Partnering with Youth to Promote Student Wellbeing - YEDI Affiliated Project
Valerie Shapiro, Professor
Social Welfare
Applications for Spring 2024 are closed for this project.
Research has demonstrated how social and emotional learning (SEL) in schools can greatly improve the wellbeing and achievement of young people, but this research doesn’t always involve the youth themselves. This project will train and support undergraduate students to partner with K-12 students across the state of California who want to conduct focus groups with their K-12 peers as part of local school and community improvement projects.
Role: We are seeking undergraduate students to serve as project assistants.
Tasks may include:
-Collaborate on the preparation of tools (e.g., focus group guides)
-Help the team prepare for project meetings and create youth and adult-facing trainings about how to use the tools.
-Become ready to provide coaching in the use of the tools and/or assist in the preparation of others.
-Support the facilitation of webinars, production of reports, and/or interact directly with K-12 youth to provide coaching in their use of the tools.
NOTE: Tasks will be available in accordance to your individual talents and readiness for contribution.
Learning Outcomes may include:
-Learn about youth development and transformation in the K-12 education sector
-Learn about Social and Emotional Learning and "youth voice" initiatives
-Gain experience with qualitative data collection procedures (e.g., focus groups)
-Learn about cascading mentorship and professional development
Advanced students will participate in the writing of research briefs.
NOTE: Student apprentices starting in the Fall will be given the opportunity to become a YEDI scholar. If you are selected for this research project, you will be given the opportunity to join the Youth Equity Discovery Initiative (YEDI) program. YEDI is a research apprenticeship and mentorship program that supplements your URAP research work with weekly workshops in both Fall and Spring semesters. YEDI creates a cohort of undergraduate scholars (usually around 20-30, many from underrepresented backgrounds) that are working on youth equity research projects, such as this one. The year-long program utilizes cascading mentorship, skill-building workshops, and professional development to provide supportive pathways into research careers, service, and leadership addressing adolescent inequities and well-being. Scholars greatly benefit from (and enjoy!) the extra training and support, as well as the professional development opportunities (including faculty guest speakers, graduate student and practitioner panels). The program culminates in a research symposium presentation at the end of the program. The 2023-2024 YEDI cohort will meet on Tuesdays from 11am - 12:30pm beginning September 19th. In order to take part in the YEDI program, you MUST be able to attend the workshops at this time. As a YEDI scholar, you will sign up for a PH198 class and receive 1 unit. This is in addition to the units you receive for your URAP research project. For any questions about YEDI, please contact Marieka Schotland at mschotland@berkeley.edu or visit our website here.
NOTE: This project participates in the LAEP program that enables underrepresented undergraduate students who have filed for financial aid to earn money in research-related positions in order to help reduce their educational costs. You may simultaneously earn academic credit for successful completion of this apprenticeship. If you are interested in participating in the LAEP program, please *affirm your eligibility* in your application. Eligibility criteria are: a) California resident, b) Enrolled in 6 or more units / good academic standing, c) Filed a FAFSA or CADAA and have work-study eligibility, d) Eligible to work in the U.S., including current DACA holders.
We value equity and inclusion; Students from different backgrounds, with diverse identities and experiences, are all encouraged to apply.
Qualifications: Qualifications: (1) Academic, research, or work experience in education, psychology, public health, social welfare, or a related field, (2) Interest in system change in K-12 education, (3) Comfort with electronic communications (email) and associated technology, (4) Capacity to participate in video conferencing with reliable connection, mic, and video, (5) Experience being relied on as detail-oriented and organized, (6) Experience with project management or coordination, (7) Capacity to contribute up to 9-11 hours a week during the academic term, with some hours occurring during weekday business hours, with a flexible schedule to be responsive to project pace, (8) Seeking multiple semesters of involvement, (9) Willingness to share with supervisor when you’re unsure or have a question.
Preferred Qualifications: (1) Comfortable working with and speaking in front of groups (youth and adults), (2) Experience with group facilitation and/or trainings, (3) Understanding of the qualitative data collection and/or research experience, (4) Ability to interact with a wide range of scenarios in engaging and comfortable manner, (5) Work experience with middle and/or high school students, (6) Experience with Qualtrics or other electronic survey tool, (7) Experience with Dedoose or other qualitative analysis tool, (8) Experience manipulating Google Sheets, (9) Completed CITI training to learn about research ethics: https://www.citiprogram.org/?pageID=668. Students may be required to complete asynchronous, online training about research ethics and a background check (if required by project partner). Students will need to have the capacity for 9-11 hours of contribution to the project each week for Fall and Spring semester, adjusted for university holidays. Our ideal student will have interest in a multi-year commitment to our research team with escalating roles and responsibilities, with a possibility of summer extensions.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Dr. Marieka Schotland, Staff Researcher
Hours: 9-11 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: All work can be conducted virtually (in US Pacific time zone). Workstation can be made available in Haviland Hall. YEDI participation will require in-person meetings on campus.
Related website: https://fridaynightlive.tcoe.org/
Related website: https://i4y.berkeley.edu/