Experiments in Training Overseas Administrators

Abstract

As part of their training programs during World War II, various university and other groups developed experiments to supplement orthodox classroom teaching with more concrete demonstration and application of field techniques. These related to such problems as using interpreters, questioning informants, and dealing with practical situations in simulated field conditions. Such experiments appear to hold interesting possibilities of wider development and adaptation for training students not only for administration among peoples of other ethnic backgrounds, but also at the graduate level in anthropology and other human science fields. Presented here are some brief notes on their use in training programs at Stanford University, first in connection with the Far Eastern Area and Language Program, and more recently in the School of Naval Administration where naval officers are prepared to handle administrative responsibilities in the United States Pacific Island territories.