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YiLin Lee Fostering the Home-School Connection in Middle School Years
Fostering the Home-School Connection in Middle School Years YiLin Lee
The ecological systems theory posits that different environmental contexts play a significant role in children’s development (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). One of these environments, the mesosystem, encompasses the interactions between different figures in a child’s life, such as parents and teachers (Bronfenbrenner, 1986). The home-school connection emphasizes a collaboration between two prominent contexts in a student’s life: the school and the home (Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Martin & Hagan-Burke, 2002). Utilizing the ecological systems framework, a strong relationship between the school environment (e.g., teachers and administration) and the home context (e.g., parents and caregivers) should greatly support children’s development (Bronfenbrenner, 1986; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Martin & Hagan-Burke, 2002). Current literature examines the relation between families and schools as a factor in supporting students’ academic abilities (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Boonk, Gijselaers, Ritzen, & Brand-Gruwel, 2018; Hill & Tyson, 2009). Specifically, the home-school connection is the degree to which schools and families take on the joint responsibility of fostering open communication, cooperation, and collaboration for the purpose of supporting students’ development (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Grolnick, Benjet, Kurowski, & Apostoleris, 1997; Kohl, Lengua, & McMahon, 2000; Young, Austin, & Growe, 2013). A strong home-school connection is associated with increased GPA, student attendance, and positive attitudes towards school (Gutman & Midgley, 2000; Hill & Tyson, 2009). Parents who are in constant communication with teachers are believed to promote academic success through the creation and supervision of expectations of academic achievement in both the school and home contexts (Broussard, 2003; Hill & Tyson, 2009). The collaboration between teachers and parents creates consistent expectations for the student’s educational development across contexts, ensuring that both adult figures support a common goal (Knopf & Swick, 2008; Kohl et al., 2000). In fact, research has found that parents are more likely to participate in their child’s education if they see themselves as one of their child’s teachers, and not just as a parent (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Grolnick et al., 1997). While teachers are responsible for supporting academic material in the formal school context, it is important that parents also take on an active role in supplementing children’s course material throughout the home (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Grolnick et al., 1997; Kohl et al., 2000). Fostering the home-school connection builds more trust in the relationship between parents and school officials through frequent and consistent communication about the student’s progress and family’s goals for education, an open effort for cultural competence, and increased opportunities for parents to be actively involved in the learning environment (Knopf & Swick, 2008; Lareau, 1987; Martin & Hagen-Burke, 2002). However, in current research, parent participation is measured through the amount of time spent at school events (e.g., parent-teacher conferences, parent-teacher association meetings) or facilitating at-home conversations related to the school curriculum (Hill & Tyson, 2009; Knopf & Swick, 2008; Lareau, 1987). This operationalization of the home-school connection places the role of fostering the relation on parents, often disregarding parent circumstances that could inhibit involvement in their child’s academics. Students with highly involved parents are more likely to develop educational aspirations, but it is typically high-income parents who are more likely to be involved in their child’s academic progress, due to parental education level or access to resources (e.g., books; Adams & Christenson, 2000; Barber & Olsen, 2004; Hill & Tyson, 2009). Low-income minority parents, in comparison, are found to strongly value involvement in students’ learning, but are less likely to be directly involved in the school setting due to feelings of inadequacy with regards to supporting their child’s academic development (Boonk et al., 2018; Drummond & Stipek, 2004). Yet low-income minority parents have higher academic expectations for their children compared to other socioeconomic classes, thus fostering more educational aspirations in their children outside the school environment (Berzin, 2010; Mello, 2009). Furthermore, minority parents have strong beliefs in the utility of education, and see education as a means for economic mobility (Fuligni & Hardway, 2004; Strand & Winstron, 2008). The gap between low-income minority parents’ beliefs about the importance of education and their presumed lack of involvement in the home-school connection must be bridged. The home-school connection for low-income minority parents should also take into account the interactions between parents and children within the home context, rather than simply the school environment. Although the home-school connection is believed to be influential on children’s development, research is typically focused on early childhood education and does not address the middle school years; however the home-school connection is still influential during the early adolescent period (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Broussard, 2003; Grolnick et al., 1997; Gutman & Midgley, 2000; Jeynes, 2007). The middle school years are characterized by rapid biological, social, and cognitive development as students experience the onset of puberty, undergo changes in relationships with parents, teachers, and peers, and advance their skills in problem-solving and self-
