EDUCATION IN PARAPSYCHOLOGY:

CONTEXT, PROBLEMS, NEEDS

Nancy L. Zingrone, PhDThe AZIRERhine Education Center

THE AVAILABILITY OF UNIVERSITY-BASED EDUCATION 1983

66 universities and colleges had at least one course, some had faculty mentors, a couple had masters and doctorates*

Examples: University of Edinburgh Saybrook Institute University of California-Davis John F. Kennedy University University of Freiburg

*ASPR (1983) Courses and Study Opportunities in Parapsychology (9th Edition). New York, NY: ASPR.

2011

43 universities and colleges, fewer single courses, more faculty mentors, more masters and doctoral possibilities*

Examples: University of Northampton University of Edinburgh Saybrook University University of Freiburg University of São Paulo

*Zingrone, N. L. (2011). Petition to submit a proposal for a Masters of Arts in parapsychology. Unpublished document. Virginia Beach, VA: Atlantic University.

THE GOOD NEWS & THE BAD NEWS Good News

There are more universities with concentrations of students interested in similar topics

There are more faculty mentors able to supervise a dissertation or thesis within another discipline’s department

There are more online libraries, online courses, online lectures / conference presentations available for independent study in the field

Bad News

Within university-based programs there are single or a minimal sequences of courses that acquaint students with the history, literature, institutions and people in the field itself

Students are likely to graduate with a deep knowledge in the field in which their degree is taken (psychology, anthropology, sociology, etc.) and a narrow education in parapsychology

Proficiency in the field itself requires a commitment to self-education

Illustration retrieved from: http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2010/02/24/self-education-failings/

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? The knowledge of the field itself is extremely variable

among students and researchers.

Even for the students who are in a “program” the amount of education they receive in the field proper is usually limited to 1-3 courses.

There is NO standardized curriculum in the field available even to those committed to self-education

Consequences include: Assumptions of being on the same page, when we are really not Knowledge derived from research of earlier eras often completely lost A continual reinvention of the wheel

HOW DO WE FIX THIS?Support the adult education programs where

they exist

Support institutions and their efforts to put their video/written materials online:

On individual authors’ websites

On institutional websites

On YouTube channels (where is the PA YouTube Channel?) such as Parapsychology Online, the Rhine Research Center, SSETalks etc

Support online libraries in the field like Lexscien so that journal titles can be expanded and income can help work to bring holdings up-to-date

Create an environment in which you encourage students to know the field as well as they know their narrow area