With research topics ranging from social justice schools to mental illness, marriage and refugees, four School of Education and Social Policy seniors were awarded $1,000 Undergraduate Research Grants from the Northwestern University Office of the Provost. The students are Zhen Cheng, human development and psychological services; Rebecca Crook, human development and psychological services; Julie Kornfeld, social policy; and Meixi Ng, social policy.
Zhen Cheng is researching “Origin of Mental Illness and Cultural Differences in Stigma,” and her adviser is Galen Bodenhausen in the Department of Psychology. She says, “My SESP honors thesis with Dr. Bodenhausen explores cultural differences in how different explanations for the origin of mental illness will affect subsequently expressed attitudes and perceptions of the mentally ill. In SESP, we learn about the impact of education, policy and various settings on our learning and development across the lifespan. This research is a significant step towards finding culturally effectively way to educate the Asian American community about mental illness in a way that reduces mental illness stigma and improves help-seeking behavior for those who need treatment. I would like to thank Drs. Bodenhausen, Chiao and Uttal for their continual guidance and investment in my project and in my development as a researcher!”
Rebecca Crook’s research project is “Relationship Power and Decision-making Processes Among Married Couples in Ghana,” and her faculty adviser is SESP assistant professor Eva Lam. Citing the fact that one in two Ghanaian women experiences intimate partner violence and the need for prevention, she says, “As the first to examine relationship power in West Africa, this study explores the interconnectedness between religion, culture, gender and power within interpersonal relationships. Specifically, this study explores how partners initiate and make final decisions regarding finances, child care and family planning; whose opinions are considered in discussions of these different issues and how husbands and wives’ religious beliefs influence their decision-making approaches.”
“As a Human Development and Psychological Services major, I have committed my four years to an interdisciplinary and in-depth study of human development and the resources that aim to enhance such development in the context of an individual’s family, community and broader cultural context. Investigating relationship power examines the same forces on the interpersonal relationship and has important implications for relational and individual development,” adds Crook, who spent a summer in Ghana.
Julie Kornfeld’s project is “The Effects of African Refugee Camps’ Cultural Orientation Programs on Refugees: Perceptions of their Role in Resettlement.” Explaining what led her to policy research, she recalls how she entered Northwestern in pre-med, not really sure if this was the right fit, and was directed to SESP by a friend. “As I sat through the information session, listening to the assistant dean talk about how her students were scattered about the world starting NGOs, volunteering in schools and interning at the UN, I realized that policy was another way to create change in the world. Through my SESP education I have learned what goes into creating and implementing responsible policy.”
“Through my practicum working for Heartland Alliance I became aware of the structural problems that exist in camps that have a profound effect on resettlement. As a result, I decided to conduct my senior honor thesis on cultural orientation programs in refugee camps and how they shape perceptions of their occupational potential in the U.S.” The Undergraduate Research Grant will allow Kornfeld to travel to Shimelba Refugee Camp in Ethiopia to conduct on-site research. “By interviewing the refugees and cultural orientation counselors and observing the classroom, I hope to gain a realistic view of the forces that influence refugee perceptions,” she says. Kornfeld’s research adviser is Galya Ruffer in International Studies.
Meixi Ng’s research topic is “The Transformative Power of Schools and Communities: A Global Look at the Role of Classroom and Community Processes in Social Justice Schools,” and her faculty adviser is SESP professor James Spillane. Her current research is a continuation of the Circumnavigators Research Grant she received over the summer to study schools in marginalized communities in Guatemala, Perú, Singapore, Thailand, Ghana and France. “Working with faculty members in SESP, Dean Peterson and many others and through the thesis class, I have been able to sharpen my focus in the data analysis of the over 100 interviews I've collected over the summer, and I'm so excited to have the Undergraduate Research Grant help ensure a research project and thesis of the highest quality,” she says.
I've been so changed my the entire process of research, in the way that I think about the world and how I see myself fitting into this movement of change around the world in schools and communities. The people I've met, the stories I've collected and the conversations I've had with Burmese refugee students, Roma youth in the camps in France and students labeled ‘rejects’ by the Singapore education system have opened my eyes to how powerful research can be when thinking not just about how to create social change through education, but how to do it well — how to do it sustainably, responsibly and effectively. That is what my summer taught me.”
The Undergraduate Research Grants program offers academic year grants of up to $1,000 and summer grants of $3,000 in support of independent undergraduate projects. The next deadline for academic year Undergraduate Research Grant submissions is November 30.
For more information go to http://undergradresearch.northwestern.edu/undergraduate-research-grants-urg or e-mail undergradresearch@northwestern.edu.