Worlds collide in educational psychology
Two professors and Fulbright Scholars from different parts of the world have frequently found themselves in the same place at the same time.
Sherri McCarthy, an associate professor of educational psychology at Northern Arizona University-Yuma, and Natalia Parnyuk, an English and educational psychology teacher in St. Petersburg, Russia, met long before Parnyuk came to Yuma as a Fulbright Scholar.
They first met in St. Petersburg in 2002 at a conference bringing together educational psychology professors from around the world.
"I was very interested in her research," McCarthy said of Parnyuk.
Parnyuk had been working on her dissertation on what qualities, from the students' perspective, make a good teacher.
They began doing cross-cultural work together looking at the differences and similarities of what students think makes a good teacher in Russia, compared to students in the United States.
"From the perception of students, their favorite teacher in both countries are similar," Parnyuk said.
Students in Russia and America, Parnyuk said, are more likely to respond to personal characteristics in teachers, such as those that are kind and have a sense of humor.
"Professional characteristics are on the back level - not important," Parnyuk said. "They see in teachers a person, a friend, first of all."
The following year, McCarthy went on sabbatical to Brazil, and while there she was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Russia - a combination research and teaching fellowship that would take her to Leningrad and Vologda.
"I fell in love with Russia," McCarthy said. "It's a wonderful culture, a great experience."
Now Parnyuk has been awarded a Fulbright to come to NAU-Yuma. She arrived in October and will stay through February, studying educational methodology in the United States and guest lecturing on the differences between the cultures and educational systems in the U.S. and Russia.
The educational systems in the two countries are different from the very beginning, Parnyuk said.
McCarthy said she was very impressed with early-intervention strategies used in Russia to identify special-needs students as young as age 2; however most students don't begin school until age 6 or 7. This is why Parnyuk's son Ivan is 9 years old and in the third grade.
McCarthy said the Russian curriculum is more rigorous and students accomplish more.
At the college level, Parnyuk said she was surprised that, in the United States, there are students of so many ages.
"In Russia, you enter at 17 years old," she said. "When you're 22, you have your diploma of higher education and can enter (school for a) graduate degree. A lot of people I know at 25 have a doctoral degree."
Parnyuk is disappointed that the Russian education system seems to be moving toward a more European form of education.
Under the current system, students as young as middle and high school enter programs catered to their area of interest, such as math or language-oriented curriculums.
The grading system is also different as the students' marks are all posted. In the United States, teachers are not allowed to post students' grades if the students can be identified.
Parnyuk said the Russian system may make the students a little bit more competitive.
"The study skills are very good, very motivating," McCarthy said.
On the flip side, teachers in the United states have far more resources, McCarthy said.
"I will never have an office for me only," Parnyuk said. Many times, several people share a small office with one computer, she said, and professors find it more convenient to work from home when they are not in the classroom.
Parnyuk's fellowship at NAU-Yuma marks her first trip to the United States, and she is enjoying the diversity of cultures and the diverse landscape.
"It's some kind of geological phenomena," Parnyuk said. "From Sedona to the Grand Canyon, it changes so rapidly."
Parnyuk has also found the people here to be very warm and friendly. She considers the faculty her family, and McCarthy - "She's my angel," Parnyuk said.