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regulation (Gutman & Midgley, 2000; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Stormshak, Connel, & Dishion, 2009). In addition, the middle school context is drastically different than that of elementary school, with large classes and specialized subject teachers and the responsibility of transitioning between classrooms, both of which are departures from the elementary school experience where students often stay with a single teacher in one classroom (Barber & Olsen, 2004; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Stormshak et al., 2009). Because middle school students also have multiple teachers who each have large amounts of students, it is more difficult for teachers and students, as well as teachers and parents, to form close relationships (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Gutman & Midgley, 2000; Hill & Tyson, 2009). Due to substantial developmental changes compounded with the contextual shift, middle school students often experience a dip in academic achievement not found in elementary or high school students (Barber & Olsen, 2004; Gutman & Midgley, 2000; Hill & Tyson, 2009). Thus, low-income minority students might experience a stronger decline in academic performance during the middle school years (Berzin, 2010; Boonk et al., 2018; Drummond & Stipek, 2004). The home-school connection needs to be studied in the middle school population in order to examine the academic dip typically experienced by not only middle school students, but also low-income minority students (Barber & Olsen, 2004; Gutman & Midgley, 2000; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Martin & HagenBurke, 2002). Because the middle school experience, with specialized subject teachers and increased autonomy, is vastly different than that of elementary school, methods to foster the home-school connection during the middle school years must be specific to the context (i.e., strategies to improve the relation in middle school must take into account the middle school context; Barber & Olsen, 2004; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Stormshak et al., 2009). Since low-income families are more likely to harbor strong educational aspirations for their children but less likely to be involved in the school context, it is vital that low-income middle school students are properly supported by schools. Therefore, this study sought to answer the question: How can academic programs foster home-school connections with lowincome, minority families of middle-school students?
Method
Participants
All interview participants were employees at the summer program of a nonprofit organization that provides academic and socioemotional support for academically-struggling, underresourced students. Interviews were conducted at the middle school campus specifically, which serves a 97% racial minority and 79% low-income population (GO Project, 2019). Interview participants were coworkers of the researcher. For the purpose of this study, pseudonyms will be used to ensure confidentiality of participants’ identity. The interviews were conducted with three staff members associated with the summer program. Kevin is a white male in his forties, and was the head teacher of an English Language Arts (ELA) class. This participant had just graduated from a master’s program in education, and was preparing to begin a full-time teaching position in a charter network. He was the head teacher of a middle school class at the organization for the past year, and has prior teaching experience at a public high school. Alicia is an African American female in her forties, who had been teaching low-income middle school children for the past ten years at a public school. In this summer program, she served as an ELA teacher. Matt is an African American male in his late twenties, who served as the Director of Campus Instruction for this summer program. He had been teaching middle school in a charter network for the past three years, and, at the time of the study, was serving as a 7th grade social studies teacher.
Procedure
The summer program is a total of five weeks, beginning at 8:00 am and ending at 4:45 pm. Participants were approached by the researcher after class, and asked for consent to be interviewed. All interviews were conducted during the participants’ lunch break. Interviews were conducted in the fourth week of program, immediately following a company mandated period of parent teacher conferences. Prior to the interview, all participants were told that the study was about understanding the home-school connection in middle school. A semi-structured interview format was used with five questions prepared by the researcher (see Appendix A). The researcher followed the lead of the interviewee during the conversation. Interviews were conducted in an empty classroom, and lasted an average of 12.5 minutes. All interviewees were audio recorded and were later transcribed by the researcher.
Coding
Thematic content analysis was utilized, with the coding themes developed from patterns identified in the interview transcripts. The interviews were content coded on the sentence level based upon their alignment to the two main themes identified in the overall analysis of the three interviews: (1) importance of home-school connections in the actual functions of a school, and (2) barriers to the home-school connection. In constructing the first coding theme of the importance of home-school connections, the researcher sought to understand what school staff saw as the practical advantages of this relation. This was in order to step away from theory, and operationalize the importance of home-school connections through the lens of faculty who work with low-income minority middle school students. The researcher coded for this theme if the participant mentioned educational aspirations or reenrollment in the program. The second coding theme, barriers to the home-school connection, was split into two sub-themes: (1) barriers for parents and (2) barriers for schools. First, the researcher utilized current literature to identify common barriers for parents in establishing the home-school connection: (1) parent education
status, and (2) socioeconomic class (Boonk et al., 2018; Drummond & Stipek, 2004). Next, the researcher coded for barriers for schools in establishing the home-school connection if the participant mentioned parents being non-English speakers or the assignment of blame and responsibility.
