Madeleine Wren
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Deborah Rivas-Drake
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Psychology and Education / LSA
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 2 (10:00am – 10:50am)
Authors:
Abstract
The Stepping uP Against Racism and Xenophobia (SPARX) Project investigates which resources would best assist parents or educators while teaching children about racism, xenophobia, and their racial-ethnic identities through semi-structured virtual interviews. Racism and xenophobia are learned behaviors, but little research is easily accessible for parents and educators to learn how these behaviors can be discussed or addressed. Furthermore, very few resources attempt to group together trustworthy information on these subjects to aid the initiation of these conversations with children or adolescents. Interviews with parents and educators conducted as a part of the SPARX project are coded using the Rigorous and Accelerated Data Reduction (RADaR) method of qualitative data analysis and the project’s unique codebook. Next, researchers use Empathy maps to consolidate the data and produce findings. The data collection has been completed, so the SPARX team is currently working on using structural coding to format the data for further analysis; therefore, the findings are still forthcoming. The SPARX Project aims to gain a greater understanding of what racial justice means to parents and educators and what would benefit them in educating children about these topics. After conclusions have been finalized, this research will be used to create a website that serves as a hub-of-knowledge for parents, caregivers, and educators to support them in promoting antiracist and antixenophobic competencies with the children in their lives. Through this, the website will distill and expand existing empirical and theoretical evidence to disrupt racism and xenophobia in such a way that facilitates uptake by any who wish to have engaging conversations about these issues with children or adolescents. This can include parents, educators, psychological practitioners, policymakers, and many more.
