Summer Schools

APPLY NOW FOR THE 2010 SUMMER SCHOOL OF THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE (EARA) AND THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE (SRA)

Summer Schools are training grounds for young scholars interested in adolescent development. The 2010 summer school will be held in Örebro, Sweden. The summer school is jointly sponsored by EARA and SRA, and will be held between June 22nd and June 26th.

Imagine having 5 days of interacting with the best doctoral students in Europe and in North America, and some of the best adolescent researchers. Imagine doing it in a relaxed atmosphere with good food and 23 three hours per day of magical Nordic daylight. This is what you will experience at the 2010 summer school in Örebro, Sweden. The summer school is jointly sponsored by EARA and SRA, and will be held between June 22nd and June 26th. It is funded by the Jacobs Foundation. Some of the senior researchers who will be participating in the Örebro summer school are Gian Vittorio Caprara, Nancy Darling, Rutger Engels, Constance Flanagan, Sandra Graham, Brett Laursen, Ann Masten, and Debra Pepler.

The ÖREBRO Summer School
The Summer School will cover 5 working days and will offer three types of educational experiences to the doctoral students attending. Specifically, students will:
- learn about different content areas of adolescent research.
Each of 10 leading senior researchers will give a presentation in his or her area of expertise. Senior researchers are selected to represent diverse areas of research on adolescents.        
- receive feedback and advice about their own research.
Students will present their own dissertation research and receive feedback from senior researchers and other students. Counseling will be adjusted to the specific needs of the students involved. The daily work, meals, and recreation schedule will be planned to allow maximum interaction between students and senior researchers.  
- take part in a methodology workshop, and get methodological advice about their research.

Students who are members of EARA or SRA are eligible to apply. A total of 24 doctoral students will be selected. Selection will be based on applicants’ academic records, research experience, letters of recommendation, and overall evidence of scientific aptitude and competence. We will also aim to have the different regions of Europe and the Americas represented. Students will receive travel subsidies and accommodations at Örebro will be free.

Perhaps you already know this, but June 25 is the Swedish Midsummer day. Then nine of ten people in this country dance around the Midsummer Pole. Children and adults dance. The most common song is one about small frogs. As one social event, the entire summer school will take part in a traditional Swedish Midsummer celebration. This might be one of the very rare opportunities in your life when you can practice the small frogs dance around the pole. Don’t miss this.

How do you apply?
Include the following:
1. your curriculum vitae
2.a short description of your dissertation topic and progress so far (1-2 pages double spaced).
Students must have dissertation planning or work underway
3. a recommendation letter from your supervisor. The supervisor should send the letter directly to Håkan Stattin or Margaret Kerr (hakan.stattin@oru.se or margaret.kerr@oru.se; letter as an attachment to their email).

Send this information before March 30, 2010 to our email addresses. The applicants will be evaluated by two senior members of EARA and SRA. Notification of acceptance will be given April 9th, 2009.

Background 

EARA seeks to organize Research Schools, that is, summer schools and pre-conference doctoral training, as often as possible. Specifically, at these schools, students will:

• Learn about different content areas of adolescent research. Senior researchers will give presentations in their own area of expertise. The senior researchers will be selected to represent diverse areas of adolescent research.
• Receive feedback on their own research. Students will present their own dissertation research and receive feedback from the senior researchers and other students.
• Receive advisement from senior researchers. Students will meet with senior researchers one-on-one and in groups for mentoring sessions.

The Summer Schools are financed by the Jacobs Foundation (www.jacobsfoundation.org).

The first EARA Summer School, organised by the former EARA president, Monique Bolognini, took place in July 2001 near Lake Geneva in Switzerland and was a great success. Sixteen Ph.D. students participated and among the teachers were Lawrence Steinberg, Håkan Stattin, Margaret Kerr, Jari-Erik Nurmi, Bruna Zani and Peter Noack, to name a few.

The second EARA Summer School took place in July 2003 at the Marbach castle, in Germany, during the period July 20 -26, 2003. Eightteen Ph.D. students participated (among which four from the United States) and the presenters/mentors were Jacquelynne Eccles, Rutger Engels, Alexander von Eye, Luc Goossens, Leo Hendry, Marion Kloep, and Rainer Silbereisen.

The third 2006 EARA Summer School was a three-day event just in Belek-Antalya, Turkey before the EARA Conference in Antalya. 21 students from Europe and the USA participated. Among the teachers were Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, B. Bradford Brown, Luc Goossens, Margaret Kerr, Peter Noack, HåKan Stattin, Judy Smetana, and Elisabeth J. Susman.

Since 2008, the summer schools are jointly organized by EARA and the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA), allowing us to hold summer schools more frequently.

The fourth EARA Summer School took place May 4-6, 2008, before the EARA Conference in Torino, Italy. EARA and the Society for Research on Adolescence (SRA) co-organized this Summer School. There were 13 European participants and another 12 students from North America, Brazil, and Kenya. The seniors were Rutger Engels and Wim Meeus from the Netherlands, Inge Seiffge-Krenke from Germany, Lauree Tilton-Weaver from Sweden, Marlene Moretti from Canada, Avi Assor from Israel, and Brian Barber, Stephen Russel, and Donna Spruit-Metz from the United States.

In 2009, a summer school co-organized by SRA and EARA took place in Canada at The University of British Columbia (Point Grey campus in Vancouver), June 1^st to June 6^th, 2009. Some of the senior presenters were Xiaojia Ge, Reed Larson, Margaret Kerr, Shelley Hymel, and Lisa Diamond.