The Research Project: Cognitive Function of Socioeconomically Deprived Adolescents (Funciones Cognitivas de Adolescentes Socioeconómicamente Desfavorecidos)

This is a research project that I’ve been working on for about a year, in fact it has taken up a lot of my time. The idea is to look at cognitive function, e.g. IQ, reasoning and social-cognition in a sample of youths that would be described as ‘street children’. It is a progression from my research in the UK into cognitive function in homeless adults, e.g. this and this. I’m using the term street children cautiously, as it is a little out of vogue these days to refer to them as such, when in reality they are characterised by a huge spectrum of different social and economic problems. Nevertheless, UNICEF has a definition of street child, and this is what we have used:

“any girl or boy who has not reached adulthood, for whom the street (in the broadest sense of the word, including unoccupied dwellings, wasteland, etc.) has become her or his habitual abode and/or sources of livelihood, and who is inadequately protected, supervised or directed by responsible adults”.

In fact, the problem of poor children living in the streets is very typical of developing countries, including Ecuador. It is estimated that tens of millions of children live in the streets worldwide, about 7 million of whom are in Latin America. A distinction is often made between children of the street and children in the street. The former are literally homeless and the latter have a place to live but make their living in the urban public environment. The situation in Ecuador is mainly of children in the street, and they are not as conspicuously poor as the roofless and homeless children of the street seen in other Latin American countries.  In many countries they are seen as vermin and are frequently victims of violence. Sometimes killed by vigilantes or even rogue police officers. Though things are not so extreme here in Ecuador.

Most street children in Ecuador are working,
e.g. selling newspapers or fruit to motorists

or traipsing around bars at night selling, e.g. chewing gum

Our aim in the research is to test two hypotheses. Firstly, children in Quito who match the UNICEF definition will report high levels of post traumatic stress disorder, and this will be associated with lower cognitive function, i.e. indicating that trauma may have slowed cognitive development. Secondly, and on a more positive note, we have hypothesised that as they have to survive in a hostile environment, they may have developed better than would be expected skills for social cognition, such as reading emotions in peoples’ faces. This second hypothesis is of particular interest as it may challenge stereotypes. Better than normal skills in such populations are possible. Studies performed with Brazilian youths that work in the streets have demonstrated exceptional mathematical ability, because, despite their lack of formal education, they need maths to trade. 

Yesterday the data collection with the children started. We did 4 interviews, well my students did. My Spanish isn’t good enough so I’m relying on my student volunteers; Vicky, Sofia and Daniel. Most of the children we are interviewing are not currently street children; they would be too difficult to access. Instead we have developed a collaboration with a catholic project in South Quito for poor children considered at risk. The name of the charity is ‘Su Cambio por el Cambio’, and they do fantastic work with about 300 children who would have few options in life otherwise. The project provides all day services; breakfast, lunch, sports classes in the mornings and formal and practical education in the afternoons. The ones we are interviewing over the next few weeks are those that fulfilled the UNICEF definition before coming to ‘Proyecto Social Su Cambio por el Cambio’. They are pretty well-behaved and incredibly friendly; the young ones often come over for hugs. 

We are interviewing 40 of the children, and will also be interviewing 20 not at risk children from a local school, as the comparison group. This type of research takes a long time to plan. That is why after a year we have only just begun data collection. First of all we tried to get funding, unsuccessfully, from the International Neuropsychology Fellowship Fund of the British Psychological Society (I’m sure the projects they chose to fund are much better and deserving). Then we had to gain ethics committee approval. This is never easy and doubly difficult when you wish to research a vulnerable group, as we did. In fact our group are doubly vulnerable, as the committee pointed out, both very poor and children. Funding and ethics applications add months of bureaucracy and paperwork. Though I might add, that Comité de Bioetica de Universidad de San Francisco where the most efficient and helpful that I’ve ever dealt with.  This was something of a godsend as I was struggling to provide the necessary documentation, much of it in Spanish.

So now the project is underway. Academic research is not common in this country, but it is possible. Hopefully much of the data collection can be completed before I leave Ecuador. If not, my students are gaining valuable experience, and will be able to continue after I leave.

Many thanks to ‘Proyecto Social Su Cambio por el Cambio’ who have been extraordinarily cooperative with this, despite having more important things to do.

