{"id":265,"date":"2012-06-26T07:42:37","date_gmt":"2012-06-26T12:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/?page_id=265"},"modified":"2023-07-15T10:16:04","modified_gmt":"2023-07-15T15:16:04","slug":"fieldschools","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/my.dev.vanderbilt.edu\/perkins\/projects\/fieldschools\/","title":{"rendered":"Fieldschools in Intercultural Education & Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Fieldschool is a collaborative research training opportunity, typically based in a less developed country for 6-12 weeks, in which participants work in teams with host country community and academic partners to address a common issue or problem. In addition to service-learning activities, each team carries out primary\u00a0data collection while learning skills such as participant observation, focus group management, conducting surveys, recording data, and preliminary data analysis. In addition, each student has their own individual project.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Community Development Action (CDA)<\/a>, Human Development Counseling (HDC)<\/a>,\u00a0and\u00a0Community Research and Action (CRA)<\/a> programs offer qualified graduate students the opportunity to participate in supervised field research at the community level through the Fieldschool. Eligible students must be functionally competent\u00a0in the host language and have completed at least two semesters of relevant course work.<\/p>\n

Professor Bill Partridge created the Field School and in its first three\u00a0summers from 2003 through 2005,\u00a0graduate students worked in the Chimborazo and Esmeraldas provinces among Quichua and Afro-Ecuadorian peoples. The study centered on the impacts of programs aimed at building human and social capital in minority communities, through grants provided to bright but poor young people to finish high school, university or post-graduate studies.<\/p>\n

In 2006, Professor Isaac Prilleltensky led the fieldschool in Buenos Aires, which focused on the struggles of poor people living in “villas miserias” or “misery villages” as they are known in Argentina. Students partnered with several governmental and grass roots organizations to understand their plight and contribute to their community organizing efforts. Our students were placed in several locations throughout Buenos Aires. We also partnered with local community psychologists to learn from each other about effective approaches to community building and well-being in that context.<\/p>\n

The\u00a02007 Fieldschool<\/a> in Guangxi Autonomous Region of Southern China was led by Professor\u00a0Douglas Perkins <\/a>(Co-Director: Jill Robinson; RAs: Brooks, Gould, Kopsumbut, Lilienthal, Magvanjav, Marks, Miller, Siankam, Solomon, Zheng).\u00a0The China Fieldschool focused on socio-cultural, health promotion, economic, educational and urban\/regional planning aspects of community development. The following measures were developed as part of the urban community needs assessment project:<\/strong><\/p>\n