Planning for an American Indian Child Development Center

美国印第安人儿童发展中心的规划约瑟夫·M·怀特和贝弗利·R·金·埃夫茨在南达科他州立大学布鲁金斯分校校园内建立美国印第安人儿童发展中心的计划将从一个为期两天的研讨会开始，旨在解决几个问题。讲习班将有助于制定一项具体的任务和一套狭义的研究目标。目前，SDSU中心的目的是从不同层次的分析(例如，个人、家庭和社区)和环境(例如，种族、文化)中确定影响美洲印第安人儿童积极发展的因素。这些影响可能与多数派文化相同，也可能不同。需要对这一问题有更深入的了解，以便利用这些信息帮助美国印第安人儿童及其家庭了解儿童时期发展的功能路径。讲习班计划的活动包括从生命历程的角度进行培训，这既是指导未来研究的理论，也是设计对美国印第安人儿童发展的多重影响敏感的方法。这将包括参与确定研究问题和潜在项目的选定教员。虽然这项工作的大部分工作将在此之前通过初步通信完成，但第一次上午会议的目的是审查和完善研究问题和随后的框架。下午的会议将向广大学术界开放，以接受关于生命历程观点和在这一框架内开展工作的方法的培训。预计规模较小的分组将探索与这一范式相关的问题。然后，小组将再次开会，结束当天的活动，并允许顾问回答任何最后的问题。研讨会的第二天将包括来自当地部落和社区的美国印第安人代表进行的更有针对性的培训。他们将被要求分享关于他们对儿童的信仰、理解和实践的陈述。较小的分组会议将在午餐前进行，并在午餐后恢复。各小组将再次召开会议，收集信息并提出结论意见。部落社区的意见将对最终确定研究问题和议程至关重要。研究合作者将举行几次后续会议，审查从研讨会收集的信息，并将其纳入研讨会前制定的最初一套具体研究问题。然后，这些信息将被用来制定一个更连贯、更有针对性的中心发展建议。最后，在研讨会之后的某个时间参观几个现有的美洲印第安人中心将是非常宝贵的。这些访问可能有助于确定一个专注于美国印第安人儿童发展的中心可能发挥作用的方式，以及如何促进具体的研究问题和后续项目。

AbstractPlanning for an American Indian Child Development CenterJoseph M. White & Beverly R. KingEfforts to develop an American Indian Child Development Center on the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD, will begin with a two day workshop designed to address several issues. The workshop will help in the development of a specific mission and a set of narrowly defined research objectives. At present the purposes of a Center at SDSU would be to identify factors that influence positive development from different levels of analysis (e.g., individuals, families, and communities) and context (e.g., ethnicity, culture) among American Indian children. These influences may or may not be the same as the majority culture. Further insight into this issue is needed in order to use this information to assist American Indian children and their families in the process of understanding functional pathways to development across childhood.Activities planned for the workshop include training in the life course perspective, both in terms of a theory to guide future research and in terms of designing methodologies that will be sensitive to multiple influences on American Indian child development. This will include selected faculty involved in defining the research questions and potential projects. Although much of this work will have been done prior to this time via preliminary correspondence, this initial morning session will be designed to review and refine the research questions and ensuing framework. The afternoon session will be open to the academic community at large to receive training on the life course perspective and the methodology used to work within this framework. Smaller breakout groups are anticipated to explore issues related to this paradigm. Groups will then reconvene to conclude the day's activities and to allow the consultants to respond to any final questions.The second day of the workshop will include a more focused level of training from American Indian representatives from local tribes and communities. They will be asked to share presentations about their beliefs, understanding, and practice relative to children. Smaller breakout sessions will occur prior to lunch and resume after lunch. Groups will again reconvene to pull information together and provide concluding comments. Input from the tribal communities will be critical to finalizing the research questions and agenda.Research collaborators will have several follow-up meetings to review the information gleaned from the workshop and integrate it into the original set of specific research questions that were developed prior to the workshop. This information will then be used to develop a more coherent and focused proposal for the development of a center. Finally, visits to a few existing American Indian Centers sometime following the workshops will be invaluable. The visits may help identify ways in which a center focused on American Indian Child Development might function and how the specific research questions and ensuing projects may be facilitated.