Results
To gain a practical understanding of the importance of the home-school connection in the functions of academic programs, the researcher explored the advantages that participants attributed to a strengthened relationship with parents. Two main advantages emerged, students’ development of educational aspirations, and parents’ willingness to re-enroll students in the program. First, in accordance with current literature on the correlation between the strength of home-school connections with students’ educational aspirations, interviewees credited a strong home-school connection with helping to “fuel [students’] desire to want to do well in school” (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Fuligni & Hardway, 2004). For example, Kevin, a head teacher, stated that the involvement of parents in the school is often “reflected in students’ behavior and [academic] performance.” Matt, as acting Director of Campus Instruction, argued that highly involved parents often help their children “want to become lifelong learners.” Findings regarding parents’ willingness to re-enroll students in the program were consistent with literature on the positive relation between home-school connections and students continued attendance (Broussard, 2003; Gutman & Midgley, 2000). Matt claimed that a strong home-school connection “helps parents feel more comfortable” with leaving their children at the program, resulting in parents being more willing to re-enroll students annually. Matt clarified that the home-school relation must be “intentional,” that both parents and teachers should be constantly communicating throughout the year, rather than simply attending “surface level award nights and talent shows.” Alicia, a head teacher, believed that a strong home-school connection allows parents to “trust you,” that parents “respect” and “appreciate” the teacher more for making the effort to establish the connection. With the second coding theme, the researcher sought to understand the barriers to the home-school connection, first focusing on barriers that parents might experience, then to barriers for teachers in establishing the relationship. Parental education status and family socioeconomic class were the two main barriers discussed by the interviewees. Participants highlighted that some parents “are intimidated because they may not have the education” that lets them feel confident in being traditionally involved in the school context. Essentially, parents’ own educational levels might prevent them from taking on active roles in their child’s academics. Parents with lower educational levels might not feel adequate in assisting their child’s academic development. Other times, parents simply “don’t know about our education system.” Socioeconomic status is also a large barrier for low-income families, with Alicia highlighting that the home-school connection is “difficult” to establish when parents are working full-time jobs. Kevin and Matt echoed that statement, discussing “how hard it is for parents to set aside that time,” especially for “parents who work a bunch of jobs.” Finally, the barriers that teachers face in establishing the home-school connection fell into two categories: (1) parents not speaking English, and (2) the assignment of blame and responsibility in creating the connection. Interviewees believe that the parents who do not speak English are “less likely to come in” to the school or ask to speak to teachers. While sending translated notes home to parents, Matt found that parents do “respect the attempt” to communicate with them, but noted that he often receives “little to no response” with regards to the actual content of the message. Kevin also believed the lack of response is not necessarily because parents do not wish to be involved in the school, but because “parents are limited” in how they send communication back. Essentially, Kevin claimed that parents do not have the resources to send feedback to teachers either due to language barriers or parents’ written abilities. For the theme of assignment of blame and responsibility, participants mentioned the role of professional development activities and training. Kevin, after just having completed a master’s program in education, found that he had “limited training” on methods to establish the home-school connection, and that the topic was “underplayed a lot” by his professors. Matt stated that during his professional development session before the start of the academic year, he is “essentially told to reach out to parents,” but not supported by the school administration and leadership team in maintaining relationships with parents as the school year progresses. All participants also mentioned the idea of “blame” and “liability,” that there is a cycle of blame regarding who is responsible for creating but also continuing the home-school connection, with “parents blaming schools, schools blaming parents, teachers blaming administration, administration blaming teachers.” Thus, the barriers for parents and schools must first be addressed before students can reap the benefits of having strong home-school connections.
