Elaine Smith - PG Researcher Profile

Project Title:

Tackling prejudice towards refugees among Irish children: developing school-based interventions from a social-psychological and educational perspective.

Project Supervisors:

Dr. Anca Minescu (Department of Psychology)

Professor Marie Parker-Jenkins (School of Education)               

Funding Source:

Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme 2017

Project Description:

The prevalence of right-wing anti-immigrant rhetoric in response to the “refugee crisis” risks promoting hate and discrimination. As families of refugee background are continually resettled across Ireland, Irish schools will experience demographic changes. The school is a microcosm of society, and as such, successful integration into Irish communities begins in the classroom. As attitudes towards ethnic minorities begin to form in early-childhood, effective school-based prejudice-reduction interventions are paramount. While imagined contact (imagined scenarios detailing inter-group interactions) has shown some promise in reducing children’s prejudice, this project investigates its expansion to include normative influences of inter-ethnic relations, derived from children’s social groups. With critical input from stakeholders in the school setting, the project’s aim is to outline accessible school-based interventions which can be implemented by teachers as a natural aspect of the curriculum.

Awards and Honours:

• Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme 2017
• “Excellence in service” as Program Assistant for the 2017 International Society for Political Psychology (ISPP) 2017 Annual Meeting
• Awarded “Best Academic Performance (QCA) in B.A. Psychology and Sociology 2016”
• University of Limerick Presidential List for Exceptional QCA for numerous semesters (Autumn 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2015 and Spring 2016)

Conference/Academic Presentations:

Smith, E.M, Minescu, A. & Parker-Jenkins, M. (2018). Tackling Prejudice towards Refugees: A Social-Psychological & Educational Perspective On School-Based Interventions among Irish Children. Poster presented at the European Association of Social Psychology (EASP) Summer School, Zurich, Switzerland, 1-14th July, 2018.

Smith, E.M, Minescu, A., O’Connor, A. & O’Brien C. (2018). Have faith in humanity: human identification promotes support for refugees in Ireland. Oral presentation given at the EASP Meeting: Group Based Power: Solidarity vs. Collective Action, Oppurg, Germany, 28th June - July 1st, 2018.

Smith, E.M. & Minescu, A. (2017). How do we “see” the refugees? Intergroup processes and attitudes towards refugees in Ireland. Poster presented at the 18th General Meeting of the European Association of Social Psychology, Granada, Spain, 5th-8th July, 2017.

Smith, E.M. & Minescu, A. (2016). Predicting Attitudes towards Refugees: Intergroup Disgust and the Mediating Role of Ideological Orientations. Oral presentation given at the All-Ireland Conference of  Undergraduate Research, University of Limerick, Ireland, 7th April, 2016.

Smith, E.M. & Minescu, A. (2016). How do we “see” the refugees? Intergroup processes and attitudes towards refugees in Ireland. Poster presented at the International Final COST Action Conference “Agents through time: How do people “make history”?”, Limerick, Ireland, 7th July, 2016.

Teaching:

Teaching Assistant and Tutor on Undergraduate and Postgraduate Psychology Modules:

Undergraduate Level:

PS4052 Practical Psychology 2

PS4034 Empirical Psychology 2

PS4031 Psychology and Everyday Life

Postgraduate Level:

PS6022 Advanced Empirical Psychology

PS6051 Advanced Analysis I

Professional Memberships:

Centre for Social Issues Research (CSI-R; University of Limerick)

Profiles:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elaine_Smith13