Christy Byrd

Bio

Dr. Byrd grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Agnes Scott College and a masters degree in psychology and PhD in education and psychology from the University of Michigan, and was a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at Michigan State University in the Department of Teacher Education.

Programs

•  Program: Teacher Education and Learning Sciences
  • Educational Equity PhD
  • Educational Psychology Master’s and PhD

Courses Taught

• EDP/ECD 575 Multicultural Lifespan Development
• ED 711 Applied Quantitative Methods in Education II
• ECI 709 Teaching about Identities, Diversity, and Equity

Honors and Awards

• Ford Foundation Fellow, Predoctoral ’09, Dissertation ’11

Editorial Boards

• Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology

Services and Engagements

• Faculty Director, #PassTheMicYouth

Area(s) of Expertise

Dr. Byrd’s research examines how students make sense of race and culture in their school environments. She uses quantitative and qualitative methods to explore topics such as racial discrimination, multicultural education, and culturally relevant teaching. One area of research focuses on adolescents’ perceptions of school climate for diversity, which includes intergroup interactions and school ethnic-racial socialization, and how perceptions are shaped by identity development and contextual factors. A second area of research considers the motivational factors that promote student engagement in diversity workshops, courses, and programs. Her work has shown that when youth experience their schools as positive, identity-affirming spaces, they are more academically engaged and successful.

Publications

• Cycles of development in learning about identities, diversity, and equity. , Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology (2023)
• Reflecting on Change: Critical Consciousness as a Protective Factor for Black Youth , CULTURAL DIVERSITY & ETHNIC MINORITY PSYCHOLOGY (2023)
• Creating a Climate for Critical Consciousness Sounding Out , Educational Psychology and Transformational Classrooms (2022)
• Examining Critical Reflection as a Mediator Between School Racial Climate Experiences and Anti‐Racist Action , Journal of Research on Adolescence (2022)
• Examining school ethnic-racial socialization in the link between race-related stress and academic well-being among African American and Latinx adolescents , Journal of School Psychology (2022)
• School ethnic-racial socialization and adolescent ethnic-racial identity , Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology (2022)
• School ethnic-racial socialization and critical action among Black youth , FRONTIERS IN EDUCATION (2022)
• Development of Critical Consciousness Competencies in Diversity Courses , (2021)
• Examining the Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions of 4-H Professionals Related to LGBTQ+ Youth , Journal of Youth Development (2021)
• Unpacking school ethnic-racial socialization: A new conceptual model , Journal of Social Issues (2021)