EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY & EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY
FALL 2018 BROWN BAG SERIES
DR. DEBORAH RIVAS-DRAKE
Getting Below the Surface: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity in Youth
Monday, October 29, 12:00—1:00pm, 133F Erickson
Abstract: Ethnic-racial identity (ERI) is an important developmental concern with implications for psychological and academic adjustment. In this talk, I consider the role of the socio-emotional context of school-ing–which includes the nature and quality of relationships with adults and peers–in the development of ERI. As an initial step toward under-standing this issue, we examined the role of friends in diverse youths’ ERI development. Specifically, we examined the extent to which youth formed friendships with peers based on similarity in ERI (selection) and/or whether youths’ ERI became more similar to that of their friends over time (socialization). I will also discuss preliminary evidence regarding the role of social-emotional learning practices in the development of ERI and the potential mediating role of peer social competencies in the link between ERI and school outcomes.
Bio: Dr. Deborah Rivas-Drake is a Professor of Psychology and Education at the University of Michigan, where she is also a Faculty Affiliate of the Center for the Study of Black Youth in Context and Faculty Associate in Latino/a Studies. Together with the Contexts of Academic + Social Adjustment (CASA) Lab, Dr. Rivas-Drake examines how adolescents navigate issues related to race and ethnicity in peer and family settings and how these experiences inform their academic and socioemotional development. Her work seeks to illuminate promising practices that help set diverse young people on trajectories of positive contribution to their schools and communities. Her research appears in the journals Child Development, Developmental Psychology, Journal of Re-search on Adolescence, and Journal of Youth and Adolescence, among others. Dr. Rivas-Drake is currently an Associate Editor for Developmental Psychology, and her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Spencer Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, and AERA Grants Program. She recently completed a Midcareer Grant awarded by the Spencer Foundation. Her forthcoming book is titled, “Below the Surface: Talking with Teens about Race, Ethnicity, and Identity” (Princeton University Press).
