Planting the Seed of Inquiry to Ignite BIPOC Youth Interest in Mental Health Careers

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: Supporting Pathways to the Professions (Table 21)

Abstract

A diverse health care workforce is necessary to meet the ever-changing demands of our vast culturally and ethnically diverse communities and career preparation needs to start in high school. The purpose of this single-case study design study was to explore if students enrolled in the 5-week YMHA summer academy would be interested in pursuing mental health careers after using inquiry based cooperative group learning. This study was grounded in Vygotsky‘s (1986) learning as a social activity and Bandura’s self-efficacy theory. Findings yielded how students’ experiences in the academy expanded their perceptions of opportunities in the Mental Health field and their beliefs in their ability to ask important mental health questions and conduct their own research to answer them.

Authors

• Elsie Lindy Olan, University of Central Florida

• Bobby J. Jeanpierre, University of Central Florida

• Lisa Barkley, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science