CEHD Research In Press: May 2023

NEWS 

The College held the 2023 CEHD Research Conference on Tuesday May 16 (delayed due to blizzard on April 6). The event was held at the UND Memorial Union ballroom and included 12 talks, 35 posters, and the presentation of the three CEHD Research Awards (see below). The event was well-attended given the time of year, and was an excellent showcase of the research produced by the college faculty and students!

Terrill Taylor received the 2023 CEHD Inspire Graduate Student Research Excellence Award. Terrill is a 4th year doctoral candidate in Counseling Psychology (Dr. Tamba-Kuii Bailey advisor) and a predoctoral intern at the Counseling and Mental Health Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Terrill has 9 publications (4 first authored) investigating how the intersections of race and sexual orientation influence individuals views on constructs such as patriotism and perceptions of the police in America, as well as research addressing the role of racism in policies such as criminal history disclosures that negatively impact BIPOC individuals.

Dr. Christopher Clark received the 2023 CEHD Excellence in Research & Scholarship Award (aka. best scholarly product within the last 5 years). Dr. Clark’s 2020 publication entitled “Social Studies Teacher Perceptions of News Source Credibility” in Educational Researcher. The finds indicate that teachers often find news sources that align with their own reported ideologies most credible; yet, also that teachers who define credibility as journalists do (e.g., in terms of journalist standards, such obtaining multiple sources as opposed to merely presenting “both sides), tended to be less reliant on ideology for their credibility judgments. The publication was featured on the AERA main page, Politico, Education Dive, and NBC News; furthermore, received the Exemplary Research in Social Studies Education Award for 2020-2021 by the National Council for the Social Studies. Other finalists for the award included Drs. Hyonsuk Cho, Cheryl Hunter, Laura Link, and Emily Midkiff.

Dr. Ryan Summers received the 2023 CEHD Aspire Early Career Award for Excellence in Research. Dr. Summers investigates students’ attitudes toward science, school science, and perceived usefulness of science, as well as assessment of materials for portrayal of scientific knowledge. He is heavily involved in the ND EPSCoR workforce development of rural teachers, and is the principle investigator of $2.9 M NSF DRK-12 grant STEM STRONG, which examines professional development via modest supports. Other finalists for the award were Drs. Hyonsuk Cho and Chris Clark.

The NSF STEM Strong grant of Dr. Ryan Summers was recently selected for a rural education spotlight by the Community for Advancing Discover Research in Education (CADRE). https://cadrek12.org/spotlight/rural-stem-education  

Dr. Frank Sage (EFR doctoral alumni) is an assistant professor at Navajo Technical University and was integral to developing the first doctoral program in a tribal college called Diné Culture and Language Sustainability. “The emphasis will be on sustaining the distinct culture and complex language of the Navajo, also known as Diné, across a variety of disciplines, with research as a unifying theme.”

Dr. Diana D’Amico Pawlewicz published, “Four factors that contributed to the record low history scores for US eighth graders,” on the website of The Conversation on May 11. The article amassed nearly 12,000 reads, only a few days after its publication and will be repreinted in an upcoming issue of UND Today. 

Maria Zaman published an article outlining her struggles teaching online and methods of giving feedback in the online platform. In the article she speaks about being someone who prefers face-to-face learning, teaching online for the first time, during the pandemic and giving feedback to on students drafts. 

This is the last blog post of the academic year, have a great summer!

SPOTLIGHT

Dr. Charmeka Newton is a fully licensed psychologist and Clinical Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the School Counseling Program in the College of Education & Human Development. She has over 15 years of experience in clinical, academic, and community settings, including teaching experience at both undergraduate and graduate levels of higher education. Her areas of expertise include multicultural counseling and clinical supervision of master’s-level counseling practitioners and students. In addition to her clinical and teaching expertise, Dr. Newton is also a member of the Michigan Board of Psychology, appointed by the Governor of the state of Michigan. She is a sought after psychology expert featured in prominent magazines, podcast and newscasts, recently featured on the nationally syndicated SiriusXM podcast the Lurie Daniel Favors show, 

Research has shown that repeated exposure to racism, directly or indirectly, impacts long-term mental health for People of Color. Now, a licensed professional counselor and psychologist have released a toolkit to not only identify racial trauma but also to heal from it. 

In the United States, depression and anxiety are on the rise in African Americans and the evidence suggests that racism is a contributing factor, creating a ripple effect on mental health. Janeé M. Steele Ph.D. and Charmeka S. Newton, Ph.D., licensed mental health professionals and scholars, say: “In the Black community there can be a real resistance to our own trauma – for example, if I wasn’t exposed to physical abuse, is it really that bad? 

“But this kind of systemic, permeating racism that exists all around us has a real and physical impact on our minds and bodies. This is trauma.” Drs. Steele and Newton have joined forces to research and collate tools to tackle racial trauma. Their book, Black Lives Are Beautiful: 50 Tools to Heal from Trauma and Promote Positive Racial Identity, has been recently released. 

Cultural stereotypes. As well as overt exposure to direct racism, Drs. Steele and Newton argue racial trauma can be caused in a number of ways – including transgenerational trauma due to historical oppression. The experts explain that trauma causes chronic stress which lives in the body and can be felt like a rush of energy to the chest or stomach. These physical symptoms can be prompted by a range of external triggers – such as race-based violence reported in news or social media. 

