The Social Justice & Equity in Schools (SJES) lab is led by Jennifer Cooper, PhD, NCSP, at Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology's School-Clinical Child Psychology program. Our lab, developed in 2021, focuses on transformative learning and action to raise awareness and develop knowledge, skills and dispositions in school psychologists to 1.) confront and disrupt systemic inequities in schools and 2.) promote culturally responsive school mental health in working with marginalized youth and adolescents. Our dynamic research agenda currently includes:
Social justice and anti-racist principles within school psychology training
Increasing knowledge of, and access to, culturally responsive mental health and behavioral supports for marginalized youth and adolescents in schools
Critical consciousness in education and psychology
Participatory action research and other qualitative approaches
Jennifer Cooper, PhD, NCSP
Jennifer Cooper, PhD, NCSP (She/her), is an Assistant Professor in the School-Clinical Child Psychology program in the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University. She is a Nationally Certified and Licensed School Psychologist. Dr. Cooper earned her PhD in School Psychology from the Ohio State University. She previously served as the Director of Clinical Training at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and as an Assistant Professor and Co-Program Director of the School Psychology program at National Louis University in Chicago, IL. Dr. Cooper currently serves on the Editorial boards for School Psychology Review, Journal of School Psychology, and the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation. She serves on the Executive Board for the Trainers of School Psychologists and as the former Chair of the National Association of School Psychologists’ Social Justice Interest Group. Dr. Cooper’s research agenda is focused on preventing and treating youth mental, emotional, and behavioral issues through improving the use of multi-tier frameworks and culturally responsive evidence-based practices in schools. Dr. Cooper is especially interested in equitable access to mental health and behavioral supports in schools and training issues related to advocacy and social justice in psychology and education. She has presented nationally and published on topics related to social justice and mental health in schools. She teaches courses in consultation and supervision, assessment and school mental health. Click here to meet the rest of the team!