Michael J. Stevens, PhD, DHC

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EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF INTERNATIONAL
PSYCHOLOGISTS

• Michael J. Stevens, PhD, DHC
• Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA
• The Lucian Blaga University, Sibiu, România
• Presented at the Third International Conference
  on the Teaching of Psychology, St. Petersburg,
  Russia, July 2008.

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OVERVIEW

• International Psychology
• Scope, orientation and process
• Internationalizing the Psychology Curriculum
• A prescription for change
• Response by the American Psychological
  Association (APA)
• Responses by two universities
• Evaluation for internationalized course content
• Curricular resources
• International Psychology Course
• Competency goals, topics and readings, learning
  activities
• The Task Ahead
• Model curriculum, evaluation of curricular goals
  and outcomes

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INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

• International psychology is a core element,
  perhaps the key
• element, of psychology itself. It is not just an
  add-on its
• essential.
• Sharon Stephens Brehm
• From An interview with APA President Sharon
  Brehm, by A. Hassan
• 2007, Psychology International, 18(3), p. 11.

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SCOPE

• International psychology as a science-informed
  domain that cuts across traditional fields
• Intergroup conflict and peace building
• Societal transformation and nation building
• Environmental degradation and preservation
• Risks for and prevention of illness
• At-risk groups (e.g., immigrants and refugees)

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AN ORIENTATION AND PROCESS

• International psychology disciplinary
  orientation and process
• Supports transnational, multidisciplinary,
  integrative, and progressive theorizing,
  research, and applied practice
• Fosters a global consciousness and sense of
  responsibility tempered by principled ethical
  reasoning given diverse worldviews
• Aims to internationalize the psychology
  curriculum and pedagogy

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A CALL FOR CHANGE
new psychologists who do not have the benefit
of a sophisticated orientation to international
issues will be severely handicapped in their
career options. From Internationalizing the
Curriculum, by R. D. Fowler, 2000, International
Psychology Reporter, 4(Spring), p. 10. The
globalization of psychologyhas led to outcomes
that might conceivably reshape the way in which
we understand our discipline, includinghow we
teach the discipline and its applications to the
next generation of students. From The
Globalization of Psychology What Does It Mean,
by P. D. Nelson, 2007, The Educator,
5(Spring/Summer), p. 3.
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A PRESCRIPTION FOR CHANGE

• Value-based fusion of student and discipline
• Interdisciplinary, multi-sectoral, and
  transnational scope
• Intended to fashion full-capacity global citizens
• Conceptual core 3 dimensions
• 1. Personal qualities of the student
• Compassion, engagement, social responsibility
  and justice
• 2. Philosophy of education
• Critical consciousness, appreciation of
  diversity
• 3. Curriculum and instruction
• Knowledge, competencies

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UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

• What should constitute a core curriculum,
  professional coursework, and supervised
  experience in an international psychology
  curriculum?
• How can pedagogical outcomes be validly
  assessed so that an internationalized psychology
  curriculum can be improved?

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2004 APA WORKING GROUP

• Internationalizing the U.S. Undergraduate
• Psychology Curriculum
• Mission to prepare students to understand
  psychological science and practice around the
  world
• and how psychologists address phenomena that
  vary
• internationally
• Five learning goals
• e.g., understand research methods and skills
  needed for international research competence
• Associated outcomes
• e.g., appreciation of methodologies used
  elsewhere (ethnography)

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EXAMPLE Elon University

• 2007 Internationalizing the Campus Award -
  NAFSA Association of International Educators
• (www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/cannon/goalsstrategi
  es.xhtml)
• Courses with increased international content
• Opportunities for direct contact with other
  cultures
• Faculty and student support to pursue
  international activities
• Semester-abroad coursework at affiliate
  institutions
• Chile (e.g., The Chilean Adolescent)
• China (e.g., Mental Health in China)
• Ghana (e.g., Psychology of Religion)
• Sweden (e.g., Work Psychology The Swedish
  Research Contribution)

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EXAMPLE Webster University

• Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences
• (www.webster.edu/depts/artsci/d_behavioral.htm)
• The Department consists of a diverse group of
  disciplines, all of which emphasize understanding
  the behavioral, social, and cultural forces that
  shape our global society. Psychology majors may
  pursue an international curriculum, such as the
  International Studies Certificate, in addition to
  their major. They can count internationalized
  courses from their psychology major as part of
  the Certificate (e.g., Genocide and Holocaust,
  Prejudice and Discrimination).

