Browsing by Subject "empowerment"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Decolonization and liberation psychology: The case of psychology in South Africa
    (Cambridge UP, 2020) de la Rey, Cheryl; Thompson, Chalmer E.
    This chapter focuses on psychology in South Africa as a discipline and profession embedded in a history of colonialism and apartheid. It a describes South African psychology as a site of epistemological contestation shaped by historical racial identities and relations of power and asserts that liberation psychology is central to the contribution of the profession to eliminating human rights violations and fostering well-being. National student protests in 2015–2016 called for the “decolonization” of the curriculum, bringing into sharp focus the decades-long debate about the relevance of psychology and the need for transformation. While the focus is psychology in South Africa, the chapter broadens the discussion of decolonizing the field to other nations plagued by histories of racial oppression such as Australia and the United States. Changes in the decolonizing process are not without their challenges, yet in a field of study that is one of the most popular among students, a cogent move toward decolonizing the psychology curriculum entails the invention of new voices and theories as well as liberation psychology practices that center squarely on the needs for equity, violence prevention, and social justice.
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    Girl Power: A Girls Empowerment and Social-Emotional Skills Program at the Boys and Girls Club
    (2024) Kelly, Chandler; Wasmuth, Sally; Department of Occupational Therapy, School of Health and Human Sciences; Harris, LeeAnn
    Due to the circumstances of the home environment or living conditions, many of the students attending the Boys and Girls Club have experienced trauma and thus have high adverse childhood experience (ACE) scores. According to research, emotional regulation and coping skills can contribute to minimizing racial trauma and preventing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). Additionally, the program director of the Boys and Girls Club identified that many of the members have difficulty with emotional regulation, coping skills, and self-esteem. The purpose of this capstone project was to address and meet these needs by developing and implementing a girls empowerment, social-emotional skills program. Intervention activities focused on emotional regulation, coping skills, interoception, and self-esteem. The girls demonstrated satisfaction with their participation in the program by stating that they enjoyed the activities, reporting something they learned, and recommending the program to other girls. A digital and physical program handbook was created to improve sustainability and increase likelihood of continuation of program implementation after the conclusion of the capstone.
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    Power, Resistance, and Transformation: A Leadership Studies Analysis of Dystopian Young Adult Literature
    (2019-08) Hampshire, Kathryn Marie; Musgrave, Megan; Seelinger Trites, Roberta; Sickmann Han, Carrie
    Through an analysis of the depiction of female protagonists in young adult dystopian and speculative works of fiction, this thesis establishes leadership studies as a theoretical framework for literary study. Leadership studies is a relatively young branch of academic inquiry, using interdisciplinary approaches to investigate the phenomenon of leadership. From psychology, sociology, and philosophy, to education, business, and history, leadership studies has both drawn from and provided insight into a variety of disciplines; however, these theories have not yet found their way into conversations about literature. My thesis pulls leadership studies away from its corporate connotations to establish it as a valid and valuable addition to our literary analysis repertoire through a demonstration of its potential to further conversations about texts. This analysis is positioned within the contexts of children’s literature, feminist theory, and practices of reading for ideology, anchoring leadership studies in already-established modes of inquiry while demonstrating how this field offers valuable insight into them. My focus on dystopian and speculative young adult novels reflects the recent surge in dystopic/postapocalyptic texts that feature strong female protagonists, presenting potential leadership strategies for young girl readers during an important stage of development. Thus, this thesis uses leadership studies to further our analysis of how agency, power, and gender are represented within children’s literature.