CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Ashley Patterson, associate professor of education and women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Penn State, believes turning wishes for equity in education into hopeful realities is both “a goal and a process.”
As a guest speaker for Penn State Lehigh Valley’s (PSU-LV) Collaborative for Research on Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI), a campus initiative that supports student research on social justice, Patterson said she strives to provide her students with the tools to holistically facilitate change. A co-instructor alongside colleague Efrain Marimón for the D.C. Social Justice Fellowship course at the University Park campus, Patterson prepares her students to transfer classroom concepts into real life during a three-week teaching and learning immersion program in Washington, D.C, where students assume the role of teacher in partnership with several D.C. public high schools and Georgetown Law.
“We want students to close the gap between their theoretical social justice understanding and their practical application,” Patterson said.
In a virtual webinar with the PSU-LV JEDI Collaborative, Patterson called attention to patterns of inequities that occur within educational spaces. Using a technique called reconstructive discourse analysis (RDA), verbal exchange in the classroom is analyzed and language that may lack elements of inclusivity or equity are identified.
“It’s a fairly retrospective analytical method,” Patterson said. “It takes a good bit of attention to gather discourse examples, analyze them, and see patterns. But after you’ve done the work, then you can be more cognizant of them moving forward.”
Patterson recounted her visit to a middle school classroom that demonstrated an impressive level of trust between teacher and student, an aura to which she accredited inclusive dialogue.
“By focusing on language use in the classroom, I was able to see that this trust and mutually respectful relationship was built just from the way [the teacher] would speak to the students,” Patterson said.
Conversely, Patterson noticed when the teacher’s language actually detracted from their goals. Identifying these moments and tracking similar instances is a critical part of the RDA process.
Patterson also discussed the relationship between a student’s self-perception and their classroom experience.
“Research has shown that there is a direct tie between learning spaces and a student’s ability to perceive themselves as being capable of high achievement,” Patterson said.
She addressed a recent study on standardized testing procedures in support of this theory.
“There's shown to be a link between when students take a standardized test, and they have to write down their race and/or gender versus when they don't," Patterson said. "Even if the rest of the test has nothing to do with that, when it's called to the forefront, when it’s data being collected, students performed, statistically, significantly worse than when they didn't.”
Patterson encourages teachers to consider these situations when carrying out their classroom strategy.
“I want educators to make a space where learners feel validated, included, celebrated, challenged and supported — however it makes sense to them,” she said.
The JEDI Program at Penn State Lehigh Valley is currently in its third year, supporting student research fellows in their individual pursuits. Computer science major Samreen-Joy Minhas is investigating stereotypes and gender harassment found within the video gaming industry by conducting surveys with female gamers and initiating discussions with game developers.
“I want to find ways to mitigate the harassment that women and other minorities face in the gaming community,” Minhas said.
Biobehavioral health student Muhammadmahdi Shivja is exploring socioeconomic factors associated with immigrant access to health care in the United States. Shiva is using the Social Determinants of Health Theory as a framework for his research complemented by a balance of quantitative analyses and qualitative interviews.
“I am very familiar with the plight individuals and families like mine face and it is a problem that needs addressing," Shivja said.
“We hope that this experience helps broaden student perspectives and exposures as they concern lifelong goals,” said Jennifer Parker, associate professor of sociology at PSU-LV and JEDI Collaborative adviser.
For more information on JEDI Research Fellowships at Penn State Lehigh Valley, visit lehighvalley.psu.edu/jedi-research-fellowships.