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INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS

• Establish whether our courses are
  internationalized.
• Determine the degree of course internationalizatio
  n.
• Add an international focus to our courses.
• Internationalized course content should include
• Specified international competencies
• Leaning activities that have an international
  focus
• Assessment activities for international
  competencies
• Resources that promote an international focus
• (www.morainviewpark.edu/pages/1053.asp)

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RESOURCES APA Office of Teaching Resources in
Psychology (ORTP)

• OTRP develops and distributes instructional
  materials and provides services to psychology
  instructors (www.teachpsych.org/ortp/index.php)
• Textbooks in introductory psychology, social
  psychology, and life-span development evaluated
  for international content
• Resources for incorporating international
  content into existing courses and for developing
  courses on international psychology (e.g.,
  syllabi, annotated bibliographies, videos)

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RESOURCES International Council of Psychologists

• International Conference on the Teaching of
  Psychology Education (formerly ICOPE)
• 2002 Conference (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Karandashev, V., McCarthy, S. (Eds.). (2006).
  International practices in the teaching of
  psychology. International
• Journal of Psychology, 41(1).
• 2005 Conference (Foz de Iguacu, Brazil)
• McCarthy, S., Newstead, S., Karandashev, V.,
  Prandini, C., Hutz,C., Gomes, W. (Eds.).
  (2007). Teaching psychology around the world.
  Newcastle upon Tyne, UK Cambridge Scholars
  Publishing.

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RESOURCES Publications

• Eysenck, M. W. (2004). Psychology An
  international perspective. Hove, UK Psychology
  Press.
• Pawlik, K., dYdewalle, G. (2006).
  Psychological concepts An international
  historical perspective. Hove, UK Psychology
  Press.
• Pawlik, K., Rosenzweig, M. R. (Eds.). (2000).
  International handbook of psychology. Thousand
  Oaks, CA Sage.
• Stevens, M. J., Wedding, D. (Eds.). (2004).
  Handbook of international psychology. New York
  Brunner-Routledge.
• Stevens, M. J., Gielen, U. P. (Eds.). (2007).
  Toward a global psychology Theory, research,
  intervention, and pedagogy. Mahwah, NJ Erlbaum.
• Wedding, D., Stevens, M. J. (Eds). (2008).
  Psychology IUPsyS global resource (CD-ROM) (9th
  ed.). Hove, UK Psychology Press.

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RESOURCES Grants

• Department of Education
• (www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/fipse/index.htm
  l)
• The governments of the United State and EU will
  fund projects focusing on international
  curriculum development and student mobility.
  Awards range from 25,000 to 200,000 over three
  years. Institutions of higher education and
  other public and private non-profit educational
  institutions and agencies are eligible. Proposal
  designed to support the formation of education
  consortia that encourage cooperation in the
  coordination of curricula, exchange of students,
  and opening of educational opportunities are
  priorities.

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RESOURCES Grants

• Erasmus Mundus
• (http//ec.europa.eu/education/programmes/mundus/i
  ndex_en.html)
• Erasmus Mundus offers a response to the
  challenges European higher education preparing
  European citizens for life in a global,
  intercultural, and knowledge-based society and
  enhancing the quality and worldwide
  attractiveness of European higher education.
  Erasmus Mundus supports the intergovernmental
  "Bologna process" by helping converge European
  university degree structures, which will make
  European higher education more transparent and
  attractive to students and academics both within
  and beyond the EU. More specifically, the
  External Co-operation Window promotes
  partnerships and institutional exchanges between
  European higher educational institutions and
  third country institutions as well as a mobility
  scheme addressing student and academic exchanges.

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INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY COURSE

• Overview (www.psychology.ilstu.edu/mjsteven/PSY3
  26.html)
• This course entails reading, discussing, and
  writing about a variety of contemporary topics in
  the relatively new specialty of international
  psychology. Students examine mainstream as well
  as alternative theoretical, methodological, and
  applied approaches that are relevant to the study
  and practice of international psychology. The
  topics selected offer a broad and deep
  understanding of this field, specifically, an
  appreciation of psychologys relevance to the
  understanding and solution of global problems, as
  well as of how psychology itself is affected by
  events and cultures around the world.

