An Ecological Approach to Experiential Learning in an Inner‐City Context

Abstract

In-depth, qualitative interviewing was employed to describe processes and competencies experienced by family science interns, who practiced in a high-risk ecological context. Twenty interns from a 3-year period were recruited. All had interned on the same federally funded, HIV/substance abuse prevention grant in the same focal city. Within this sample, it was determined that experiential learning-vis-a-vis the internship-facilitated both intrapersonal processes and ecological competencies for family science interns, who may otherwise have lacked this knowledge when assuming professional roles. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Getting Ready for Community Practice: An Evidence‐Based Preparation Course for Kenyan Practicum Students

“…Students also reported a sense of greater confidence in being able to interact successfully with unfamiliar, disenfranchised populations in the community, a finding corroborated by Garcia‐Reid et al. (). Other research found that students involved in practicums took greater autonomy over their learning (Hardwick, ); this was true for students in this study.…”

Understanding How Family Science Interns Conceptualize Social Justice

“…These field opportunities should inspire the development of positive professional attitudes and careers rooted in sound ethical practice (Adams et al., ). This study was part of a larger federally sponsored university‐community initiative, in which undergraduate family science interns from a large public university in the northeastern United States were provided intensive training on the delivery of substance abuse and HIV/AIDS services targeting African American and Latino youth residing in an economically “at‐risk” urban community (Garcia‐Reid et al., ; Reid & Garcia‐Reid, ; Reid, Yu, & Garcia‐Reid, ; Reid et al., ).…”

“…This study examined social justice and its link to the HDFS internship site. Through the delivery of evidence‐based prevention curricula, gaining knowledge of individual‐, family‐, and community‐level needs, identifying resources and capacity for systemic change, and emphasizing linkages within the focal community, the interns are assumed to have encountered issues of social justice that they would not have otherwise encountered in a traditional classroom environment (Garcia‐Reid et al., ).…”

“…In fact, experiential learning seems to be one of the most critical components of successful social justice education (Garcia‐Reid, Reid, & Forenza, ; Moy et al., ). In Moy et al.…”

Knowledge transfer and teaching public administration

“…According to Garcia-Reid (2014) internships and/or projects help foster people to people relationships within intercity school populations, providing skills which they would otherwise not carry to the workplace. Academy students have been placed in a number of internships.…”