Acknowledging Bias and Pursuing Protections to Support Anti-Racist Developmental Science: Critical Contributions of Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory

Spencer, Margaret Beale

doi:10.1177/07435584211045129

Cited by 16 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Scales designed to measure the process and content of ERI development among racially minoritized individuals focus on constructs such as group belonging, importance, and understanding (Phinney, 1992;Sellers et al, 1998;Umaña-Taylor et al, 2004). Due to the nature of white supremacy and normativity in our society, these constructs cannot offer a racial justice-oriented, socioculturally relevant assessment of how white youth develop their identities as racialized beings (Helms, 1996(Helms, , 2007Helms & Talleyrand, 1997;Spencer, 2021). ERI development cannot be measured as a universal process, as it is shaped by one's positionality within a white supremacist system.…”

Section: First We Should Use Models Designed To Assess Whiteness In C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The systemic privileging of whiteness shapes individuals' opportunities and experiences across the lifespan. Incorporating this reality into developmental theory requires an intentional engagement with white supremacy as a macro-level process that is reinforced and resisted at the micro-level of interactions and individual beliefs, behaviors, and identities, including during adolescence (Helms, 1990(Helms, , 2020Rogers, Niwa et al, 2021;Rogers & Way, 2021;Spencer, 2021;Sue, 2006). White youth are socialized into a society that rewards both whiteness and silence on whiteness-denial about, ignorance of, and self-distancing from the racist status quo (Knowles et al, 2014;Spanierman & Cabrera, 2014).…”

Section: Part I: Conceptualizing Adolescent Development In a Society ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Racial colorblindness is dominant in U.S. schools (Aldana & Byrd, 2015) and shapes how white parents talk, or do not talk, to their children about race (Hagerman, 2018; Perry et al., 2019; Sullivan et al., 2021). Thus, white youth are explicitly and implicitly taught that race does not matter, while simultaneously experiencing systematic privilege on the basis of race (Rogers, Moffitt, & Foo, 2021; Spencer, 2006, 2021; Sue, 2006; Tatum, 2017). How white youth make sense of their racial identities in the context of racial privilege, however, is rarely conceptualized as focal or relevant to their normative development.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…White supremacy is more than racial violence or far‐right ideology; it encompasses a system of practices, beliefs, and policies that privilege whiteness and center the interests and experiences of white people (Hooks, 1992). Both white supremacy and normativity shape who and what is studied in developmental science (Causadias et al., 2018; Rogers, Niwa et al., 2021; Spencer, 2021). While there have been multiple calls for more thorough investigations of power and privilege in child and adolescent development (Kornbluh et al., 2021), particularly in relation to white youth (Hazelbaker et al., 2022; Rogers, 2019; Seaton et al., 2018; Spencer, 2017), developmental research in this area remains limited.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Studying Ethnic‐Racial Identity among White Youth: White Supremacy as a Developmental Context

Moffitt¹,

Rogers²

2022

J of Research on Adolesc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As developmental scholars increasingly study ethnic and racial identity among white youth, careful reflection is needed regarding its framing, implementation, and interpretation. In this three‐part conceptual paper, we offer a foundation for such reflection. First, we discuss the sociocultural context of white supremacy that shapes U.S. society, psychology, and adolescent development, and situate the study of ethnic and racial identity among white youth within this context. Second, we consider Janet Helms’s White Racial Identity Development model, reviewing theory and research building on her argument that race—and whiteness, specifically—must be centered to achieve racial justice‐oriented scholarship on white identity. We conclude by offering four guiding insights for conducting critical research on racial identity development among white youth.

show abstract

Section: First We Should Use Models Designed To Assess Whiteness In C...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Part I: Conceptualizing Adolescent Development In a Society ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Studying Ethnic‐Racial Identity among White Youth: White Supremacy as a Developmental Context

Moffitt¹,

Rogers²

2022

J of Research on Adolesc

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Quite effectively, research has excluded the experiential knowledge of children and families from racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse communities (Bang et al, 2012; Yosso, 2005). Most damaging is that this approach has generated deficit‐based narratives about a large portion of children and their families (Spencer, 2021), reflecting and reproducing larger systemic inequities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young children co‐constructing science: The importance of their families and cultural communities

McWayne

Melzi

2023

Science Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is considerable agreement among scientists, educators, and policymakers about the need to broaden participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education. Yet, equity requires much more than increasing STEM access for marginalized groups of children. In this invited commentary, we raise two critical points for the field to continue to grapple with as we investigate ways to engage young minds in STEM learning. It is critical that research with young children focuses on the process of doing science, while appreciating that the process of scientific thinking and learning are culturally constructed and situated. Specifically, as researchers and educators, we must do better at contextualizing children's scientific thinking process as it unfolds in their daily lives—with their peers, families, and in their cultural communities. Specific studies highlighted throughout this essay seek to document and promote family, community, and teaching practices that are effective for supporting young children's learning and explorations in STEM across our increasingly diverse society. We propose opportunities for future researchers to focus their efforts, including the following: more multidisciplinary work that includes synthesis across disciplines and methodological traditions; more diverse samples and investigative teams, such that cultural insiders are full participants; more descriptive studies focusing on the everyday experiences in children's lives that promote the development of scientific thinking and practices; and practice‐informed research.

show abstract

Recentering the individual in context using the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory: Applications for higher education

Olson,

Ozaki,

Johnston‐Guerrero

2023

New Drctns Hghr Edu

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Student development theory has been an important guide in practice; however, few theories focus on both the individual and the influence of the environment. Spencer's (1997) Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) examines the individual, the environment, and the role of environmental feedback on self‐perceptions, with a specific focus on how this feedback influences student experiences and outcomes. PVEST allows for assessing the processes by which an individual can develop strategies to resist negative feedback from oppressive environments, as well as how individuals use different coping mechanisms. In this chapter, we apply PVEST to individual student‐level exemplars, as well as examples within counseling and classroom microcontexts to demonstrate the importance of environmental influence as well as phenomenological individual differences in interpretations and self‐perception. Ultimately, we demonstrate how PVEST is a theoretical mechanism to focus on both the person and their phenomenological experiences (PEs), and offer larger implications for use in higher education contexts.Practical Takeaways While critical for student affairs (SA) and higher education (HE) practitioners to consider the influence of the environment on college student development, experiences, and outcomes, there can still be individual, subjective phenomenological differences across individuals who might share similar identities and be in similar contexts. We encourage practitioners to utilize PVEST—which examines the individual and the environment—with a specific focus on the role of environmental feedback on self‐perceptions, and how these self‐perceptions can impact student experiences and outcomes. PVEST is useful for understanding an individual's risk and protective factors, their available sources of challenge and support, and the coping mechanisms they use. Ultimately, PVEST can help a SA/HE practitioner assess processes by which the student can develop strategies to resist negative feedback from oppressive environments.

show abstract

Acknowledging Bias and Pursuing Protections to Support Anti-Racist Developmental Science: Critical Contributions of Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory

Cited by 16 publications

References 10 publications

Studying Ethnic‐Racial Identity among White Youth: White Supremacy as a Developmental Context

Studying Ethnic‐Racial Identity among White Youth: White Supremacy as a Developmental Context

Young children co‐constructing science: The importance of their families and cultural communities

Recentering the individual in context using the Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory: Applications for higher education

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About