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INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY COURSE

• Goals - specific competencies
• Knowledge of the history, current status, and
  future of international
• psychology
• Ability to evaluate the appropriateness of
  mainstream psychological
• theory, research, and practices to global events
  and phenomena
• 3. Familiarity with alternative models, methods,
  and interventions that are rooted in cultural and
  historical contexts and their relevance to global
  events and phenomena
• Sensitivity to how global events impact the
  psychosocial and
• sociocultural realities of diverse populations
• 5. Understanding the education and training
  requirements for a career in international
  psychology

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INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY COURSE

• Interdisciplinary readings on transnational
  topics
• History and scope of international psychology
• Western psychology and its limitations
• Alternative models, methodologies, and ethical
  practice
• The indigenization of psychology
• Psychology in other countries
• Intergroup conflict and peace-building
• Societal transformation and national development
• Threats to the natural environment
• Physical and mental health worldwide
• Special topics globalization
• Special topics - terrorism
• Special populations women
• Special populations children, adolescents, the
  elderly
• Special populations migrants / refugees, the
  poor
• Education and professional training

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INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY COURSE

• Group project
• The project entails locating the web site of a
  scientific or professional psychology association
  that is global (e.g., IAAP, IUPsyS) regional
  (e.g., EFPA, SIP), or national (e.g., APA,
  Romanian Psychologists Association) or a global
  policy-making or NGO organization (e.g., UN,
  Carter Center). The goal of the project is to
  produce an oral and written report, which should
  have two parts (1) a description of how the
  psychology association or organization is
  addressing global issues or problems that have a
  psychological dimension, and (2) recommendations
  for how that association or organization can
  improve the impact and scope of its global
  mission and activities. Reports should include
  Internet links and references. Each group member
  is to share equally in planning, implementing,
  and preparing the report.

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INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY COURSE

• Extra Credit
• Extra credit may be earned by attending the
  International Studies Seminar Series, which takes
  place on Wednesdays from 12-1 pm in Stevenson
  401 it is open to the public and includes a free
  lunch. Alternatively, you may attend the Global
  Review weekly forum where each week a different
  speaker or discussion panel will present
  perspectives on a current international or global
  issue. The forum is typically held on Thursday
  nights from 7-9 pm in the Atkin-Colby residence
  hall. Turn in a one-page, typed, double-spaced
  summary of each seminar or forum attended.
  Two-thirds of the summary should capture the main
  points of the seminar or forum, whereas the
  remainder should include thoughtful reactions,
  including how the topic relates to psychological
  material covered in the course.

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INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY COURSE

• Other learning activities
• Use of Internet-based technologies (IBTs) in
  teaching and
• learning psychology allows for the
  co-construction of
• psychological meaning and the sharing of
  knowledge and
• Experience in other words, IBTs are a means of
  teaching students how to work global, yet think
  locally
• Useful Web 2.0 technologies
• Publish and disseminate information (e.g.,
  Blogs, RSS feeds)
• Build networks and communities (e.g., MySpace,
  discussion forums)
• Collaborate with others (e.g., Wikipedia)
• Share webcasts and podcasts (e.g., YouTube,
  Google video)

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INTERNATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY COURSE

• Discussion Board
• 1. Post an introductory statement on your
  wikipage
• 2. Read about anxiety, mood, and eating
  disorders on links
• provided on the course wikipage and indicate
  which disorder you will concentrate on
• 3. Post on your wikipage
• A. What dynamics contribute to the disorder you
  picked from a Western perspective?
• B. What dynamics contribute to disorder you
  picked from a
• non-Western perspective?
• 4. Post on your wikipage what you discovered
  about Western and
• non-Western implications for treatment and the
  role of gender, race
• and SES in the disorder

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THE TASK AHEAD

• Broad, sustained, and systematic efforts are
  needed to
• Conceptualize, develop, and overcome resistance
  to a
• model core curriculum of required and elective
  coursework, supervised field experience, and
  extracurricular opportunities
• Intradisciplinary utilization
• Extradisciplinary borrowing
• Innovative additions (overlooked specialties,
  advocacy)
• Infusion of international content (theory,
  research, ethics)
• Nontraditional pedagogies (Internet-based
  techniques)
• Study abroad (field studies, internships)
• 2. Design and apply methodologies to evaluate
  the goals and outcomes of an internationalized
  psychology curriculum