scholarly journals Effectively Integrating a Diversity Focused Pedagogy into a Social Psychology Course

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. p1
Author(s):  
Kyjeila E. Latimer ◽  
Audon G. Archibald ◽  
Yolanda Flores Niemann

A number of faculty who teach psychology courses opt out of addressing diversity-centered content out of discomfort or glaze over this material, ultimately creating content which does not relate to increasingly diverse student bodies (Boysen, 2011; Ocampo et al., 2003). The present study examines the effectiveness and impact of utilizing a pedagogy grounded in a theory of diversity/social justice with respect to learning outcomes. The study also explores whether faculty’s teaching experience impacts student’s understanding and application of diversity focused content. Three raters categorized and coded assignment data from two course sections, containing a total of 786 undergraduate respondents. Students applied more content from diversity-centered chapters to their papers and final project. Additionally, the rate at which students applied diversity-focused concepts to assignments did not differ by instructor’s teaching experience. Findings indicate that students overwhelming resonate with diversity centered content and choose to relay constructs which align with a diversity-centered, socially just pedagogy over general social psychology content. Our findings also suggest that a diversity-driven curriculum can be effectively implemented in the classroom and received by students, regardless of prior teaching experience or exposure.

2021 ◽  
pp. 009862832110153
Author(s):  
Rhea L. Owens ◽  
Sean Heaslip ◽  
Meara Thombre

Background: While abnormal psychology courses have traditionally focused on psychopathology, there are several benefits to adopting a strengths-based approach. Objective: This study examined the teaching of a strengths-based assessment approach (the DICE-PM Model), compared to teaching as usual, in an undergraduate abnormal psychology course. Method: Two sections of an abnormal psychology course were taught a strengths-based assessment approach while two sections were taught as usual. All participants completed measures of knowledge of psychological disorders and mental illness stigma at the beginning and end of the semester. Results: Both groups demonstrated significant improvements in knowledge of disorders and a significant decrease in mental illness stigma with the exception of one category assessed (recovery), generally with small effect sizes. Those in the strengths group, compared to the control, showed a significantly greater decrease in mental illness stigma involving anxiety related to others with mental illness, though also with a small effect. Conclusion: Findings suggest strengths-based assessment education does not compromise the instruction of psychological disorders and is equivalent to a traditional abnormal psychology course in reducing mental illness stigma. Teaching Implications: Such an approach may be beneficial early in students’ education to reduce mental illness stigma and promote comprehensive assessment practices.


2020 ◽  
pp. 009862832097987
Author(s):  
Tamera Garlington ◽  
Valerie M. Ryan ◽  
Catherine Nolty ◽  
Hannah Ilagan ◽  
Zachary J. Kunicki

Social justice is an American Psychological Association (APA) ethical principal which is often taught in content courses (e.g. social psychology, developmental psychology, introductory psychology) but rarely covered in psychological statistics courses. This is problematic, as psychology students may assume that bias is not an issue when implementing statistical tests and interpreting their results if social justice topics are not incorporated into statistics classrooms. The current study evaluated student’s attitudes toward a social justice lecture in a statistics classroom ( N = 100 students). Results show students had more favorable attitudes toward social justice and agreed it was important to cover in statistics classrooms. Future research should extend this work by seeking to replicate these findings and evaluating additional pedagogical tools to incorporate social justice into the statistics classroom.


Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Gergen

The emergence of this handbook on social justice represents a groundbreaking event in the history of social psychology. In this summary discussion, I outline significant limits to social justice work embedded in the empiricist tradition of inquiry and point to ways in which the current work transcends these limits. However, I also view the present endeavors as in a fledgling state. In the service of enriching and rendering these pursuits more effective, I discuss five domains in which tensions currently prevail and suggest directions for future undertakings. Challenges are discussed in terms of epistemological schisms, presumed ontologies, value pluralism, explanatory paradigms, and the limits of representationalism. A final invitation is made to shift from a mirroring orientation to research to world-making.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Nguyen Van Hanh ◽  
Nguyen Tien Long ◽  
Nguyen Thi Duyen ◽  
Phan Thi Thanh Canh ◽  
Nguyen Thanh Long ◽  
...  

While ethics instruction is now widespread, studies are still looking for different ways to integrate ethics in engineering programs. In this article, we propose a novel approach by teaching engineering ethics through a psychology course. Starting with the relevant literature studies, we have argued that the phenomeno-logical experience of ethics is a source to explain psychological truths, while en-gineering ethics can be better taught from psychological / behavioral perspectives. A pedagogical approach of experiential learning has been applied to integrate engineering ethics into the psychology course. The empirical study with 400 stu-dents in psychology courses show that teaching engineering ethics through a psychology course has a significant effect on improving the knowledge of engi-neering ethics for students. The relationship between the two pre- and post-test scores was a strong positive linear relationship. A regression equation with a slope of a straight line of 0.57 and a constant of 1.52 has been provided to predict the improvement of post-test scores through pre-test scores. This study proposes the formation of a "psychology and ethics" module in technical schools.


2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-28
Author(s):  
Natasha Shrikant ◽  
Howard Giles ◽  
Daniel Angus

Issues of race, racism, and social justice are under-studied topics in this journal. This Prologue, and our Special Issue (S.I.) more broadly, highlights ways that language and social psychology (LSP) approaches can further our understanding of race, racism, and social justice, while suggesting more inclusive directions for their theoretical development. Acknowledging the inspiration from the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, we begin by discussing our deeply-held personal and emotional connections to recent societal events, including police violence against innocent Black civilians and the prevalence of anti-Asian hate. What follows, then, is: a historical analysis of past JLSP publications on these issues, a proposal for more intersections between LSP and communication social justice research, and an overview of the BLM movement together with the four articles that follow. We conclude by advocating for individual and institutional practices that can create socially-just changes by LSP scholars in the academy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 74-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Underwood

Although Brown v. Board of Education was supposed to end the practice of school segregation, the current legal and cultural landscape makes it difficult for schools to remain diverse in the face of continued and growing racial isolation of U.S. neighborhoods. In fact, some predominately White communities are creating their own school districts, intentionally separating themselves from districts with more diverse student bodies. Julie Underwood explains where the law stands today and discusses the secession movement in Gardendale, Ala.


2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 283-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rene O. Guillaume ◽  
Magdalena S. Saiz ◽  
Adam García Amador

Situated within PK-12 school settings is the most diverse student population this nation has seen. Concern regarding the preparedness of those at the forefront of education bestows the task to educational leadership programs of developing leaders ready to address social justice issues. This study highlights how graduates from one educational leadership program relied on their academic knowledge and applied critical leadership to operationalize social justice praxis. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, 10 semi-structured interviews revealed three themes. Findings suggest educational leadership programs reflect their mission of social justice values through their curriculum to prepare educational leaders for sustainable change.


1995 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 238-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
David N. Sattler ◽  
Sudie Back ◽  
Harriet Pollitt

A Laboratory in Social Psychology course project allowed students to design and conduct an exit survey of graduating psychology majors. During the 6-week project, survey research issues were illustrated by active-learning activities. Nine months later, students indicated that the exercise enhanced their critical-thinking skills, understanding of survey research, and interest in and enthusiasm for research. Another benefit was that the student exit survey assisted the faculty in generating questions for a departmental exit survey.


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