Associate Professor of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis
About
Sheretta Butler-Barnes is a developmental psychologist and has expertise and scholarly work on the impact of racism and the use of culturally strength-based assets on the educational and health outcomes of Black American families. She is currently an associate professor at the Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL) Brown School of Social Work. Butler-Barnes is one of the directors of the Brown School's Collaboration on Race, Inequalities, and Social Mobility in America (CRISMA), a WUSTL faculty fellow with the Institute for School Partnership, and co-chair of the MSW/MAeD program. Before coming to Brown, Butler-Barnes was a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan's School of Education affiliated with the Center for the Study of Black Youth in Context. Dr. Butler-Barnes received her PhD and MA from Wayne State University in psychology and a BS in psychology from Michigan State University.
The two lines of her research agenda include 1) Strengths-Based Assets of Black Adolescents Project, which explores how Black youth draw on personal and cultural assets and resources to thrive despite challenges to their identities from structural racism; and, 2) Celebrating Strengths of Black Girls Project, which focuses on advancing equity for women and girls of color by creating culturally responsive programming that promotes resiliency.
Current Work:
Dr. Butler-Barnes research centers on exploring the effects of schooling and neighborhood experiences on Black children and adolescent psychological well-being and achievement outcomes. Dr. Butler-Barnes focuses on how exposure to institutional and/or personal discrimination can cause many youth to experience psychological distress that can lead to maladaptive coping processes and behavior impacting achievement motivation beliefs and psychosocial adjustment. She considers how attributes related to adolescents' racial and cultural backgrounds (e.g., racial identity, racial socialization, and religiosity) serve as assets and resources that enhance their psychological and academic well-being.
Additionally, Dr. Butler-Barnes' program of research involves examining Black girls' attitudes and beliefs about mathematics. More specifically, over the past five years, this work involves the use of a mixed-methods approach, the use of survey data, and focus group interviews. Guided by grounded theory methodology, Dr. Butler-Barnes seeks to understand Black girls racialized and gendered experiences within their mathematics classrooms.
Research Area Keyword(s):
Positive youth development, Black Americans, academic achievement, mental health, religiosity
