Visiting Expert:  Dr. Kathleen de Marrais

By Teresa Huyak

The ARM Project hosted its first “Visiting Expert Event” on October 29, 2007.  Dr. Kathleen de Marrais is the Associate Dean for Academic Programs and a faculty member of the Interdisciplinary Qualitative Studies Graduate Certificate Program at the University of Georgia. 

The three day visit included a public talk co-hosted by the ARM Project and the University of Akron’s Institute for Teaching and Learning.  Additionally, Dr. de Marrais consulted with the ARM Project directors on curriculum development and ARM Project goals and organization.  She also met individually with faculty and students to discuss their own research projects and how to most effectively utilize qualitative and bridging methods in their work.

Dr. de Marrais’ public talk was entitled “Preparing Qualitative Researchers:  Reflections on Where We’ve Been, Where We Are, and Where We Could Be Going.”  During the talk, Dr. de Marrais presented material on the current state of qualitative research curricula, and how they might be improved.  This portion of the presentation was particularly informative given that one of the three main goals of the ARM Project is to develop undergraduate and graduate certificate programs in Qualitative Methods.  Specifically, Dr. de Marrais touched on topics that included:  how best to improve the state of qualitative research beginning with student training; how best to structure courses and course work to better prepare qualitative researchers; and finally, how to make qualitative research more accessible to the general public in order to promote continued qualitative research.