Department of Applied Psychology

Selcuk R. Sirin

Assistant Professor of Applied Psychology

Selcuk R. Sirin

Phone: 212 998 5572
Email:

My research interests have been shaped in part by my experiences as a mental health counselor both in the United States and in Turkey. Working with children and adolescents, I observed that many of the people I worked with struggled with issues embedded in their social and economic contexts and that these issues were clearly affecting their development and well-being. My observations, combined with research and theory, led me to study the processes by which socio-cultural contexts influence human development at an individual level.

I believe that excellent research, using the most advanced methodologies available, allows us to provide socially relevant information to other professionals and the public about how to better serve the needs of individuals and their families. It is this passion that guides my research.


Presentations

  • Hyphenated Selves: Muslim-American youth negotiating identities across the fault lines of global conflict
    With Fine, M. Invited paper presented at the 2005 annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), Washington, DC.
  • Muslim adolescents on U.S. college campuses: Exploring ethnic identity
    Paper presented at the 2005 annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), Washington, DC.
  • Acculturation and psychological adjustment for international students in the U.S.
    With Epurianu, M. and Pacesova, M. Poster presented at the 2005 annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), Washington, DC.
  • Psychological well-being of Muslim youth in the United States: Research from a pilot study.
    With Pacesova, M. Poster presented at the 2005 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Atlanta, GA.
  • When values differ: Teachers' ratings of academic competence of low-income kindergarten children.
    Poster presented at the 2003 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Tampa, FL.
  • The relation between socioeconomic status and school achievement: A meta-analytic review of research 1990-2000
    Poster presented at the 2003 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Tampa, FL.
  • How to measure socioeconomic status and school achievement: A meta-analytic review of research 1990-2000
    Poster presented at the 2003 Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Tampa, FL.
  • Future aspirations of urban adolescents.
    With Diemer, M.A.; Jackson, L.R.; Gonsalves, L.; Howell, A. Paper presented at the 2002 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
  • Comparison of the impact of ethics and multicultural issues courses on ethical sensitivity: Development of the REST-CD (Racial Ethical Sensitivity Test-Computer Version).
    With Brabeck, M.M.; Satiani, A.; Rogers-Sirin, L. Paper presented at the 2001 annual convention of the American Psychology Association (APA), San Francisco, CA.
  • Perceptions of gender role conformity in men and women
    With McCreary, D.R. & Mahalik J.R. Paper presented at the 2001 annual convention of the American Psychology Association (APA), San Francisco, CA.
  • Factors influencing academic achievement among African American Students
    Paper presented at the 2001 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA.
  • Examining school outcomes of middle-class African American adolescents
    Paper presented at the 2000 annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), Washington, DC.
  • Social class and the school-to-work transition
    Paper presented at the 2000 annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), Washington, DC.
  • Results of a study of the measure of the REST
    Paper presented at the 1999 annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), Boston, MA.
  • Increasing the aspiring professional's ethical sensitivity to instances of racial and gender intolerance in school
    With Warner, C.; Rogers, L.; Costa, M.; Barbeck, M. Paper presented at the 1999 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting, Montreal, Canada.
  • Professional ethics: Increasing ethical sensitivity to gender and racial intolerance in schools
    With Barbeck, M.; Rogers, L.; Costa, M.; Handerson, J.; Ting, K.; Warner, C.; Benvenuto, M.; Weaver, M. Paper presented at the Holmes Partnership Conference, Boston, MA.

Degrees Held

  • Ph.D. Boston College, 2003
    Applied Developmental & Educational Psychology
  • M.S. University at Albany, SUNY 1998
    Counseling Psychology
  • B.S. Middle East Technical University, 1991
    Turkey Counseling Psychology

Awards

  • 2005 : Summer Grant for Proposal Development, Montclair State University -- Adolescents: Finding Their Voice in a Multicultural World
  • 2004 : Research Grant, Society of the Sacred Hearth -- The Racial and Ethical Sensitivity Program
  • 2004 : Student-Faculty Research Grant, Montclair State University -- The Development of Quick Racial and Ethical Sensitivity Test
  • 2001 : Teaching Excellence Award, Boston College
  • 2001 : Dissertation Development Award, Boston College
  • 2006 : 2006 Review of Research Award, American Educational Research Association
  • 2006 : 2006 Young Scholars Award , Foundation for Child Development

