I read your message of Feb. 24th with interest and dismay. It sounds as if
you really experienced the seamy underside of the science/education hydra!
Who exactly are these PCP fascists who dominate and intimidate others in the
field?
I am one notch below novice in the hierarchy of PCP knowledge and practice.
I am in the dissertation phase of my Ph.D. at the University of Connecticut,
working in the field of Adult Learning. My doctoral research project asks
the question: What are the main factors responsible for college success
among those students from diverse cultural populations? By identifying
determinants of success in the most vulnerable students, we may be able to
expand and build upon that foundation to help all sorts of other students.
Although I am using a mail-in questionnaire to collect my data (which I will
correlate with grade point average and number of semesters completed), I am
toying with the idea of using rep grids to supplement the data base.
Perhaps a small sample of very successful students (say, 20 or so) could
enrich my analysis.
One of the factors that seems to operate among non-traditional students and
those from minority popluations is the notion that there is a more-or-less
organised effort to supress the progress of certain students -- particularly
those who are not "compliant." In general, this certainly has been my
experience in state service, where I have toiled for more than 22 years.
Any attempt to use logic or emperical data to support a view or hypothesis
is often met with hostility (both the overt and the sneaky type!). A
colleague explained to me that the content of my argument is irrelevant,
since ANY argument calls into question the explicit "expertise" of the
person(s) who hold power. Compliance, not logic, is the name of the game.
Do you believe that your rather unpleasant experience at UF was an isolated
case, or do see this sort of thing going on at many universities and
colleges? Also, do you think that PCP is particularly suseptible to this
kind of unethical/illegal bullying, or is it just one of many disciplines
infected with people who play these "low games?"
In any event, I do hope that your present circumstance is better. In my
work with retarded adults I have come to see "intelligence" as essentially
unrelated to aspects of human nature that truly make us human. Perhaps
after I earn my degree I can learn more about PCP and apply it to people
with various disabilities. Any thoughts you have on this would be appreciated.
John Cubeta
Dept. Mental Retardation in CT
Ph.D. candidate UConn
John Cubeta (jcubeta@connix.com)
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