"How Friends Are Supposed to Treat Friends": Learning From Indigenous Youths' Perceptions of Supportive Relationships

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Two
  In Roundtable Session: Embracing Critical Discourse in Social and Emotional Learning (Table 16)

Abstract

Recognizing the ongoing colonization in US education, how might social and emotional learning (SEL) be transformed in ways that are culturally sustaining/revitalizing to Indigenous communities? In the current study, we draw from interviews with 77 Native American adolescents to explore how their perceptions of friendship and peer-to-peer emotion regulation might inform community-driven SEL. Our findings focus on 1) the importance of reciprocity as an implicit friendship quality, 2) the balance between just listening to a friend and providing more direct support, and 3) the challenge that, while peer support is expected and needed, youth perceive such support as rare. We encourage SEL program developers and deliverers to consider these themes as they work alongside the communities they intend to serve.

Authors

• Zoe Higheagle Strong, Washington State University
  Presenting Author

• Emma Minke McMain, University of Arkansas
  Presenting Author

• Sequoia Lynn Dance, Washington State University
  Presenting Author