May 29, 2012
St.
John’s University students and faculty from the department of
psychology travelled to Vietnam to discuss issues in early
childhood education and intervention and neuropsychology from an
international and cross-cultural perspective. Ten students and two
faculty made the 14 day trip as part of an on-going international
exchange that has led to four student centered trips in the past
six years as part of the Office of Global Studies (OGS) study
abroad program and the psychology departments commitment to
providing more international opportunities for our students.
This year a unique component of the trip was the opportunity to
meet with and co-teach students from Hong Bang University at two of
their campuses in southern Vietnam..
The
impact of this international programming on the education of the
STJ students was significant as Dr. Mark Terjesen Associate
Professor of Psychology remarked that: “the opportunity to read
about different practices internationally gets further enhanced by
the true cultural immersion that our students experience as well as
the opportunities to observe different educational settings and
discuss with current students from Hong Bang can only increase the
true learning that our students experience”.
“Having
the opportunity to meet with and share information about our varied
approaches to and understanding of psychology with the students
from Hong Bang University has had a significant impact on my view
of psychology from a Global perspective” said Doctoral Candidate
Matthew Scott Pagirsky (PsyD SJC ’16).
The
lectures provided for opportunity to not only share information
about psychological practices but also have students from both
Universities engage in psychological assessment to see how the
culture and language may impact performance. Assistant Professor of
Psychology Dr. Robin Wellington with the assistance of graduate
student Christina Lipinski (PsyD SJC ‘15) instructed students from
both Universities on how to administer the Stroop task, following
which students from both Universities performed the task.
Nguyen Ahi Kim Quyen from Hong Bang University International took a
Vietnamese version of the task and stated afterwards, “Taking the
Stroop task was fun because it gave me a chance to participate in a
test that the Americans use so often in neuropsychology. It
was also difficult to ignore reading the word while naming the
colors, especially because of the way we (in Vietnamese) describe
blue and green.” Dr. Wellington stated, “Having the
opportunity to administer the Stroop task to the Vietnamese
students was an interesting experience because it exhibited how the
native language of a client can impact test performance. Although
Nguyen performed exceptionally well, she was likely slowed down a
little due to having multiple words for a stated color. Given
that the time it takes to complete the task is one of the measures
used to determine impairment, clinicians should be mindful of the
impact of language. Additionally, it speaks to the need for
further development of culturally specific measures in
collaboration with native speakers.
During
their trip to Ho Chi Minh city the students participated in a
cultural exchange program in which many students from Hong bang
University presented music and dances that were reflective of their
culture to the 500 individuals and dignitaries in attendance along
with the Vietnamese national television. The St. John’s students
led the entire audience in a song and dance number and Doctoral
candidate Amanda Braverman (PsyD SJC ’15) performed the national
anthem to much applause. “This experience was truly
overwhelming and the degree to which so many people from so many
different cultures welcomed us made many of us excited to consider
the next step in how we can continue to work with them” said
psychology major Julia Greene (BA SJC ’13) In reflecting on
the trip and the experiences with the students and faculty from
Hong Bang University, Doctoral candidate Alexandra Hamlet (PsyD SJC
’15) reflected that: “One of the things that initially attracted me
to St. John’s University was the mission of the University and the
opportunity to study globally. I have been very fortunate to have
the opportunity to work in the VISA program and this experience
further reinforced that I made the correct decision to attend St.
John’s. The people of Vietnam and the students and faculty at Hong
Bang University have made this trip more worthwhile than I could
have anticipated, and I have made many new friends and memories
that I will forever cherish.”
The
second half of the trip involves students travelling to Hanoi where
they will spend a week working with various educational and
hospital settings in the north of Vietnam.