Oral Presentations
Khodi Kaviani - Examining the Ancient Iranian Worldview: Lessons Not Learned Yet!
The Zoroastrian calendar reveals the wisdom of our ancestors. It reflects the ancient Iranian worldview, showing a sophisticated and mature perspective of interactions that recognizes reasoned decision-making as an essential condition for solving our human-made problems. Moreover, freedom of choice is essential in recognizing human agency when thoughtful people come together to deliberate about the best options for advancing the general welfare of all. By naming each of the 30 days of the month after a life-sustaining element (e.g., water, earth, air, fire, etc.) or attributes (e.g., truth, justice, trust, etc.) that are needed for good governance, we discover the recipe for socio-political enlightenment.
Jennifer Dopps - Exploring the Educational Outcomes of Students who have Experienced Trauma: A Systematic Review
More than two thirds of children report experiencing a traumatic event by age 16, including abuse, violence, natural disaster, unexpected loss, or refugee experiences. Childhood trauma has been found to contribute to a myriad of negative outcomes not only in childhood, but across the lifespan. Unfortunately, these poor outcomes are even more pronounced by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Given the strong predictive relationship between educational and mental health outcomes, it is important to understand inequities among students who have experienced trauma. The purpose of this systematic review is to a) synthesize the prevalence rates of trauma, by type of negative
experience, b) understand the differential effects childhood trauma on academic performance by race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status, and c) delineate among affective, behavioral, and performance outcomes for students in K-12. Articles from 7 interdisciplinary databases were selected for review if they (1) had a variable that measured an educational outcome in response to a traumatic event; (2) had participants who were 5–18 years old; (3) focused on non-clinical samples and excluded comorbidities, (4) were peer-reviewed, empirical studies; and (5) were conducted on a U.S. sample. Results demonstrated a lower academic performance for students who have
experienced trauma, but conflicting or no differences were found for affective and behavioral outcomes. A broad understanding of the inequities will provide a framework for critically examining discriminating practices and policies, and the importance of schools as platforms for intervening in the trajectory of childhood trauma.
Nicole Sam - Honoring Voices and Cultural Norms in Collaborative Research with AI/AN Populations: Ethical Approval vs. Ethical Conduct
Substance use and dependence in urban American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities is embedded in a traumatic history, and it is crucial that scientist practitioners implement culturally sensitive perspectives in conducting research. There is a history of abuse of power by researchers that includes circumventing research site access, violating consent, and publishing sensitive results with personal or tribal identifiers. Scholars must actively work to counter this experience, while continuing to advocate for meaningful and rigorous research among AI/AN women. As such, the data collection process becomes an amalgam of institutional and tribal collaboration whereby the researcher must navigate tribal requests for study refinement and ownership of materials while also minimizing researcher vulnerability and fatigue. We will explore the experiences of the principal investigator in endeavoring to uphold the sovereignty and rights of individual tribes and the urban collective AI/AN community, while working within the structure of institutional ethics and rigorous research. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to explicate cultural considerations in the institutional and tribal review processes with respect to a) research design b) recruitment, c) data collection, and d) dissemination. Developing cultural competency by recognizing gender and cultural differences among urban, emerging adult Native women addresses power imbalances while encouraging a partnership between urban centers and tribal councils in the construction of an empowered, positive identity for recovery.
James Richmond - School District Accessibility for Children with Disabilities and their Immigrant Families
In the Kent School District, there is a lack of available information regarding support and resources available to students with Autism and their families, who come from Somalia. This report seeks to understand why enough support is not being implemented for these families, while in this district. This researcher interviewed the Director of Inclusive Education to understand what is currently being done to assist this population currently. After tabulating the findings and knowledge that was given by the Inclusive Education Director, this researcher learned that the district is seeking more information and ways to help connect these families and students to appropriate resources, so that they can reach the population as this paper explores. As a result of this investigation, the Kent School District has not been able to adequately meet the resource and support needs of children with Autism and their Somalia parents, due to lack of funding and awareness that this is an on-going problem. This paper will help address the areas that the Kent School District has lamented they need more support on, in order to fully understand the severity of the situation that is developing. The goal is to provide awareness to the Kent School District, in hopes that future generations of immigrants from Somalia and their children with disabilities, are no longer unsure what they can do. Providing awareness allows this issue to become a priority for Inclusive Education to consider, as well as improving parental involvement across cultures.