Repeated exposure to these stressors can impact the brain – creating more of the ‘stress’ chemicals that affect memory and fight/flight responses. This means the brain remains hypervigilant and unable to relax. “This could present itself as hypervigilance around threats to safety, anxiety about the way one is perceived – choosing certain clothes and avoiding certain places,” the authors explain. “Because racialized trauma is a result of accumulated effects over time, you may not even be aware that your reactions are in response to your encounters with race.” 

Internalized racism. The experts also explain the impact of internalized racism for Black people, which often leads to self-hatred and a low sense of self-worth. “In Western culture, White cultural standards are still upheld as the gold standard – and the beauty and cultural norms of other racial groups are portrayed as inferior,” Drs. Steele and Newton. 

The experts explain that messages of inferiority include television shows that depict Black people as unintelligent, criminal, prone to violence, and sexually promiscuous; the underrepresentation of Black people in positions of leadership and power; and the lack of justice received by Black people in our judicial systems. “Internalized racism sounds like it might be easy to identify in yourself, but it could look like simply choosing a different pair of shoes to fit in with others – it is about altering your appearance or behavior to fit into white cultural norms,” Drs. Steele and Newton explain. 

Tools for healing. As well as helping Black people to identify racial trauma, Black Lives Are Beautiful also offer tools for healing. The experts have collated a trauma checklist to help identify racial trauma, including feeling guarded around white people, having witnessed Black people being mistreated, and feelings of helplessness when hearing about racism in the news. 

As well as helping to acknowledge the trauma, the experts provide a list of tools for coping, including mindfulness, physical relaxation techniques, and mental exercises including compassion meditations, positive affirmations, a self-esteem plan, and visualization tools. Recognizing how social media can be triggering, they also offer tips to navigate the online world with wellbeing in mind – such as following uplifting content creators and taking regular breaks. 

Drs. Steele and Newton say: “Because of racism, many people of color lead lives full of worry, with a constant sense of being on guard. We might suppress or deny feelings about racism, or feel conflicted about talking about it. Dealing with these thoughts and feelings repeatedly and over a prolonged period of time can eventually result in damage to mental and physical health. “We want to give people the tools to identify their trauma, and move forward with their healing.” 

LATEST SCHOLARSHIP

CEHD faculty are in bold, and CEHD students are underlined. 

Publications

Steele, J. M, & Newton, C. (2023). Black Lives Are Beautiful: 50 Tools to Heal from Trauma and Promote Positive Racial Identity, published through Routledge, an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. 

Morris, J. R., Nelson, K. L. & & Stahl, M. (2023). Accepted. University School Training Model: Dismantling anti-Blackness and eradicating racism through training and systemic school reform. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, Special Issue, Anti-Racist Training.  

Nelson, K. L. & Morris, J. R. (2023). University School Training Model Consultation Practica: Dismantling Anti-Black Racism with Predominantly White Educators to Improve School, Family, Community Collaborations with Black Families and Stakeholders. Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice, 9 (1), Article 3. https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/jhstrp/vol9/iss1/3 

Fitzgerald, J. S., Swanson, B. J., Larson-Meyer, D. E. (In press). Vitamin D Knowledge, Awareness, and Attitudes of Adolescents and Adults: A Systematic Review. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. 

Ahn, J., Wang, Y. & Lee, Y. (In press). Interplay between leadership and school-level conditions: A review of literature on the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). Educational Management, Administration and Leadership. 

Wang, Y., & Ahn, J. (2023). The more the merrier? A network analysis of construct content validity in school leadership literature. Educational Management Administration & Leadership. 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/17411432231155730 

Roegman, R., Goodwin, L., Reagan, E. M., Vernikoff, L. Ahn, J., & Hoang, A. P. (2023). Advancing racial equity in extended clinical practice. 1–15. Equity & Excellence in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2022.2158395 

Zaman, M. (2023). Reflections on Online Feedback in Writing Courses. The FLTMAG. https://fltmag.com/online-feedback-writing-courses/ 

Presentations

Ries, K., & Summers, R. (2023, April). Nature of science and trade books. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the North Dakota Association for Colleges of Teacher Education (NDACTE), Mayville, ND. 

Link, L. J., & Guskey, T. R. (accepted, December 2023). The feedback teachers find most useful. Learning Forward Annual Conference, Washington D.C. 

Bergin, M., & Seeley, A. (Hosts). (May, 2023). The problem with grades with Dr. Laura Link (No. 477). [Audio podcast episode]. Tests and the Rest: College Admissions Industry Podcast. https://gettestbright.com/the-problem-with-grades/ 

Nelson, K. L., Holtz, K., Panicker, D. (June. 20-24, 2023). Symposium Accepted. Interdisciplinary School Health Hub University and School District Partnership. In A. Kerr & P. Flaspohler (Chairs), Supporting Youth Well-Being in Rural Areas Through Partnerships and Participatory Research in School Mental Health. Society for Community Research and Action, Atlanta, GA.   

 Newton, C. Day-Vines, N., Nelson, K., Panicker, D. (July 13-15, 2023). Presentation Accepted. Mending wounds of Racialized Trauma: Perspectives, Research, and Clinical Experiences. American Psychological Association, Division 45: Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race, San Diego, CA.    

Burks, L., Link, L. J., & Miller, D. M. (Accepted for July 2023). Reshaping traditional definitions of university leadership: A programs coordinators’ community. The International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership,  Inspiring Leadership for Innovations in Education Annual Conference, Orlando, FL.