Webster Students, Faculty Have Global Impact at International School Psychology Association Conference
August 09, 2022
Professor Deborah Stiles, along with Applied Educational Psychology and School Psychology
graduate students Jessica Brown, Olivia Carter-Hoener, Tracy Mense and Jacob Yorg
presented “International School Psychology and the Crisis in Ukraine: Children’s Books
Could Become Catalysts for Change” to a global audience at the 43rd International
School Psychology Association (ISPA) Conference in Leuven, Belgium in July.
The presentation was the culmination of Stiles’ and students’ research investigating how children’s books have the power to facilitate emotional growth and healing – specifically for children faced with challenges on the scale of what is being experienced presently in the war and refugee crisis in Ukraine.
After learning about children’s views of the war from professional literature, Ukrainian children’s drawings and a native Ukrainian psychologist, the team posited bibliotherapy as one strategy that can be integrated within broader social-emotional learning activities to aid children in coping and recovery from the trauma they will endure during a crisis of such magnitude.
During the conference, Webster students had the opportunity to share ideas, interact and engage with psychologists from all over the world, including those from Russia and Ukraine.
"One or two moments can shape the entire trajectory of one's life pursuits,” Brown said, reflecting on her experience as a student researcher. “ISPA 2022 was one of those moments for me. It made me reflect on what impact I want to leave on the world and opened my mind to new possibilities for my future.”
She went on to express gratitude to Webster for its “dedication to teaching multiculturalism and cultural awareness to its students regardless of degree.”
“All students in Webster’s graduate Applied Educational Psychology and School Psychology programs are given opportunities to contribute to the knowledge base of school and educational psychology,” Stiles stressed. “Our presentation at the ISPA conference was our 54th collaborative professional presentation at a national/international conference.”
The students hope to expand their presentation efforts by writing and illustrating a therapeutic children’s book on the same topic.