Eric Kyere

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https://hdl.handle.net/1805/29867

Deconstructing Traumatic Memories Toward Healing and Identity Exploration with College Students in Ghana: Critical Reflection on Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery

Eric Kyere, Ph.D., focuses his research on working with communities to theorize racism, examine and identify the underlying mechanisms by which racism restrict/deny people of African descent’s access to psychosocial, educational and societal opportunities from an evolutionary standpoint, and ways to empower them to interrupt racism and advance social justice in their communities through education. He has expertise in a variety of areas including: students’ engagement, racial disparities in education and well-being, racial-ethnic socialization, racial identity and persons of African descent’s developmental outcomes, parenting, equitable school climate, program evaluation, international social work, and human trafficking. He employs a transdisciplinary approach to research and teaching. Specific to structural racism, his research employs the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Colonialism to engage communities and educators in meaning making process to interrogate and interrupt its continuing effects particularly in the U.S and Africa.

The goals of better understanding the history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and slavery are: (1) understand the processes by which slavery was established and sustained to foster the racialization project that persist today, (2) conceptualize human rights and human rights violations that are important to decolonize human right discourse, and (3) understand the complexity of the identity development of the persons of African descent. These understandings are important to shape the memory and meaning making process, ideas around social justice, and sense of solidarity among persons of African descent to interrogate and disrupt the mechanisms that persist anti-Black racism to facilitate healing from internalized subordination and empowerment.

Professor Kyere's translation of research into racial justice and empowerment for disenfranchised people of color is another excellent example of how IUPUI's faculty members are TRANSLATING their RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.