Discussion
While the home-school connection is associated with academic achievement in low-income minority students, parents of those individuals are often less able to be engaged in the school context (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Barber & Olsen, 2004; Hill & Tyson, 2009; Martin & Hagan-Burke, 2002). The interviewees established the importance of the home-school connection by discussing how strong-home school connections promote educational aspirations in students and foster higher reenrollment in academic programs. This finding is in accordance with the literature that claims a strong home-school connection is associated with students’ increased desire to perform well in school and improved school attendance (Adams & Christenson, 2000; Broussard, 2003; Fuligni & Hardway, 2004). Next, in the interviews with educators, two barriers for
parents that emerged from are parents’ education level and family socioeconomic class. Low-income minority parents can often feel disenfranchised by the education system and lack belief in their ability to support students’ academic achievement (Berzin, 2010; Drummond & Stipek, 2004). Parents not only need to be informed about their child’s academic progress, but also should be supported in navigating the school system. Furthermore, low-income minority parents who lack confidence in formally supporting their child’s academics (e.g., through helping with homework) should be made aware of other ways to support educational development, such as reading with the student at home. Family socioeconomic class is also a prominent barrier for parents in maintaining the home-school connection. Lowincome minority parents often work shift jobs or have multiple jobs, resulting in irregular work hours and a lack of time outside the workplace (Lareau, 1987; Mello, 2009). Parents who fall into this category are unlikely to be able to attend parent teacher conferences or parent teacher association meetings, thus putting them at a disadvantage in terms of getting to know their child’s teacher. While scheduling conflicts are difficult to circumvent, it is important that teachers and academic programs are aware of the parents’ situations. On a macro-level, this finding highlights the need to provide some sort of protection for low-income minority parents from work or salary penalties when trying to be actively involved in their child’s school environment. Finally, two barriers for teachers that emerged from the interviews are the difficulty in communicating with parents who do not speak English and the place of blame and responsibility for establishing and maintaining the home-school connection. Firstly, communication with parents who speak limited or no English while difficult, is not impossible on teachers’ or schools’ parts. Many schools have translators to assist with parent communication, and some teachers employ the use of online translation programs. However, the main barrier is the way parents reply to the communication they receive. In the interviews, it was mentioned that parents do not appear to be feel comfortable responding back to the messages; this could be because parents are unable to reply in English and instead choose not to, or that parents do not believe the teacher wants a response. It is important that parents communicate with schools in their home language, through having explicit requests for parent responses and translators available at the school to ensure teachers can understand the communication. These explicit requests can help ensure that non-English speaking families are still heard and valued within the school system, and parents are aware that the school intends for bidirectional communication about the child. The emphasis on having parents’ express their values about their child’s academic development ensures that developing the child’s academics is a collaboration between schools and homes, rather than schools simply telling parents what is being done. The idea of blame and responsibility in fostering the home-school connection, while not often mentioned in literature, is a vital factor in maintaining strong home-school relations. In the interviews, participants mentioned that while teachers are expected to build relationships with parents, they are not supported in maintaining that relationship. Teachers need to receive training in methods to bridge possible cultural gaps between themselves and their students’ families, and also in having effective and efficient communication with low-income families on irregular work schedules. Overall, the literature on home-school connections and findings from the interviews agree on the importance of the home-school connection. However, this study categorizes barriers into two main areas, those that parents face and those that educators face; those barriers were presented from the educators’ perspectives. This study does have limitations, the first being that only three interviews were conducted due to the limited time frame of the summer program. Furthermore, interviews were only conducted with staff and not parents, partially due to the convenience of staff participants. Scheduling interviews with parents proved to be extremely difficult due to parents’ lack of availability during the work day.Nevertheless, these findings have implications for future practice and policy. Low-income parents need to be protected from negative work consequences when trying to be involved with the school setting, and require support when feeling disenfranchised by their child’s academic system. Workplace policy should take into account parent responsibilities and obligations for children’s academic development, without penalizing parents who require time off work to be actively involved within their child’s school. Teachers, on the other hand, need further support in receiving communication from parents, and require proper training in order to create and foster meaningful relationships with their students’ parents. School administration should also place an emphasis on further supporting teachers with the home-school connection, rather than leaving the obligation to teachers. The current study serves as an important contribution to the extensive literature on the home-school connection by utilizing the educator perspective and focusing on middle-school aged children and low-income parents, which can aid future school systems and education policy in fostering more effective homeschool connections.
