Rebuilding a Country, Cultivating Local Capacity

In this interview conducted by "Harvard Educational Review" editor Raygine DiAquoi, Fabienne Doucet of New York University and Louis Herns Marcelin of the University of Miami discuss their roles as Haitian American scholars who are participating in Haiti's reconstruction process after the earthquake of January 2010. Each professor focuses on different sectors of the educational system: Doucet on the importance of investing in early childhood education and Marcelin on the significance of higher education in rebuilding Haitian society. From these scholars we learn about the importance of including local actors in the efforts to rebuild in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Through the Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development (INURED), they work with scholars around the world to facilitate participatory research that seeks to democratize the production of knowledge while simultaneously building the capacity of Haitian students and educators to use research to effect change in their own communities. (Contains 2 notes.)