The Weekly Recap
News and Updates from Across BU Wheelock SPACE This Week
Welcome to this week’s recap! This week we provide details on faculty engagement, highlight news mentions and academic conferences, and share recently published research and upcoming events.
Updates from the SPACE Office:
Welcoming the 2025 PIC interns: This summer, the SPACE office is excited to host two Boston Public School student interns through Mayor Wu’s Summer Jobs Initiative in partnership with the Boston Private Industry Council (PIC). Please join us in welcoming Natalie Varela and Daniel Mendoza! Over six weeks, the interns will participate in a rotational program across three BU teams. The projects they’re working on are detailed below:
Expanding High School Internships in Higher Ed: Leading a research-driven project with input from the PIC to build a resource aimed at increasing internship opportunities for high school students at colleges and universities.
Developing an AI-Literacy Curriculum: Exploring artificial intelligence and human-centered design with Eric Gordon (Professor of the Practice, BU College of Communication), Justin Ruiz (doctoral student, BU Wheelock), and Caitlin Montes de Oca (EdM student, BU Wheelock).
Student Tech Workshop & Design: Investigating how students can help build joyful, student-centered technologies—including AI—with Michael Chang (Asst. Professor, BU Wheelock) and Lynn Brown (Senior Education Designer, The Earl Center for Learning & Innovation).
Faculty Engagement
Strategies for Children: Kyle DeMeo Cook (Research Asst. Professor, BU Wheelock) and Karen Murphy (Clinical Assoc. Professor, BU Wheelock) joined the Strategies for Children 930 Call to share details about BU Wheelock’s Early Childhood master’s programs—including degrees in Teaching and Leadership, Advocacy, and Policy for Early Childhood Well-Being. Learn more about these programs and apply by August 1st here.
Academic Conferences
International Sociology Conference in Rabat: Mary Churchill (Assoc. Dean, SPACE) and Anthony Jack (Assoc. Professor, BU Wheelock) traveled to Rabat, Morocco for the International Sociological Association (ISA) Forum on Sociology. While at the Forum, they shared their research through the following presentations:
Pink Slips (for Some): Campus Employment, Social Class, and COVID-19 —Anthony Jack
Contemporary Challenges of Governance for Women Presidents in Higher Education and Access to Education and Knowledge: Crucial Shared Spaces for Creating Understanding and Building Democracy — Mary Churchill
In The News
The truth behind the endless “kids can’t read” discourse, Vox (Asst. Professor Elena Forzani quoted), July 9, 2025.
Research That Matters
Black Youth and Critical Literacy: Engaging Black Educational Consciousness: Unpacking Intersectional Youth Voices in Urban Schools (co-authored by Asst. Professor Davena Jackson)
The research uses a youth-centered approach to investigate Black youth's critical literacy practices in urban schools. The authors explore how young people from schools identified as "urban", both geographically and ideologically, utilize a Black educational consciousness—defined as an awareness of Black education's historical and contemporary realities—to engage with the curriculum.Framed by theories of humanization and intersectionality, the qualitative studies reveal two main themes: "Confronting Black Marginality" and "Seeing Blackness in the Curriculum and Beyond".
Strength Training and Adolescent Girls: Motivation for Adherence in Weight Training Past Adolescence in Women: An Exploratory Phenomenological Inquiry (co-authored by Assoc. Professor Edson Filho)
Adolescent girls often report greater body dissatisfaction than boys, yet few engage in or stick with strength training (ST), which may support positive body image. This study explored what motivates women who began ST in adolescence to continue over time. Researchers interviewed five women who started ST as teens and maintained it for over five years (average duration: 12.6 years). Four key themes emerged: initial onset, adherence, exit, and reentry (starting, sticking with it, stopping, and restarting). Researchers found that early motivations included environmental influences (like role models) and concerns about body image. Continued participation was driven by improved mood, confidence, and a sense of physical strength. Barriers to continued training included injuries, life transitions, and unsupportive settings. Return to ST was often linked to modifying workouts and finding better environments. Findings highlight the importance of both self-perception and environment in initiating ST, while sustained benefits support long-term adherence. Life events can disrupt routines, but adaptive strategies may support reengagement.
Witnessing Bias-Based Harassment and Mental Health: Longitudinal Associations Between Witnessing Bias-Based Harassment and Mental Health Functioning (co-authored by Professor Jen Green)
In this article, researchers shed light on the significant impact that witnessing bias-based harassment can have on the mental health of young people, even if they are not directly the victims themselves. This study looked at survey data from 340 students (about half girls; mostly White, non-Hispanic) who saw bias-based harassment happen to others but were not directly targeted themselves. It examined how witnessing this kind of harassment over time related to their mental health and substance use. The study also investigated how support across different levels of adolescents’ lives – like help from adults and feeling safe at school – might serve as protective factors. The results showed that seeing religious-based harassment, as well as overall bias-based harassment, was linked to higher anxiety and depression. However, support from adults and feeling safe at school helped protect against these negative effects. This means that even when teens aren’t directly targeted, witnessing bias-based harassment can still harm their mental health. The study also discusses ways to prevent and reduce these harmful effects.
Upcoming Events
Summer 2025 Soccer Unity Cup – The Soccer Unity Project is seeking volunteers for this summer’s tournament, July 19–August 9 at Carter Playground. Support community, sport, and connection—sign up today and learn more here.
📅 Date: July 19th- August 9th, 2025
📍Carter Playground, Northeastern University