Emma Elliott-Groves

Research and Professional Interests

Emma Elliott-Groves is an assistant professor in the department of Learning Sciences and Human Development in the College of Education at the University of Washington. She holds both a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and a Master of Social Work in Children, Youth, and Families. Much of her research centers on understanding the meanings and explanations of suicidal behavior from the perspective of Indigenous peoples. Her work grows from ethical frameworks generated by Indigenous and land-based knowledges and practices to create process-centered approaches that illuminate Indigenous pathways toward collective livelihood. By employing a strengths-based approach to collective livelihood, Elliott-Groves rigorously engages youth, families, and communities in the development of integrated social and behavioral research and practice to address complex social issues. The interdisciplinary intersections of her research include contemporary Indigenous issues; culture, learning, and human development; and trauma, prevention, and recovery.

Elliott-Groves is a 2019 NAEd Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow, and is currently partnering with her home community, the Cowichan Tribes on Vancouver Island, British Columbia to design programming to strengthen its physical, mental, intellectual, and cultural health. The proposed research study strengthens the assessment capacity within the Cowichan community, by engaging Indigenous and place-based knowledges and practices to collaboratively develop an Intergenerational Community Assessment. Using land as pedagogy, this project engages Cowichan elders, cultural knowledge keepers, community members, and their cultural stories to identify local systems of relationality that ensure individual and collective livelihoods, and in doing so, illuminate collective directions forward. 

Elliott-Groves is an affiliate faculty member at the Banks Center for Educational Justice.

Education

Ph.D. Educational Psychology (Learning Sciences & Human Development), College of Education, University of Washington, Seattle.

MSW Social Work (Children, Youth, and Families), School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle.

M.Ed Educational Psychology (Human Development & Cognition), College of Education, University of Washington, Seattle.

Selected Publications (*Handbook chapter)

Elliott-Groves, E. (2019). A culturally-grounded biopsychosocial assessment utilizing Indigenous ways of knowing with the Cowichan Tribes.  [Special issue]. Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work, 17(4): Advances in Social Work Practice with Multicultural Communities.

Elliott-Groves, E. (2018). Insights from Cowichan: A hybrid approach to understanding suicide in One First Nations’ Collective. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, (48) 3, 328-339. http://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12364

*Elliott-Groves, E. & Fryberg, S. (2017). “A future denied” for 21st century Indigenous youth: Reclaiming the future. Handbook of Indigenous Education. (Eds. McKinley, E. & Smith, L.T.). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-1839-8_50-1