Research Spotlight Podcast Introduced

November 4, 2021

In October, the School of Social Work introduced the Research Spotlight podcast. Dr. Angie Kennedy, Associate Director for Research, interviewed Dr. Ashlee Barnes-Lee, a community psychologist and Dean’s Research Associate in the School, about her research project, Combating the School-to-Prison Pipeline with Restorative Practices: A Mixed Methods Approach. The podcast is about 15 minutes long and gives listeners a broad overview of the study, which involvespartnering with a metro Detroit middle school to investigate the impact of restorative practices on school climate and exclusionary discipline outcomes.

Dr. Barnes-Lee’s research team includes two community partners who serve as co-investigators: the middle school principal and a youth researcher who attended the middle school. Their study will make a significant contribution to the literature by evaluating the effectiveness of restorative practices in a school with a predominately Black student population.

The Research Spotlight will be a regular feature, covering different aspects of the research process. Next month, we highlight Michele Brock’s project, Youth Engaged in Leading and Learning(YELL), featured later in this newsletter. You can find the Research Spotlight on our website under the Research tab.