Projects:
# Human Rights
International Issues
Violence Against Women
Women's Rights Network. A project of the Wellesley Centers on Women, the Women's Rights Network was founded in 1995 as an international human rights organization working to end domestic violence and sexual abuse worldwide through organizing, training, research, and public education. The network comprises the Global Network Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Abuse and the Human Rights Education and Advocacy Initiative, and focuses on the Battered Mothers' Testimony Project.
# Violence Against Women
National Violence Against Women Prevention Research Center. Another project of the Wellesley Centers on Women is the Prevention Research Center. Funded in 1998 from the Centers for Disease Control, the center is a consortium of researchers dedicated to the prevention of all types of violence against women through the fostering of research-practitioner and interdisciplinary collaboration. The goal is to improve the ability of the field to conduct research that is relevant to the prevention of violence against women, is interdisciplinary, builds on prior research, is conceptually and methodologically sound, and is designed to address violence issues over the life-course.
RECENT PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON WOMEN
# Adolescents and Girls
Adolescent Sexuality Project. Funded by the Ford Foundation, this project seeks to develop models of sexual health for girls and boys which extend beyond pregnancy and disease. Based on Brofenbrenner's ecological model of social experience.
Learning Circles. This project examines the Patriot's Trail and Plymouth Bay Girl Scouts Council Learning Circles in an effort to create Learning Circles for mentoring girls ages 10-12. These circles will provide an opportunity where girls can meet regularly with adults to discuss personal issues of importance.
Raising Confident and Competent Girls. This longitudinal study looks at middle girls' perceptions of their competencies, actual school performance, and perceptions of social support in the following categories: race/ethnicity; social class; acculturation; and residence urbanization.
Sports as Protective of Girls' High-Risk Sexual Behavior. Researchers are conducting secondary analyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health dataset to examine the protective effects of sports involvement on adolescents' likelihood of engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors.
# Child Care
The Early Childhood Connection. Aimed at children up to 5 years old, the Early Childhood Connection project provides resources for parents, providers, and policymakers by running workshops devoted to topics such as finding quality child care, curriculum for children, using the Internet, combining work and family, and more.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care. This NICHD undertaking is the most comprehensive child care study conducted to date in the United States. It analyzes the impact on child development and family functioning of child care and maternal employment from one month of age through first grade. Ten nationwide sites have been selected; the study includes 1,300 infants and their families.
National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST). The National Institute is located at the Wellesley Center for Research on Women and conducts policy-oriented and basic research on issues that affect women. The mission is to improve the quantity and quality of school-age care programs nationally by concentrating on research; education and training; consultation; program and community development; and public awareness. The following are undertakings of NIOST:
Cross-Cities Network (CCN).The CCN brings together leaders from 25 citywide after-school initiatives in major cities across the United States. The three primary goals of this project are to increase the capacity and knowledge of high-level leaders, to improve the effectiveness of citywide after school initiatives, and to contribute to the development of a coherent vision for the field at the national level.
Strategic Planning: Building a Skilled and Stable Workforce for After School Programs. The National Institute on Out-of-School Time (NIOST), in collaboration with the AED Center for Youth Development and Policy Research (the Center) is engaged in a 9-month, national strategic planning process for workforce development across the after school field.
Evaluation of Jacksonville Children's Commission's (JCC) After-School Program Initiatives. TEAM UP is a solution of the Jacksonville community to help its families meet the challenges of raising youth in today's society by providing a safe, structured, positive learning environment during the after school hours.
Puerto Rican Young Fathers' Involvement with Their Children. The research team aims to describe what predisposes Puerto Rican young men to become the kind of fathers they are by interviewing a random sample of 300 Puerto Rican young fathers (aged 18 to 26).
The Empathy Project. One of the major developmental tasks of preschoolers is to develop empathy (the ability to understand and share in waht others are feeling), sharing and cooperation, and othersocial skills they will need as they mature. Empathy is a building block for other kinds of "prosocial behavior"- that is, helping, sharing, and comforting- and one of the cornerstones of later social competence.
# Education
Women in Community Development (WICD) Higher Education for Lower-Income Women: A Real Route Out of Poverty. Begun in 1997, WICD is a joint venture of Project Hope, the Women's Institute for Housing and Economic Development, and the College of Public and Community Service (CPCS) at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. With funding provided by the Nellie Mae Foundation, Senior Research Scientist Fern Marx consulted with WICD staff, program participants, and an evaluation advisory group in order to help the program better understand its work and establish in-house monitoring, accountability, and evaluation activities to guide future program development.
# Education
Curriculum
Shaping a Better World: Global Issues Teaching Guide. A guide for middle school teachers designed to help them teach about the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing and the critical issues discussed at that conference.
Bringing Yourself to Work: Caregiving in After-School Environments. A new training model for after-school program staff that places emphasis on the importance of self-awareness among caregivers.
