IHDSC Seed Awards enable faculty to engage in research projects with a demonstrated commitment to interdisciplinary perspectives that seek to dismantle inequality, expand opportunities, and increase social impact. We continue to prioritize proposals that center the voices and knowledge of community stakeholders; feature research teams that include early-career investigators, BIPOC investigators, and/or investigators new to IHDSC or NYU; and integrate collaboration and partnership. Our 2024-2025 awardees, their research teams, and project summaries are listed below.
From Our Mother’s Hands: Exploring the Self-Identity Formation of Black Women and Girls
This study explores the self-identity formation of Black women and girls through the historic cultural practice of storytelling. Black women exist at the intersection of racial and gendered identities, yet research often fails to consider these identities as interwoven experiences. Grounded in Black Feminist Thought, Racial Socialization, and Community Cultural Wealth, this qualitative study examines the oral stories Black mothers share with their daughters and how these narratives shape identity development.
Using a narrative qualitative design, the study will conduct individual video interviews and mother-daughter dyad interviews with 20 Black families across multiple U.S. cities. Participants will also engage in creative data collection, including self-portraits and significant circles, to visually represent their lived experiences. Data analysis will utilize emic coding to identify themes within and across families, centering Black women’s voices and perspectives.
Findings will contribute to understanding how Black mothers transmit cultural values and social knowledge to support their daughters' socioemotional well-being and resilience. This research highlights Black women’s labor in shaping their children's identities and resisting deficit narratives. Results will have multidisciplinary implications for researchers, educators, and community-based organizations, informing culturally responsive approaches to education and mental health support.
By capturing the lived realities of Black families, this study will provide foundational insights for future large- scale research. The project aims to amplify the voices of Black women and girls, validate their experiences, and contribute to scholarly and community discourse on racial and gender identity formation.
PI: Dr. Lauren Mims, Assistant Professor, Applied Psychology, Steinhardt
Co-PI: Dr. Danielle Perry, Senior Research Associate, Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools
Partner: Black Girls Mental Health Collective
Teacher Engagement and Perspectives of School Breakfast: A Mixed-Methods National Study
The School Breakfast Program is a national policy designed to reduce food insecurity and improve student health, behavior, and academic outcomes. Alternative breakfast models, such as Breakfast in the Classroom, have increased participation, yet research has largely focused on student outcomes rather than teacher engagement and perspectives. As key stakeholders, teachers play a critical role in classroom-based breakfast programs, but their perspectives and involvement remain under-examined.
This theory-based, mixed methods study will assess K-12 teachers’ engagement and perspectives on school breakfast models across the U.S. through a national survey and qualitative interviews. Aim 1 will use a validated survey to compare teacher engagement and perspectives of breakfast participation, food waste, student behavior, and academic outcomes across alternative and traditional cafeteria-based breakfast models. Aim 2 will employ semi-structured interviews to explore teachers’ perspectives and how they engage with students during breakfast at school. Aim 3 will integrate quantitative and qualitative data to examine how teacher engagement in school breakfast influences school meal culture, classroom dynamics, and student participation.
Findings will provide critical insights into teacher perspectives and engagement in school meal programs, identifying strategies to enhance participation and effectiveness. The study will inform school meal policies, professional development programs, and future large-scale interventions aimed at improving breakfast accessibility and student well-being. Results will support grant applications for expanded research on teacher training initiatives in school meal programs, ultimately contributing to national efforts to reduce food insecurity and promote student health and success.
PI: Dr. Deborah Olarte, Assistant Professor, Nutrition and Food Studies, Steinhardt
"This is supposed to be a sanctuary": A Mixed-methods Study of Racial Equity Plan Implementation to Build Welcoming Climates and Belonging for Latino Newcomer Immigrant Youth
This multiphase explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examines the multi-layered racial equity planning implementation process and their intervention to develop a cross-school coalition called the immigration working group (IWG), which brings together educators, leaders, and district personnel to build awareness about immigration policy and prepare for enforcement as well as develop plans to signal affirmation to their immigrant students. This one district, Cityside (pseudonym), maintains a student population of 3500 children and over 1200 identify as Latino/x immigrants, and thus provides a rich case within the mixed-methods design of how districts can combat hostile policies and cultivate safe school spaces. Dr. Rodriguez will study how this IWG intervention impacts immigrant youth belonging, with specific attention to increasing Latino/x newcomer immigrants in my project. There are two phrases to this project: a quantitative measure of Latino/x immigrant youth belonging; and qualitative data collection and analysis of the district’s equity plan implementation, including monthly IWG meetings and immigrant youth perceptions of its impact on their sense of belonging through focus groups (N=8) with middle and high school immigrant youth (N=80).
PI: Dr. Sophia Rodriguez, Associate Professor, Administration, Leadership, and Technology, Steinhardt
Co-Creating a Culturally Responsive Digital Training Program to Enhance Livelihoods and Social Cohesion among Refugees and Host Community Members in Dadaab Refugee Settlement Camp
As displacement has become protracted, with low middle income countries (LMICs) hosting the largest number of long-term refugees despite having limited resources to support them, international aid towards displaced populations has significantly reduced. The combination of a large influx of refugees and reduced aid has led to competition for the limited resources, potentially exacerbating intergroup conflict among different refugee groups and between refugees and host communities. Humanitarian organizations have shifted from providing direct aid to refugees in protracted displacement to developing livelihood programs to facilitate refugees’ self-reliance. However, these programs often face sustainability challenges. Furthermore, although they promote economic self-reliance, they ignore other needs that displaced populations have - for example, safety and social connection.
The grant will be used to support the planning and development of an intervention to support livelihood programs and social cohesion for displaced populations in Dadaab Refugee Camp and host communities in Garissa County, Kenya. The intervention will consist of a culturally responsive digital technology literacy and application training program that supports refugees and host communities’ livelihood programs. Additionally, we will explore how to integrate a theoretically-driven psychological intervention (e.g., intergroup contact) to support social cohesion among refugees and host communities within the training program. The intervention will be designed by a multi-disciplinary and multi-sector team consisting of researchers in Kenya, USA, and Belgium, a Kenya-based digital and media organization, and community-based and refugee-led organizations in Garissa county and Dadaab Refugee Camp.
PI: Dr. Michelle Twali, Assistant Professor, Applied Psychology, Steinhardt
Co-PI: Dr. David Mwambari, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social Sciences, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium
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IHDSC Seed Award Program
IHDSC is committed to funding new projects that bridge multiple domains of expertise and further the mission of the Institute.
2024-2025 IHDSC Partnership Development Seed Award Cohort
IHDSC is excited to announce the recipients of our second Partnership Development Seed Award! Meet the awardees and explore their innovative projects.