Support and Reference form completed by applicant’s supervisor
  • Leave Approval form completed by applicant’s school director
  • Copy of applicant’s passport photo and information pages (or photo identification)
  • If TOEFL scores have recently been taken, these should be included in the application; TOEFL is not required at the time of application, however if applicant is selected as a finalist current TOEFL scores will be required. The embassy will provide registration information and vouchers for finalists who need to take the TOEFL test.

 

For program-related questions or if you experience any technical problems, please email us at bhexc@state.gov before the deadline. For technical issues, please include an explanation and a screenshot of the error you are experiencing.  When emailing, use the subject line: “2023-24 Fulbright TEA program.”

For more program information, visit the IREX Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program website.

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