Higher Education Resource Services. HERS, New England now provides an unusual in-service model of administrative training- The Management Institute for Women in Higher Education.
National SEED Project on Inclusive Curriculum (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity). The SEED Initiative is a staff-development equity project for educators. It establishes teacher-led, faculty development seminars in public and private schools to promote gender-fair and multiculturally equitable materials and curriculum.
Summer Institute (for Science Teachers) on Gender Equity. This institute works to help teachers devise gender-equitable teaching methods and materials.
# Employment
Aging
Assessing the Relational Resources of Older Workers (ARROW). A project of the Center for Research on Women, ARROW received funding from the National Institute on Aging in 2001. This study is investigating the workplace-relevant relational beliefs of older workers and is developing a measure to assess relational beliefs among this population. Project staff are collecting data through in-person, semi-structured interviews with Boston-area workers aged 55+ both female and male.
# Global Issues
Economic & Social Status of Women
Experiencing Globalization: The Construction of Gender and Ethnicity in the TNC Workplace. This project focuses on Korean immigrant women workers' experiences of globalization in the workplace. Because work and identity are central features of modern life, this study enhances our understanding of the globalization process and how it intersects with the specific features of the workplace to configure many dimensions of identity.
# Health and Health Care
Mental Health
Women Involved in Living and Learning (WILL)/Westhampton Reports: A Research Agenda for the WILL Program. Westhampton College and WCW attempt to address low self-esteem through a three-pronged attack: women's studies coursework; co-curricular programming on gender issues; and collective action that fosters self-awareness and confidence. This project is based on successful work completed by Westhampton and seeks to create a new agenda to improve self-esteem and confidence.
# Literature
Women's Review of Books. A publication that reviews the latest books on or by women, in addition to offering comment and criticism.
# Sexual Assault/Harassment
Project on Teasing and Bullying. The Project on Teasing and Bullying seeks to examine and counteract the effects of the culture of bullying on children and youth. Central to this work is the impact of societal messages about gender and gender roles on the development of aggressive and violent behavior. The project addresses these complex issues through a combination of research, action, and advocacy.
Sexual Harassment in the Schools. Addresses gender violence and the need for acknowledgment and information about gender violence in the schools and curriculum.
# Welfare Reform
The Effects of Maternal Welfare on Children's Outcomes. Funded by the William T. Grant Foundation, this project investigates the effects of partial welfare receipt on things like the well-being of children, measuring development, health, education, and fertility behavior.
# Work and Family
The Changing Workforce. The U.S. workforce is changing, with rising rates of employment in service industries, diversification of the workfroce with respect to gender and race or ethnicity, and rising rates of employment among workers over the age of 50.
RECENT PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES OF THE STONE CENTER
# Communication
Mental Health
Gender Relations Project. This project seeks to promote healthy, mutually enhancing connections between women and men and boys and girls, and in couples, families, schools, and organizations.
The Jean Baker Miller Training Institute. The institute follows the Relational/Cultural Model developed by the Stone Center, which advocates that growth-fostering connections are the central human necessity and disconnections are the source of psychological problems. Jean Baker offers residential and training programs for people with master's degrees in clinical areas, RNs, MDs, and PhDs.
Wellesley Relational Model Instrument Development. The Relational Model was developed in 1991 as a theoretical feminist paradigm for the assessment of women's psychological development and well-being. It is distinguished due to its emphasis on gender difference and on the power of caretaking and relationships in women's lives.
# Education
K-12
Reach Out to Schools: Social Competency Program. This program is a comprehensive social and emotional learning program for children in kindergarten through fifth grade, their teachers, and their parents. It features an Open Circle Curriculum, which aims to foster positive relationships in a cooperative classroom environment and enhance the necessary skills to solve interpersonal problems. Additionally, it offers training programs for parents, teachers, and staff.
Reach Out to Schools: Social Competency Program Assessment Project. The goal of this initiative is to improve the social skills of children, encourage problem resolution, increase relationship building, and foster a caring and respectful environment for elementary aged school children.
# Education
Mental Health
Higher Education
Assessment of Relational Health and Psychological Development Among College Women. In conjunction with the Jean Baker Miller Training Institute and Office of Counseling Services, this project aims to address relational health and the psychological development of college-age women.
# Violence Against Women
Mental Health
Adult Memories and Consequences and Recovery from Child Sexual Abuse. Currently being undertaken by center staff, this longitudinal study looks at adult memories, negative outcomes, and resiliency of women and men who were sexually abused as children.
Longitudinal Research on Partner Violence, Child Physical Abuse, and Child Sexual Abuse. A comprehensive follow-up study, this project studies families in which physical and/or sexual abuse has occurred with the aim of creating programs and policies that will prevent and treat family violence and promote child safety and family functioning.
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