TRC Training, Professional Development, and Networking Opportunities
The TRC supports training, professional developmental, and a national network of AIAN early childhood researchers, practitioners, and other individuals invested in the health and well-being of young Native children and families through the following:
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The TRC’s Summer Institute Course, entitled Early Childhood Research with Tribal Communities, is offered in collaboration with TRC partners at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for Indigenous Health. Since 2013, and biennially since, the TRC has offered the 2-credit graduate course (#221.665.11), with 30-40 students from Tribal communities and programs across the country attending each session. A subset of students receive competitively-awarded tuition and travel support through TRC scholarships, as well as additional mentoring and networking support. Course faculty include TRC Leadership Team members and others from the broader TRC partnership network, including at least one TRC Steering Committee member who serves as a core and/or guest faculty. Topics and readings covered in the 2021 Summer Institute can be seen in the course syllabus. For more
information about the TRC Summer Institute, contact Ms. Chelsea Wesner. In collaboration with TRC partners at the Brazelton Touchpoints Center, the TRC hosts periodic Virtual Learning Circles. Virtual Learning Circles center on a topic of interest, using readings to spur conversation and reflection and inviting special guests to deepen the group’s learning and connection to the content. Learning Circles have focused on:
- Indigenous Research Methodologies: See the reading list and questions explored by attendance in our Participant Guide
- Land-based Learning
- Food Sovereignty in Early Childhood
- Indigenous Language and Culture in Early Childhood Practice
- Indigenous Approaches to Building Early Childhood Curricula, Learning while Implementing, and Assessing Progress in Tribal Head Start Programs
Recordings for several learning circle webinar sessions are available on our Publications and Resources page. For more information on the TRC Virtual Learning Circles, contact Dr. Josh Sparrow.
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The Native Children’s Research Exchange (NCRE) Conference and Network were established in 2008 with funding from the Society for Research in Child Development. Continuation and subsequent growth of NCRE activities have been supported by funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and with TRC resources. Conferences were hosted annually from 2008 to 2017 and biennially thereafter. In lieu of a 2021 conference, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a small NCRE Working Group convened virtually and developed a conceptual framework to highlight the challenges and opportunities with respect to preventing and addressing substance use and disorder in the lives of Native children, particularly considering the events of 2020 and beyond, including the COVID-19 pandemic, social upheaval, and an ongoing drug epidemic. A subsequent special issue of the journal Adversity and Resilience Science was also developed, which a publication from the NCRE Working Group convening.
More information on the NCRE Conference and network, including past conference themes and agendas can be found on the NCRE website. To be added to the NCRE listserv and receive updates on the conference and other opportunities relevant to research on Native child and family health and well-being, contact Dr. Michelle Sarche.