Ashanti Hunter and Michelle Ho, inclusive early childhood and special education seniors in the School of Education, are engaged in research with Professor George Theoharis on the pipeline to educational leadership positions for women of color for building and school administrators and district administrators, respectively.
They were among the spring 2021 recipients of undergraduate research grants from SOURCE, Syracuse University’s undergraduate research center that fosters and supports diverse undergraduate participation in faculty-guided scholarly research and creative inquiry.
Undergraduate research grants help breathe life into student participation in the research and discovery enterprise of the University and support students from all disciplines across campus. During the 2020-21 academic year, SOURCE and the Renée Crown University Honors Program funded 167 awards for individual or team projects.
Students interested in research funding for the spring 2022 semester are invited to apply for SOURCE and Honors Program grants this fall. This cycle includes application to the Spinoza Grant, which supports undergraduate research that explores philosophical aspects of issues within the sciences or other professional disciplines.
The SOURCE and Honors Program grants are for student-designed projects, guided by a faculty mentor, with a timeline that could include spring 2022 only, or spring and/or summer 2022. Awards will be up to $5,000 for spring projects or up to $7,500 for spring and summer projects, and budgets may include supplies, participant compensation, essential research travel, conference fees, student payroll or summer stipend. Applications must include a research proposal, timeline, budget, transcript, resume and recommendation from the faculty mentor.
Within their research, Hunter and Ho are exploring and documenting the experiences of women of color who are K-12 school principals and district administrators. They hope their findings can help promote diversity in these roles and break down barriers.
“My research project is going well. I’ve been exposed to conversations that I probably wouldn’t have engaged in if it wasn’t for this research project,” says Hunter. “As a woman of color and future educator, I think it’s extremely important for me to understand these perspectives so that when I am in the field, I can create some expectations and prepare for what I may encounter.”
Regarding their research, Hunter says slow and steady wins the race. “The progress of the research isn’t moving too fast, however, I think it’s perfect because it allows me time to work effectively, to become more creative and to work on becoming a better listener. “
Ho says that she and Hunter have made progress toward creating portraits for some of their participants. “Our portraits will be used for our University Council for Educational Administration conference this fall and hopefully a School of Education event in the spring where we can highlight our participants and their incredible stories.”
The SOURCE grant has helped Hunter and Ho fund technological supplies and to reach out to more participants. “Since there is such limited literature on women of color as district leaders, having the ability to have more participants involved has enriched our findings,” Ho says. “Ashanti and I are so grateful to Kate and Odette at SOURCE for believing in our project.”