W&M Featured Events
[PAST EVENT] Faculty Research Brown Bag: Janise Parker
Access & Features
- Open to the public
Janise Parker, assistant professor of school psychology, will present "Promoting self-determination and academic engagement among African-American secondary learners: Are we asking the right questions?"
From a Causal Agency Theoretical (CAT) perspective, researchers have long investigated self-determination skill development and use (e.g., self-advocacy, goal setting and attainment, choice/decision making, etc.) among students with disabilities as a means to empower them to exert more control over their school and post-school outcomes. In recent years, scholars have called for more research that seeks to understand academic self-determination and personal agency among students without disabilities, with multiple scholars emphasizing a need to examine these constructs among African American pupils. We conducted focus group interviews with 24 African American high school students to understand their experiences with self-determination skill development and use in school settings. Data were analyzed using Critical Race Theory, as well as Bourdieu's (1986) and Coleman's (1988) theory of cultural and social capital, to understand the students' experiences from a culturally responsive perspective. Implications for high school educators (including school counselors and school psychologists) will be explicated.
Janise Parker joined the faculty of the School of Education in 2017. Prior to coming to William & Mary, she completed a two-year postdoctoral appointment in the school psychology program at the University of South Florida, doing both research and teaching. In addition to her current appointment, Janise is a Licensed Psychologist and Nationally Certified School Psychologist (NCSP).
Dr. Parker's research primarily focuses on student engagement and motivation among adolescent males, and culturally responsive practice in school psychology. Along those lines, she has much experience collaborating with high school educators to support at-risk youth from diverse backgrounds and providing counseling support in public schools for middle and high school students.