May 23, 2012
St. John’s University students and faculty from the
department of psychology traveled to Vietnam to discuss issues in
early childhood education,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 traveling to Hanoi where
they will spend a week working with various educational and
hospital settings in the north of Vietnam.