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The first time Dr. Kawena Begay (M.Ed., Ph.D., ‘16, School Psychology) saw a Navajo child labeled ‘disabled’ by a system that hadn’t even learned their name, something in her shifted.

She had come to teaching with a deep personal calling — shaped by early classroom experiences, a desire to nurture young minds and the influence of her mother, an elementary school teacher. But what she found in the field was a system that routinely misinterpreted linguistic and cultural diversity as deficiency.  

Her experience exposed just how fragmented special education processes could be: evaluations conducted without context, and decisions made without meaningful input from those who knew the child best.

“I saw this as a very disconnected, inequitable process,” she recalls of her early teaching years on the Navajo Reservation, where standardized tests dismissed Diné children’s Navajo fluency as a deficit rather than a strength. The memory still sharpens her voice: “The testers had no interest in learning more about the child from teachers or parents.”

This rupture between institutional practices and cultural reality became the foundation of her life’s work, a journey that would weave together Indigenous pedagogies, psychological research and the importance of listening.

Finding a New Path in Research

After several years in the classroom, Dr. Begay returned to school to become the kind of professional who could challenge the system from within. She pursued an MEd in School Psychology at the ���ߺ��� (UW) ���ߺ���, where she was mentored by researchers who shared her commitment to equity and academic rigor.

Under the guidance of Dr. Virginia Berninger, emeritus professor of School Psychology, she gained valuable research experience studying learning disabilities in writing. The work expanded her understanding of how learning differences can be identified and supported when approached with care and precision.  

Years later, she would return to UW for her PhD, where she joined Dr. Janine Jones, professor of School Psychology, to work on projects, including a paper on culturally responsive counseling, further deepening her ability to center student identity in assessment practices.

“I learned so much about the process of research and ways to identify and treat learning disabilities,” she says of Dr. Berninger’s team. Her work with Dr. Jones, however, crystallized her approach: “Being a school psychologist is about... ensuring [families’] voices are heard and respected.”

Her time at UW was impactful, providing both mentorship and opportunities to shape her own scholarly voice. Participating in research, teaching, and even faculty search committees allowed her to see the full scope of impact possible within academia.

Rethinking “Norms” and Standards

Nevertheless, her most transformative classroom wasn’t at UW, but in a Hawaiian Immersion school, where she taught fourth and fifth graders almost entirely in ‘Ōlelo Hawai‘i. After a year of attending required parent language classes, she had developed enough fluency to teach in the language — a decision rooted in both personal conviction and educational philosophy.  

“We wanted our children to be raised in an Indigenous school environment,” she explains. Immersing her own children, and herself, in this setting was more than a pedagogical choice; it was a deliberate act of cultural reclamation in the face of systems that too often erase Indigenous identities.

That lived experience continues to animate her scholarship. Drawing on her time in Hawai‘i, the Navajo Nation and her roots in Chicagoland, Dr. Begay brings a deep awareness of how culture shapes learning, communication and expression. These cross-cultural insights have taught her to observe and listen before acting, practices that now inform both her academic research and clinical approach.

“Learning and interventions should always build upon what students bring with them to school,” she insists. When standardized autism evaluations fail Native children whose communities express neurodivergence differently, she challenges colleagues: Whose norms are we measuring against?

In fact, the synthesis of these experiences also shapes her private assessment practice, where she offers what is often missing from traditional evaluations: a culturally aware, whole-child approach that starts with one important question: Who is this child, beyond the score?  

Dr. Begay takes time to learn about each child’s background, including their family values and home life. During the first interviews, she listens closely, not just to what people say, but to what they may be unsure how to ask. This helps her plan the rest of the evaluation in a way that truly fits the child. She is open with families about what she is doing and why, which many have said they really value. She also gathers information from different sources, like teachers, parents, and the child, to help reduce bias and give a fuller picture. Her careful and thoughtful process helps families feel understood and gives children a chance to be seen for whom they really are.

Hope, Healing and the Future of School Psychology

At UW Tacoma, Dr. Begay’s work bridges scholarship and practice. As a co-architect of the School Psychology program, she developed the assessment courses with a bold and necessary goal: to train future school psychologists to decolonize evaluation practices. Her approach challenges students to see assessment not as a rigid process, but as a relational one that honors culture, language and lived experience.

The results speak for themselves. Four cohorts in, with the fifth cohort starting in the Fall, 40–60% of her students come from marginalized backgrounds. Indeed, a powerful shift in a field that is over 80% white. These future psychologists are learning to recognize a Navajo child’s storytelling as meaningful data and a Hawaiian student’s collaborative style as a form of intelligence.

“Our students are thriving,” she says. Field supervisors have shared strong feedback, often highlighting how well-prepared and professional the practicum students are. In written evaluations, some have described them as “the best practicum students they have had from any program.”  

Others point to their deep understanding of school-wide systems, their strengths in behavioral interventions, and their ability to work well with teams and families. “Our students are professional, organized and have a positive attitude,” Dr. Begay explains. “They bring strong interpersonal skills and a solid foundation into their placements.” While she doesn’t focus on comparisons, she sees this feedback as a sign that the program is giving students the tools they need to make a real impact in schools.

This same mindset drives her latest research project, which grew from a deeply personal place. After watching her own son navigate an autism evaluation process that didn’t account for Indigenous worldviews or communication styles, she felt compelled to act. “I plan to gather Indigenous voice and experiences,” she shares. The goal is more than just creating better diagnostic tools, it’s about initiating a broader reckoning: “How do we stop conflating cultural differences with deficits?”

For Dr. Begay, changing the field means more than revising a test or adding a cultural footnote. It means listening deeply, leading with culture and fundamentally reimagining systems so that every child’s brilliance is not only seen but celebrated.

When asked what sustains her in this work, she points to her students. “I have so much faith in our field and our students,” she says. “They enter this field for all the right reasons, and it’s exciting to consider the positive impact they will have.”