A Village, an Intern, Two Professors, and a Chief: Developing a Field Practicum within the Traditional Chieftaincy Structure of a Rural Village in Ghana

Authors

  • Dorie J. Gilbert Dorie J. Gilbert, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Social Work and African and African Diaspora Studies and founding director of the Institute for Community Development at the University of Texas at Austin (512-471-8229; dgm@mail.utexas.edu).
  • Tim Bailey Tim Bailey is Integrated Community Development Programs Coordinator, A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, Austin, Texas, and an affiliate of the Institute for Community Development, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin (512-965-1780; wtbailey@gmail.com).
  • Peter Dwumah Peter Dwumah is Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana (+233-051-62088; pierood@yahoo.com).

Abstract

Increasingly, students are completing field assignments abroad, and thus schools are challenged to establish international placements that will build culturally-grounded skillsets with appropriate structure and supervision. In this paper, the first author reflects on how a rural, village setting and its centuries-old chieftaincy system in Ghana, West Africa, gave new meaning to establishing an international field practicum.

Author Biographies

Dorie J. Gilbert, Dorie J. Gilbert, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Social Work and African and African Diaspora Studies and founding director of the Institute for Community Development at the University of Texas at Austin (512-471-8229; dgm@mail.utexas.edu).

Dorie J. Gilbert, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Social Work and African and African Diaspora Studies and founding director of the Institute for Community Development at the University of Texas at Austin (512-471-8229; dgm@mail.utexas.edu).

Tim Bailey, Tim Bailey is Integrated Community Development Programs Coordinator, A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, Austin, Texas, and an affiliate of the Institute for Community Development, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin (512-965-1780; wtbailey@gmail.com).

Tim Bailey is Integrated Community Development Programs Coordinator, A Glimmer of Hope Foundation, Austin, Texas, and an affiliate of the Institute for Community Development, School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin (512-965-1780; wtbailey@gmail.com).

Peter Dwumah, Peter Dwumah is Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana (+233-051-62088; pierood@yahoo.com).

Peter Dwumah is Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi, Ghana (+233-051-62088;
pierood@yahoo.com).

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Published

2013-10-09

How to Cite

Gilbert, D. J., Bailey, T., & Dwumah, P. (2013). A Village, an Intern, Two Professors, and a Chief: Developing a Field Practicum within the Traditional Chieftaincy Structure of a Rural Village in Ghana. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 18(2), 64–68. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/129

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 2 (2012): Special Issue: Field Education (Published October 2013 as the first Issue Published by Cleveland State University)

Section

Practicum Education

License

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