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Advancing Equity-Based School Leadership: The Importance of Family–School Relationships
(Springer, 2020) Flores, Osly J.; Kyere, Eric; School of Social Work
This narrative inquiry study presents the stories of five urban public school principals who continually enact and engage in praxis around school/family engagement as their social justice and equitable practices. The findings focus on how participants conceived and engaged in parent interaction: (1) the power of relationships, (2) resistance toward deficit thinking of parents and/or families, and (3) connecting their work with families to equity. An equity-based parent engagement model was developed on how the school leaders employ the power of relationships to engage parents, what participant interpreted their trusting relationship with parents reciprocated to them, and why they prioritize positive relationships with racially and ethnically diverse and economically disadvantage families. Overall, the findings extend emerging empirical research on the role of school leadership in effective parent engagement practice from an equity standpoint.
Alternative to Zero Tolerance Policies and Out-of-School Suspensions: A Multi-tiered Centered Perspective
(Taylor & Francis, 2018) Kyere, Eric; Joseph, Andrea; Wei, Kai; School of Social Work
Although zero-tolerance policies were created to foster safe school environments for student engagement and performance, the implementation of these policies has inadvertently resulted in the exclusion of millions of students through suspension and expulsion. Students of color, African-Americans in particular, disproportionately experience these exclusionary practices. This article examines the disproportionate negative effects of school discipline under the era of zero-tolerance policies. We first examine school discipline in a historical context. Second, we introduce and describe critical race theory and its relevance for understanding racialized school discipline. We conclude with implications for social workers to engage schools, African-American students, and their families, and advocate for school policies to create safe and equitable school environments that promote learning, in a culturally and racially responsive manner.
Differential impact, differential adjustments: diverse experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic by college students in an Upper-Midwestern University, USA
(PubMed, 2021) Karikari, Isaac; Karikari, Grace; Kyere, Eric; School of Social Work
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic though widespread is not monolithic. Therefore, a differentiated understanding of the pandemic's impact on people is critical. Further, it is important to recognize that even within the same group people's experiences may differ. The current study explored how the onset of COVID-19 and its mitigation measures impacted university students across the broad spectrum of their lives. The study utilized a qualitative approach based on individual and focus group interviews through Zoom. Participants were recruited using convenience and purposive sampling strategies. Twenty-one students (mean age = 33.8, over 76% whites, 15 females) participated in the study. Guided by systems and ecological systems theories and grounded in a contextualist paradigm, the data were analyzed thematically. Pseudonyms were adopted to preserve the anonymity of the participants. The findings revealed that COVID-19 has impacted students in varied ways ranging from the seemingly simple to the multi-layered and complex. An overarching theme, "same storm, different boats", which conveys the notion of differential impact, and differential adjustments was identified. Nested under the overarching theme are two main themes (1) Impact of COVID-19: disruptions, stressors, and silver linings and (2) Coping with COVID-19. Participants reported positive as well as negative impacts. Factors that helped students cope included institutional support, empathy from instructors, and family support. The findings suggest that to effectively respond to the impact of COVID-19 on students, it will be important to identify and attend to the distinct and diverse stressors within this population, and systems and ecological systems theories are important guiding frameworks.
Exploring the Independent and Interactive Effects of Political Identification and Moral Foundations in Perceiving Threats from Latino Immigrants in the United States
(Common Ground Research, 2021-06) Kyere, Eric; Wei, Kai; School of Social Work
This study explored the independent and interaction effect of political identification and moral foundations on perceived threats from Latino immigrants. Two hundred and eight adult Americans were recruited from the Amazon Turk Platform, 187 of whom completed the survey questions. On average, conservative participants reported higher realistic perceived threats from Latino immigrants in comparison with liberals. Consistent with prior work, multivariate regression analyses indicate that liberals at the superficial level were less likely to perceive a threat from Latino immigrants compared with conservatives. However, when political orientation/identification interacted with moral foundation, a nuanced picture emerged that contradicts the claim that liberals are more likely to be tolerant of immigrants. Negative associations between perceived threats from Latino immigrants and moral values rooted in harm and justice were observed. Finally, interaction effects suggest that efforts that foster moral values rooted in harm and fairness may reduce the perception of threat, regardless of political orientation, from Latino immigrants in the US.
Exploring the process by which positive racial identity develops and influences academic performance in Black youth: Implications for social work
(Taylor & Francis, 2019) Kyere, Eric; Huguley, James; School of Social Work
Although racial-ethnic socialization and racial-ethnic identity interlink to influence youth's developmental outcomes, the extant research has tended to investigate these constructs and their effect on youths’ outcomes separately. We therefore used path analysis to investigate the interrelationships between prominent racial-ethnic socialization and racial-ethnic identity constructs in one model to ascertain whether when considered simultaneously they have direct and/or mediated effect associations with the academic performance of African-American youths. Participants were drawn from the Maryland Adolescent Development in Context Study. Findings reveal that parenting practices that expose youths to racial/cultural heritage of African-Americans, in tandem with those that alert youths to potential discrimination and strategies to respond, may influence youths’ racial-ethnic identity domains. These racial-ethnic identity domains in turn shape one another in a complex way to positively predict academic performance. Implications for social work research and practice are discussed.
A Gardening Metaphor: A Framework for Closing Racial Achievement Gaps in American Public Education System
(Sage, 2018) Taylor, Jerome; Kyere, Eric; King, Ѐpryl; School of Social Work
The overarching purpose of this article is to introduce A Gardening Metaphor (AGM) as an evolving framework for accelerating the closure of racial achievement gaps in America. Toward this end, we provide: (a) an examination of the racial disparities in education that are disproportionately experienced by Black children; (b) a rationale for why racial achievement gaps must be closed; (c) an introduction to components of AGM; and (d) discussion of AGM gap closing potential through case study with implication for research and practice.
Racialized Healthcare Inequities Dating to Slavery
(Routledge, 2022) Kyere, Eric
Racism experienced by African Americans has been linked to several chronic illnesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a light on the reality of long denied or ignored racism, including in healthcare, and a historical review of racism in medicine is important. A critical historical review helps reveal potential resources by which African Americans have endured, resisted, and thrived despite racism's unrelenting pernicious effects on black communities. This essay documents the Black Church as a spiritual and healing resource since slavery.
The Role of Racial–Ethnic Identity in Understanding Depressive Symptoms in the Context of Racial Discrimination Among African American Youth
(The University of Chicago Press, 2022-06-06) Kyere, Eric; Rudd, Stephanie Ellen; Fukui, Sadaaki
Objective: The current study tested the individual associations of three dimensions of racial–ethnic identity (i.e., private regard, public regard, and racial centrality) on depression and their moderation effects on the relationship between racial discrimination and depression. Method: We conducted secondary data analysis using a large, nationally representative cross-sectional sample of African American youth in the United States ( N=810 N=810 ; mean age =15, SD=1.44 SD=1.44 ; 52% female). We used hierarchical multiple regression modeling to test the moderation effects of racial–ethnic identity dimensions on the relationship between racial discrimination and depression, controlling for demographics and parental support. Results: Of participants, 86% reported experiencing at least one of the racial discrimination experiences on the Everyday Discrimination Scale. Consistent with prior research, racial discrimination was associated with depressive symptoms; higher levels of emotional support from parents were significantly and negatively associated with depression. Most importantly, whereas the racial–ethnic identity dimensions were positively correlated to one another, we found they have unique associations with depression. In particular, public regard (i.e., participants’ evaluation of how society views the Black racial group) moderated the association between racial discrimination and depression. Conclusions: Although it is important to understand the independent effects of the racial–ethnic identity dimensions, the current study also suggests the need to understand their interactive effects on depression in the context of racial discrimination among African American youth.
The Role of Social Work Education in Fostering Empowerment of People of African Descent: The Significance of the History of Slavery and Colonialism
(IntechOpen, 2020-07-15) Raju Nikku, Bala; Kyere, Eric; Khandare, Lalit
Structural Racism, Workforce Diversity, and Mental Health Disparities: A Critical Review
(Springer, 2022-08-05) Kyere, Eric; Fukui, Sadaaki; School of Social Work
Racial workforce diversity has been suggested as a critical pathway to address persistent racial mental health disparities. However, structural racism has been noted to diminish such workforce diversity efforts. The purpose of this critical review is to identify the mechanisms through which structural racism operates in organizations, including mental health organizations, to undermine workforce diversity efforts and reinforce inequities.

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