Publications

  • Curriculum Vitae (view)
  • Kenny, M. & Sirin, S. R. (in press). Parental attachment, self-worth, and depressive symptoms among emerging adults. Journal of Counseling and Development.
  • Hauser-Cram,P. Warfield, M. E., Stadler, J., & Sirin, S. R. (in press). School environments and the diverging pathways of students living in poverty. In A. C. Huston & M. N. Ripke (Eds.). Developmental Context of Middle Childhood: Bridges to Adolescence and Adulthood. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A Meta-analytic review of research 1990-2000. Review of Educational Research, 75(3), 417-453.
  • Palfrey, J. S. Hauser-Cram, P., Bronson, M. B. Warfield, M. E., Sirin, R. S., & Chan, E. (2005). The Brookline early education project: A 25-year follow-up study of a family-centered early health and development intervention. Pediatrics, 116, 144 - 152.
  • Sirin, S. R. & Rogers-Sirin, L. (2005). Components of school engagement among African American adolescents. Applied Developmental Science, 9(1), 5-13.
  • Sirin, S. R. & Rogers-Sirin, L. (2004). Exploring school engagement of middle-class African American adolescents. Youth & Society, 35(3), 293-340
  • Sirin, S. R., Diemer, M. A. Jackson, L. R., Gonsalves, L, & Howell A. (2004). Future aspirations of urban adolescents: A person-in-context model. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 17(3), 437-459.
  • Sirin, S. R., McCreary, D.R., & Mahalik, J. (2004). Differential reactions to men's and women's gender role transgressions: Perceptions of social status, sexual orientation, and value dissimilarity. Journal of Men's Studies, 12(2), 119-132.
  • Sirin, S. R., Brabeck, M. M., Satiani, A., & Rogers-Sirin, L. (2003). Validation of a measure of ethical sensitivity and examination of the effects of previous multicultural and ethics courses on ethical sensitivity. Ethics & Behavior, 13(3), 221-226.
  • Hauser-Cram, P., Sirin, S. R., & Stipek, D. (2003). When teachers’ and parents’ values differ: Teachers’ ratings of academic competence of low-income kindergarten children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(4), 813–820.
  • Sirin, S. R. (2003). Psychological and contextual factors influencing academic performance among African Americans: A Dialectical Perspective. In B. Marshall (Ed.). In celebration of Black History: GYRO Colloquium Papers (Vol. 7, pp. 186-209). Boston: Boston College.
  • Sirin, S. R., Castle, N. G., & Smyer, M. (2002). Risk factors for physical restraint use in nursing homes: The impact of the Nursing Home Reform Act. Research on Aging, 24(5), 513-527.
  • Blustein, D. L., Chaves, A., Diemer, M., Gallagher, L., Marshall, K., Sirin, S. R., & Bhati, K. (2002). Voices of the forgotten half: The role of social class in the school-to-work transition. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 49(3), 311–323.
  • Palfrey, J., Bronson, M. B., Erickson-Warfield, M. Hauser-Cram, P., & Sirin, S. R. (2002). BEEPers Come of Age: The Brookline Early Education Project Follow-up Study. Final Report to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College.
  • Sirin, S. (2001). Child rearing styles. In: R. M. Lerner & J. Lerner. (Eds.). Adolescence in America: An Encyclopedia (Vol. 1). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
  • Sirin, S. (2001). School dropout. In: R. M. Lerner & J. Lerner. (Eds.). Adolescence in America: An Encyclopedia (Vol. 2). Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO.
  • Sirin. S. & Jackson, L. R. (2001). Examining school engagement of African American adolescents. Report No. UD034238. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service Accession Number: ED 423354).
  • Brabeck, M. M., & Sirin, S. R. (2001). The racial ethical sensitivity test: Computer disk version (REST-CD). Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College.
  • Blustein, D. L., Iama, L. D., Finkelberg, S. L., Ketterson, T. U., Schaefer, B. M., Schwam, M. L., Sirin, S., & Skau, M. (2001). A Qualitative analysis of career counseling cases: Listening to our clients. The Counseling Psychologist, 29(2), 240-258.
  • Brabeck, M., Rogers, L., Sirin, S., Handerson, J., Ting, K., & Benvenuto, M. (2000). Increasing ethical sensitivity to racial and gender intolerance in schools: Development of the racial ethical sensitivity test (REST). Ethics and Behavior,10(2), 119-137.
  • Brabeck, M., Brabeck, K. Costa, M., Henderson, J., McCubbin, L., Rogers, L., Ting, K., Sirin, S., Warner, C., & Weaver, M. (1998). Racial ethical sensitivity Test (REST) scoring manual. Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College.

Research Interests

  • Immigrant youth development
  • Development of Racial and Ethical Sensitivity Tests (REST)
  • Teachers professional development
  • School engagement and achievement gap
  • Meta-analysis