• Jerika J. •
• Summer in Ghana
  •
• Ph.D. in Comparative and International Development Education

Jerika is completing her Ph.D. in comparative and international development education. She took a summer to explore the development initiatives taking place in Ghana through an internship establishing girls' clubs in a small town called Asamankese.

Although Jerika had studied abroad twice before, in Zimbabwe and Costa Rica, her experience in Ghana was unique in that she was conducting research and working in the field. "I think the expectation of people there, because you are a graduate student, is different." She was expected to communicate with locals and representatives of Ghana Education Service, write professional reports, and develop a working plan for her efforts with the girls' clubs.

The opportunity to work with education programs for girls gave Jerika experience in educational administration in developing countries. She guided the creation of clubs that help girls to stay in school and build academic and social skills. "It definitely diversified my experience," she said. Through her internship, Jerika recognized that the integrated classroom was her true research interest. "I realized that I gained more satisfaction being able to work with both male and female child students. It was eye opening in that way." Jerika now hopes to expand her knowledge of Africa by conducting research in South Africa, and keeping the continent as the focus for her dissertation.

Jerika recently participated in the Comparative and International Education Society annual conference, where she presented her experience in Ghana to her peers. "Our Ghana experience gave us something to write about that was really timely, especially with girls' education being so big. My colleague and I were doing the groundwork and the fieldwork, but then to be able to transfer it and take it into a professional environment, I think that was very beneficial to our overall skill building."

Jerika found that her time in Ghana has also enriched her work as an elementary educator. "My knowledge has expanded. For a lot of African American kids that I work with, they feel like Africa is so far away. They don’t really feel that connection. So, it’s nice for me to be able to show pictures and say, 'Hey, these kids are doing the same thing as you,' or 'When I was in Ghana…,' or 'Here’s a game that we played,' that’s been really fun."