Teaching English (and Psychology, in English) in Ecuador

I arrived in Ecuador in July 2010, with a somewhat vague idea of working as a teacher. Nineteen months later, I've trained as a teacher, taught at two universities, two language institutes and now stopped teaching. Stopped teaching here in Quito that is. I'm now preparing to move to Tokyo, to take up a lectureship at Chuo University.

Finding work as an English teacher in Ecuador isn’t difficult; there is a constant need for native speakers. But the conditions and pay will vary greatly. Backpackers turning up with little experience may receive as little as $5 per hour working at language institutes. The hours will be long but not too taxing, big employers here are English First and Wall Street. Those with teaching experience, or just the knowhow to find better jobs, could earn up to $20 per hour (e.g. at UDLA). I worked, for a while, at Southern Cross who employ only people with a CELTA qualification, their pay is somewhat better than other language institutes, but still less than the ‘real jobs’ in, e.g., universities and international schools.

Southern Cross also runs the most exotic CELTA training programme. CELTA is the Certificate in Language Teaching to Adults, awarded by the University of Cambridge. It is an entry level training course, usually over four weeks. The Ecuadorian one is different, it is taught on a pacific beach. All things considered, it is probably cheaper than ones taught in European or North American cities. I did the Southern Cross beach CELTA and they hired me to teach shortly afterwards. I didn’t even ask for a job, I was just asked to pop in and then given a schedule (starting in two hours). But then I never left either. They just stopped giving me schedules. This is the issue with language institutes, they are inherently flaky.

I never really wanted any language institute work anyway. My plan all along was to work in universities, as this is what I’d done all my life in the UK (I'm a research psychologist). I was hired fairly quickly to teach English at Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ). But what you find with the universities in Ecuador is that they don’t like to take people on full-time, so multiple part-time positions are the norm.

Me with psychology students at USFQ

I was also able to get part-time psychology teaching work at USFQ. In fact, they were very friendly and accommodating, and ran two courses especially for me to teach, in English: ‘Health Psychology’ and ‘Depression’. USFQ is possibly the only university in the country with enough English speaking students to make this possible. I could have taught elsewhere easily, if I could have taught in Spanish. People with PhDs here are quite rare and sought after. However, if you don't speak Spanish well, opportunities  are limited, though one other option for English speaking psychologists (or linguists) is teaching on ‘Applied Linguistics’ courses. These are really just training courses for Ecuadorians who want to teach English professionally. They are taught mainly in English. I very nearly took up a part-time position teaching psycholinguistics on one of these courses at PUCE.


However, Christmas eve bought the news that I have a new job in Japan, so I pulled out of the PUCE psycholinguistics job, and cancelled my courses at USFQ. I still have some psychology research going on here. As a psychologist that is another option. More of that in my next blog.

Montañita, Olón and Salinas

So I'm back on the free wifi at Guayaquil airport, as I was about 18 months ago towards the start on my Ecuador visit. Then I was heading towards Montañita to train as an English teacher, now I've finished teaching in Ecuador and returning from a weekend break to Montañita. I only really went to visit somebody there, and to stay nearby. Montañita is the hedonist capital of Ecuador. It is full of Ecuadorians, Argentinians and gringos from various countries. They come for the beach, the bars and the drugs. It is either a tropical paradise or a tourist hell-hole, depending on your perspective. For me it's the latter, but lots of people seem to love it.

Sewage collection truck bearing the message: 'Montañita  Tourist Paradise'

Montañita

We only spent one night there, and most of that was at Playa Kamala, a couple of miles up the coast, the site of the CELTA training course I took back in September 2010.

Next, we stayed one night in Olón. This is the next village along from Montañita, much more sleepy, but still very much a tourist beach resort. Ecuadorians love the beach and flock to them during the public holidays, Olón is one for the Ecuadorians, not a lot of foreign tourists here. Although Olón is somewhat nicer than Montañita, it is still very much a basic-level weekend break resort.

Much more up-market is Salinas, this is the holiday resort for the rich Ecuadorians, known here as 'pelucones', which translates as wig wearers. Salinas is not just a beach, but has lots of high rise hotels and a maritime port, popular thus with yacht owners. We stayed two nights here, but unfortunately on the second night there was a torrential downpour. Cooled the air nicely but flooded the streets and the drainage system. The stench completely destroyed my desire for an ice cream.

Salinas, affluence and effluence