Lakia M. Scott, Ph.D., assistant professor of curriculum and instruction in Baylor School of Education, published research in the Journal of Human Trafficking showing that in-the-classroom curriculum can help ninth and tenth-graders identify human trafficking risks to themselves and to others while empowering them to advocate against trafficking.

The prevalence of human trafficking is on the rise. In Texas alone, researchers estimate that there are 313,000 human trafficking victims. As awareness campaigns increase such as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, celebrated in January, Baylor professors are studying ways educate and empower youth to address human trafficking in their communities.

Scott and SOE alumna Christina Crenshaw, Ph.D. ’13, recruited three high school social studies teachers at a Central Texas school to integrate a five-session curriculum that explores the history and development of human trafficking, challenges common perceptions of modern slavery, and shows students how they can be modern abolitionists. Scott and Crenshaw collected data through surveys and assessments of knowledge, both before and after the lessons, to determine student learning and understanding.

Read the full story HERE.