- East Tennessee State University (ETSU), Johnson City, TN (US lead institution)
- University of Northern Iowa (UNI), Cedar Falls, IA (coordinating university)
- Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil lead institution)
- Universidade de São Paulo- Baurú (USP), Baurú, São Paulo (coordinating university)
This international collaboration will provide mentored research experience to US and Brazilian students in the analysis of published studies, integration of results across studies as part of a research synthesis, and in designing and conducting research. Research modules that map out a programmatic line of investigation will be created to engage students in the interaction among faculty and students from each university early in the training process and continue prior, during and after the exchange. This research experience will not only train students in research methodology, but will also provide a context for them to learn the social and cultural differences that impact service delivery, as well as how to assess the impact of communication disabilities within the framework of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health: Children and Youth (WHO; ICF-CY).
In addition to research mentorship, students will have the opportunity to participate in the delivery of clinical services in both urban hospital and university clinical settings in the US and Brazil. These experiences will provide them opportunities to learn the social and cultural differences that exist in the US and Brazil in working with families from an ecological model of child development, and to assess the impact of communication disabilities within the sociocultural contexts of families and communities that exist in the two countries.