References
Adams, K. S., & Christenson, S. L. (2000). Trust and the family–school relationship examination of parent–teacher differences in elementary and secondary grades. Journal of School Psychology, 38(5), 477-497. Barber, B. K., & Olsen, J. A. (2004). Assessing the transitions to middle and high school. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19(1), 3-30. Berzin, S. C. (2010). Educational aspirations among low-income youths: Examining multiple conceptual models. Children & Schools, 32(2), 112–124. Boonk, L., Gijselaers, H. J. M., Ritzen, H., & Brand-Gruwel, S. (2018). A review of the relationship between parental involvement indicators and academic achievement. Educational Research Review, 24, 10-30. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22(6), 723-742. Broussard, C. A. (2003). Facilitating home-school partnerships for multiethnic families: School social workers collaborating for success. Children & Schools, 25(4), 211-222. Drummond, K. V., & Stipek, D. (2004). Low-income parents’ beliefs about their role in children’s academic learning. The Elementary School Journal, 104(3), 197–213. Fuligni, A. J., & Hardway, C. (2004). Preparing diverse adolescents for the transition to adulthood. The Future of Children, 14(2), 99-119. GO Project. (2019). Our challenge. Retrieved from www. goprojectnyc.org/what-we-do /our-challenge. Grolnick, W. S., Benjet, C., Kurowski, C. O., & Apostoleris, N. H. (1997). Predictors of parent involvement in children’s schooling. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89(3), 538-548. Gutman, L., & Midgley, C. (2000). The role of protective factors in supporting the academic achievement of poor African American students during the middle school transition. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 29(2), 223-249. Hill, N. E., & Tyson, D. F. (2009). Parental involvement in middle school. Developmental Psychology, 45(3), 740-763. Jeynes, W. H. (2007). A meta-analysis of the efficacy of different types of parental involvement programs for urban students. Urban Education, 47(4), 706-742. Knopf, H., & Swick, K. (2008). Using our understanding of families to strengthen family involvement. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35(5), 419-427. Kohl, G. O., Lengua, L. J., & McMahon, R. J. (2000). Parent involvement in school conceptualizing multiple dimensions and their relations with family and demographic risk factors. Journal of School Psychology, 38(6), 501-523. Lareau, A. (1987). Social class differences in family-school relationships: The importance of cultural capital. Sociology of Education, 60(2), 73-85. Martin, E. J., & Hagan-Burke, S. (2002). Establishing a homeschool connection: Strengthening the partnership between families and schools. Preveting School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 46(2), 62-65. Mello, Z. R. (2009). Racial/ethnic group and socioeconomic status variation in educational and occupational expectations from adolescence to adulthood. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 30(4), 494-504. Park, S., Stone, S. I., & Holloway, S. D. (2017). School-based parental involvement as a predictor of achievement and school learning environment: An elementary school-level analysis. Children and Youth Services Review, 82, 195-206. Stormshak, E. A., Connell, A., & Dishion, T. J. (2009). An adaptive approach to family-centered intervention in schools: Linking intervention engagement to academic outcomes in middle and high school. Prevention Science:The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 10(3), 221-235. Strand, S., & Winston, J. (2008). Educational aspirations in inner city schools. Educational Studies, 34(4), 249-267. Young, C. Y., Austin, S. M., & Growe, R. (2013). Defining parental involvement: Perception of school administrators. Education, 133(Spring), 291-297.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Appendix A Semi-Structured Interview Questions Could you start by first describing your experience with teaching middle school? What do you think is the home-school connection? What is the role of parents/teachers/leadership in building this relation? What do you think are some strengths of what’s currently being done to foster the home-school connection? What would you like to see happening in relation to building the home-school connection?
Oana Groza Editor-in-Chief oana.groza@nyu.edu
Oana Groza is a senior majoring in Applied Psychology and Global Public Health. Since her freshman year, Oana has been a research assistant for the Social Inequality and Intergroup Relations (SIIR) team in the Department of Applied Psychology. As a sophomore, she joined the Public Health Policy team in the College of Global Public Health. More recently, she joined HealthCorps - a nonprofit aimed to provide school-based health education and outreach to children and adolescents - as a Monitoring & Evaluation intern. Oana is interested in investigating and evaluating policy and programming that fosters and improves health outcomes for vulnerable populations. When she is not doing research or work for OPUS, you can find her catching up with friends in front of the Tompkins Square dog park. After graduation, she plans to work in the field of health and social policy and, in the near future, she intends to pursue a Masters in Public Health.
Andrew Han Associate Editor han.andrew@nyu.edu
Andrew Han is a senior majoring in Applied Psychology and Global Public Health with a minor in Sociology. Throughout his undergraduate career, Andrew has engaged in several research experiences, including the RISE (Researching Inequity in Society) Team and beELL Lab. Currently, he is a research assistant for the Play and Language Lab, where he codes and analyzes naturalistic video data on how culture, children’s social partners, and features of families’ home environments impact infant learning and development. Under the mentorship of Dr. Catherine Tamis-LeMonda, Andrew is conducting an honors thesis on the influence of noise in the home environment on infant language outcomes. In addition, he is an Editorial Assistant for the Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions in the Silver School of Social Work. Andrew is interested in the intersection of education, research and policy and intends to pursue graduate school to further examine culturally-competent practices that can foster high-quality education among underserved communities.
