Eduardo Flores-Kastanis Scholarship

About the Scholarship

On May 30, ARNA coordinators received word that Eduardo Flores, a founding member of ARNA and one of the five network initiators, had passed away on May 29 after a short illness. As recently as mid-April, Eduardo was planning on attending the inaugural ARNA Conference in San Francisco. Eduardo’s loss is keenly felt in ARNA, the larger action research community in the Americas, and in the educational research community in Mexico. In notifying ARNA leadership of his passing, a close colleague in Mexico wrote of the great legacy he has left the educational research community in Mexico. Writing from Chihuahua, the colleague stated, “He fought hard for this arid land and installed innovative practices that have improved basic education in schools.” She went on to state that although “he lost the fight against cancer . . . he will rest in peace as a great teacher and researcher and will always live in our memories.”

Eduardo completed his doctoral studies at State University of New York – Buffalo in 1994, where his doctoral advisor was Susan Noffke (who also lost her fight with cancer three days later, on June 1). Eduardo was a faculty member in the Graduate School of Education of Tecnológico de Monterey from 1985-2011. During his last two years he was Professor at Universidad Autonomo de Chihuahua. Eduardo is survived by his wife, Eva Mendez, and three children. Our thoughts and prayers have been with the family since hearing of Eduardo’s passing.

The ARNA Coordinating Group has established a Scholarship Fund to honor Eduardo and his contributions to practitioner research and to education in general. The scholarship will be used to support dissemination of action research through presentations at the annual ARNA Conference by practitioners from Mexico and Latin America. Contributions can be added when enrolling as a member of ARNA, or registering for the conference.

Each year two individuals will receive scholarship of up to $500 US to cover travel to the annual ARNA Conference. (***PLEASE NOTE: Due to the special circumstances of the 2021 conference being offered virtually only, applicants may request registration waivers.)

How are recipients selected for the Flores Scholarship Program?

Applications will be reviewed annually, starting in February. Preference is given to applicants who have been ARNA members in previous years, who have demonstrated a history of commitment and impact in action research, and who work with marginalized populations or in particularly challenging research contexts. We seek high-impact, difference-making individuals for this scholarship, because no single recipient may receive this scholarship more than once.

What do scholars get out of the conference?

A lot! Here are a few things that have happened at conferences:

keynotes from leading action researchers, including Jean McNiff (UK), Budd Hall (Canada), César Osorio Sánchez (Columbia), and Marilyn Cochran Smith and Susan L. Lytle (USA)
master classes with Janette Bobis (Australia), Mary McAteer (UK), Catherine D. Bruce (Canada)
small group sessions to share research projects and findings in a wide range of contexts, including participatory action research, medicine, education (early childhood through to doctoral studies) and communities.

Visit the conference webpages for more information on previous conferences, including programs and proceedings. Awardees will be asked to write a summary of their conference experience, to be posted on the ARNA website.

Who Should Apply?

Applicants with a strong interest in action research in Mexico and South America and who have a career or aspirations involving action research within Mexico and South America are encouraged to apply.

Interest may be demonstrated through previous work, internships, undergraduate or graduate-level study, involvement through volunteer programs with governmental, non-governmental, or private sector organizations, and research and publication on topics relevant to the area. Competency in one of the area’s major languages is highly important.

Selection Criteria:

Knowledge of Latin America, the Caribbean, and/or Iberia
Demonstrated commitment to action research
Record of academic achievement
Competency in one or more of the area’s languages
Demonstrated financial need

Application Materials:

Completed application form
Personal statement (maximum of 500-800 words)
Current résumé (not to exceed 2 pages)
Letter of reference

Timeline:

Deadline for submission: April 15

Announcement of Recipients: As soon as possible after April 15

Conflict of Interest:

ARNA will establish a committee to review the applications and determine the recipients. The committee will make every effort to avoid any conflicts of interest

Guidelines:

Personal statement (500-800 words maximum): In the personal statement please tell the committee about your documented commitment and interest in action research within Mexico or South America. Describe why you would like to attend the conference and how it would fit in with your research goals. Commitment in related areas, such as human rights, transnationalism, migration, ecology or natural resources, indigenous peoples, politics, etc., is also of interest to the committee. Describe your academic, work, or volunteer experiences and expertise in the region. Documented commitment may take the form of work, research on, or volunteering in the region. Please send Word or PDF files only. Please use the following file naming convention: EFS_LASTNAME_firstname_app

Letter of reference: One letter of reference is required as part of your application. The letter should be from someone able to speak to your abilities, achievements, and perhaps personal qualities. Your reference may be provided by a professor, employer or supervisor, professional colleague, or similar individual. Please ask your reference to upload his or her letter at: need a link. Note: an application is considered complete only when a letter of reference is received by the committee on or before the deadline. Please have your reference submit Word or PDF files only. Please use the following file naming convention: EFS_LASTNAME_firstname_rec

Document checklist: Before submitting your application, prepare the following documents:

Personal statement (500-800 words maximum, Word or PDFs only; please use the following naming convention for the file: EFS_LASTNAME_firstname_app)
Current résumé (2 page maximum, Word of PDFs only; please use the following naming convention for the file: EFS_LASTNAME_firstname_rec)
Send completed application electronically to Holly Marich, Chair of Memberships & Sponsorships at holmarich@gmail.com

Deadline for all application materials: April 15 annually

For further information, please contact Holly Marich, Chair of Memberships & Sponsorships at holmarich@gmail.com

Please note that you will not receive an email confirmation. Your confirmation will be displayed on the page when you have submitted the required materials. If you encounter any problems with the application form, please contact webmaster Rich McPherson at richcmcpherson@gmail.com.

To Apply for an Eduardo Flores-Kastanis Scholarship

Send applications to Holly Marich, Chair of Memberships & Sponsorships at holmarich@gmail.com no later that April 15.