November 20, 2019 | UHCL Staff
For research presented at the 43rd Annual National Association of Social Workers Texas State Conference held during October in Galveston, University of Houston-Clear Lake post-baccalaureate
social work student Jasara (J) Scates won third place.
Scates, who graduated from UH-Clear Lake with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology in 2003, is completing his Bachelor of Social Work and hopes to graduate in 2021. The conference, he explained, is an opportunity for social work students to share their research and network with social work practitioners.
“I presented analyzed resilience and perceived privilege at the intersection of gender, and my work incorporates trans, cisgender and non-binary populations as well,” he said. “Further, I looked at the impact this intersection had on a self-reported resilience scale, showing one’s ability to bounce back in difficult circumstances.”
Cisgender people are those who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.
He said that among the essential questions participants answered included whether they believed that white, male, and CIS privileges exist.
“I collected this data with the help of (Teaching Assistant and health services psychology doctoral student) Amy Gorniak, and later, through an independent study in which (Assistant Professor of Psychology) Christine Walther helped me with the statistics,” he said. “One reason for my interest in studying privilege and resilience occurred from recognizing many systemic issues within the public school system and noticing the resilience of our students during the 12 years I worked at a local non-profit agency.”
Scates said he’d worked with a group of seventh grade girls who expressed concern that he would notice that the grades among African American students in the group were lower. “They thought I might think something was inherently wrong with them,” Scates said. “By establishing trust in an open conversation, I was able to see their fear and vulnerability, but also their resilience in advocating for themselves.”
He said he’s also worked with a gay male student who was bullied for wearing makeup to school. “An administrator told him that if he stopped wearing makeup, he wouldn’t be bullied anymore,” he said. “That’s victimizing the victim. These were two examples of many experiences where I earned the privilege to listen, believe in, and amplify the voices of marginalized students advocating for themselves. In wanting to make things better for my students, I am using these experiences to influence my research in this field.”
Associate Professor of Social Work Heather Kanenberg directed Scates’ research. “The National Association of Social Workers Texas Conference presents an exciting opportunity for our students to engage within the profession,” Kanenberg said. “They are able to submit research posters for presentation, as Jasara did, as well as attend as student volunteers.”
She added that the NASW Conference presented rich learning opportunities for UHCL students. “We are always excited when a student decides to submit their research for consideration. "Jasara, and other students who participate, are able to network, practice their skills of professionalism, and attend sessions to learn about their areas of interest in our field. It is always an inspiring experience for our students to be among their future colleagues within the profession," she said.
Scates said he presented his research and displayed his poster in an open area, where he spoke to conference participants and judges. “The most important part of my research is that cisgender people don’t recognize their privilege,” he said. “People who responded to my surveys had to identify their gender identity, and based on the results, cisgender individuals tended not to realize they hold inherent advantages. Further, cisgender males often don’t believe that this privilege exists.”
He said that his interest in the field of social work lay on the “macro” level, which evaluates large-scale social processes and systems and looks to effect positive change. “I recognized systemic issues and I feel like I have to do something about it,” he said. “By using my areas of privilege, I strive to continue to reduce systemic oppression now, as a future doctoral student, and eventually as a social work professor and researcher — which is a journey that brought me back to UHCL.”
Read more about UHCL’s Social Work program.