Freya Chen is the Director of Communications and is currently a sophomore in the Applied Psychology program, with a secondary major in Economics. She previously worked with local charity organizations that help children in poverty in underdeveloped areas in China and advocate for social justice for underrepresented groups. She is interested in women’s mental health, as well as organizational psychology, and hopes to conduct research in the related areas.
Sydney Liang is one of the Layout and Design Directors of OPUS and a sophomore in the Applied Psychology program, with a minor in Media, Culture, and Communications. She has previously done volunteer work to provide aid to the refugee community in Hong Kong and enjoys utilizing her graphic design skills in issues pertaining to social justice. Sydney hopes to explore industrial-organizational psychology and further immerse herself in psychological research.
Grace Park is one of the Layout and Design Directors of OPUS as well as the OPUSzines Creative Director. She is a sophomore in the Applied Psychology program hoping to minor in Nutrition and Studio Art. Grace enjoys using her graphic and creative design skills to spread awareness of global issues in Mental Health and Psychology. She hopes to continue exploring different fields at NYU while chasing creatively stimulating ideas.
Tiffany Wong Contributing Writer tw1517@nyu.edu
Tiffany is a senior in Applied Psychology with a minor in Nutrition. She is currently a research intern at the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), a policy advocacy organization aimed specifically to address the needs of Asian families and children. In addition, she is a research assistant at the Culture, Emotion and Health lab, where she has worked with Chinese speaking cancer patients to learn about the role of emotional disclosure and cognitive changes in writing. Tiffany has a vested interest in understanding how different cultural adaptations can be made to enhance the quality of life amongst individuals with special needs. In the future, Tiffany hopes to explore the intersections of research and clinical experience in the field of occupational therapy.
Mikell Bursky Contributing Writer mb7073@nyu.edu
Mikell Bursky is a senior in his final semester in the Applied Psychology program. Mikell’s interest in psychology began with his early studies of Buddhist philosophy and meditation. In 2008, he traveled through India, Nepal, China and Mongolia, and then lived in a monastery in upstate New York from 2014-2016. In 2016, Mikell entered CUNY Queensborough College with the intention of integrating his mindfulness-based studies with modern psychological theory, research and practice. After completing his Associates Degree, Mikell received a scholarship to complete his B.S. at NYU’s Department of Applied Psychology. At NYU he has been a research assistant in NYU’s Mindful Education Lab, where he has been involved in the development of a mindfulness intervention for college students, as well as the Families and Children Experiencing Success (FACES) Lab, where he has been involved in a study investigating the lived experience of minority adolescents with ADHD. Most recently, Mikell was brought on board as a Project Coordinator for the Nikulina Lab at CUNY Queens College. Mikell intends to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology in order to expand his knowledge, contribute to the field of psychological science, and make a positive impact in the world.
Sanjidah Chowdhury is a senior in her final semester in the Applied Psychology program. She is a research assistant in the Adolescent Language Lab, and currently is heading the development of the coding guide for their boys’ focused project. Sanjidah is excited to publish her first paper in this journal. Sanjidah is interested in how and why individuals utilize mental health and community services. She is also interested in the ideology development of individuals of different generational statuses, due to her own first-generation United States born status. This paper is a proposal for a research project seekng to understand the psychological impact of an empowerment program developed by a non-profit Muslim-American women-focused organization, at which Sanjidah interned. She aspires to become a counselor to better serve the mental health needs of women, Muslims, and the South Asian community living in the United States.
YiLin Lee Contributing Writer yilin.lee@nyu.edu
YiLin is a senior in her final semester in the Applied Psychology program, with a minor in Sociology. She is a member of the Latino Family Engagement and Language Development (L-FELD) lab, as both a kindergarten classroom volunteer and research assistant. YiLin is excited to publish her second paper in this journal. She is extremely interested in early childhood education, specifically in ways to enhance the academic experience for disenfranchised communities. YiLin is also interested in international education, due to her own experiences as an international student throughout her academic life. This paper is a study conducted over the summer as part of an independent research project with Dr. Adina Schick, and draws on interviews with faculty members of a nonprofit educational organization where YiLin worked as a Program Assistant. In the future, YiLin plans to pursue international education policy in order to better inform education systems in an increasingly globalized world.
