Description

Shelby Cooley, PhD, is a senior research scientist for the Seattle Public Schools, where she works to better understand student needs and experiences pertaining to racial identity, school climate, academic engagement and more.  In the past, she has worked as the research director at a Seattle-based nonprofit called Community Center for Education Results, focused on improving student achievement and educational equity. Shelby received her B.A. from Scripps College in psychology and Black studies, and  her PhD from the University of Maryland in Developmental Science    where she examined the emergence of anti-Black racism in childhood, how environments shape children's perceptions of fairness and justice, racial identity, and contexts that enable all youth to challenge negative group norms. Her prior professional work focused on early learning access and quality instruction at New York University's INSIGHTS to Children's Temperament Lab, and at Child Trends in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit research center focused on  children, families, and wellbeing.

In this episode, we discuss:

1. What do you do as a senior research scientist for the Seattle Public Schools?
2. How does this research get used to improve the learning experiences of students?
3. Where does policy come into play, and are you involved in this step?
4. What are your primary research interests as they pertain to education?
5. When trying to make the education system more equitable, is the agent of change bottom up or top down?
6. What role does research play in systems change?
7. What types of conversations move us closer to antiracism in education, and what conversations have become unproductive?
8. Why did you major in psychology?
9. Why was a PhD a logical step for you?
10. How did your mentors shape you?
11. Why were you interested in identity development, particularly in people of color?
12. Can you describe any experience in grad school that helped you solidified what you wanted to do with your research?
13. Why did you not want to be a professor?
14. Her roles at nonprofit organizations
15. Where does change happen?
16. Is it becoming more common for folks with psych backgrounds to enter the education space?
17. What advice do you have for the Psych Mic audience?

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Music by: Adam Fine