Lessons from Bhutan: Embrace Cultural Differences to Effect Change

Nestled in the Himalayan Mountains, Bhutan, a Buddhist country, is one of the most isolated nations in the world. After spending a month there, the authors all agreed it deserved its title of "The Last Shangri-La." Their team of professional development specialists spent the summer of 2010 providing professional development in the basic principles of special education to teachers, administrators, and government officials. At the end of their visit, they left with a new appreciation of the need for all professional developers to become more aware of cultural differences both overt and subtle. In the process, they sharpened their skills, increased their cultural sensitivities, and came back to the United States as more effective and more broadly engaged staff developers.