Recent publications validate student experiences

Saint Michael’s students’ good work with faculty mentors is coming to fuller fruition recently with news of publications in prominent journals connected to that research and activity.

Elise Genereux ’16, a psychology major from Chelmsford, MA, this past summer did research funded by a grant from the Office of the Vice President of Academic Affairs. Recently she learned that she had an article published based on her research under the guidance of Saint Michael’s Education Professor Valerie Bang-Jensen, in the national magazine VOYA, which stands for Voice Of Youth Advocates (www.voyamagazine.com). Her article was called “The Power of Books: Non-Clinical Application of Bibliotherapy in After-School Programs.” Elise wrote about her experience working for a year while a Saint Michael’s student at the Boys & Girls Club and King Street Center, two after-school programs in Burlington, where she observed children who included many refugees or children from low-income families. The photo above shows the opening page of Elise’s bylined article, alongside part of a VOYA cover.

Also, Education Professor Claudine Bedell received confirmation in December that an article by graduate education student Jenny Morgan of Richmond titled “Collaboration and Special Ed” will be published in the International Journal of Whole Schooling. Bedell helped guide Morgan in writing about her completion last year of a “Capstone” project that involved working in special education at Monkton School.

Morgan also wrote about that Capstone experience recently in the Education Department’s newsletter: “Saint Mike’s taught me how to be a mindful and reflective educator. From the very early days of [taking the early course] The Decision to Teach to the final days of the Capstone Seminar, I learned how to reflect on my own practice as a student and a teacher. Reflection has become engrained in my practice and I find myself doing it automatically. Being mindful and reflective compels us to be accountable and responsible for the decisions and actions we engage in as educators. It is a skill that I will take with me through my whole life and career.”

In the article, Morgan addresses some of the collaboration issues that she explored with Bedell.  “As a Special Educator, I believe that collaboration and inclusion are the pathways to ensure the success of all learners,” says Morgan.