Shahnaz Safitri

Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant

Gifted, Creative, and Talented Studies,
Educational Studies

Email:
ssafitri@purdue.edu

Links:

LinkedIn
ORCID
Scopus
Google Scholar

Profile

A psychologist who currently works on her doctoral study at Purdue University majoring on Gifted, Creative, and Talented Studies. She is also an assistant professor at Faculty of Psychology Universitas Indonesia and psychologist at Apshara Talent Development Center (Apshara.co). Her research interest are in gifted identification, creativity and talent development, social emotional skills, and career advancement.

+ Education

+ Career Experience

Teaching Experience

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Department of Educational Studies, Purdue University – USA (Aug. 2025 – Jul. 2026)
- Taught undergraduate course Learning and Motivation (3 credits) to 60 students in the College of Education.
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Indonesia – Indonesia (Jan. 2019 – Present)
- Taught undergraduate and master’s psychology courses.
- Secretary of Undergraduate Psychology Program (Feb. 2021 – Feb. 2022), overseeing operations and budgeting.
- Coordinated the Undergraduate Internship Program (2020–2021) with 250–300 students.
- Organized international academic conferences (ICAP, APRiSH).
Adjunct Lecturer, Faculty of Vocational Study, Universitas Indonesia – Indonesia (Aug. 2017 – Dec. 2018)
- Taught Psychology of Personality Development to Hospital Management students.

Industry Experience

Chief People and Culture, Apshara Multi Kreasi, LLC – Indonesia (May 2021 – Present)
- Leading Apshara.co, a talent development center focused on psychological assessment, professional development, coaching, counseling, and psychoeducational programs.
Psychometric Specialist, Amartha Mikro Fintek, LLC – Indonesia (Jun. 2018 – Jan. 2019)
- Developed psychometric credit scoring models to empower women entrepreneurs in rural and low-income communities.
Associate Psychologist, Essa Consulting Group, LLC – Indonesia (Mar. 2017 – Dec. 2018)
- Conducted psychological assessments, counseling, training, and authored research reports for schools and organizations.

Research Experience

Graduate Research Assistant
- Gifted Education Research and Resource Institute (GER²I), Purdue University – USA (Aug. 2022 – Present)
- Collaborating as a team member to organize university-based talent development programs in STEM and Humanities for high-ability K–12 students, while evaluating program effectiveness in meeting students’ learning needs.
Board of Advisory, Indonesia Ministry of Education and Culture – Indonesia (Mar. 2020 – Jul. 2022)
- Collaborative research project developing a culturally fair vocational interest inventory for junior and senior high school students in Indonesia. Responsible for test evaluation and adapting theoretical frameworks to diverse cultural contexts.
Research Secretary, Indonesia Ministry of Human Development and Culture – Indonesia (Jul. 2016 – Jan. 2017)
- Managed a research project on measuring Indonesia’s national values (integrity, work ethic, solidarity). Oversaw test conceptualization, project management, recruitment, field data collection, and documentation across the archipelago.
Junior Researcher, Indonesia National Civil Service Agency – Indonesia (Jan. 2014 – Jan. 2015)
- Worked on developing an analytical and conceptual ability test for civil servant selection and promotion. Responsible for test conceptualization, construction, and psychometric item evaluation.

+ Awards & Honors

+ Professional Appointments

+ Professional Affiliations/Memberships

Research & Publications

My research focuses on psychological assessment, educational development, creativity, leadership, and talent cultivation in school and community contexts. I have developed culturally relevant psychometric tools, explored school effectiveness, and supported high-ability youth through participatory and STEM-focused programs.

+ Selected Publications

Safitri, S., Piceno, V., Karatas, T., Zhou, Y., Case, A., & Pereira, N. (2025). Empowering youth as researchers: A case study of community-based participatory action research at the Downtown Boxing Gym. In A. Rajala, A. Cortez, R. Hofmann, A. Jornet, H. Lotz-Sisitka, & L. Markauskaite (Eds.), Proceedings of the 19th International Conference of the Learning Sciences – ICLS 2025 (pp. 2248–2252). International Society of the Learning Sciences. http://dx.doi.org/10.22318/icls2025.911081
Pereira, N., Bright, S., Ozen, Z., Safitri, S., Castillo-Hermosilla, H., Matos, B. C., Karatas, T., & Fonseca, P. (2025). A multitiered approach to Computer Science talent development. Gifted Child Quarterly, 69(2), 130–146. https://doi.org/10.1177/00169862241307662
Safitri, S., & Tanujaya, B. C. (2024). Adaptive leadership scale construction for leaders in Indonesia. Proceedings of The International Conference on Current Advancement in Psychology 2022 (pp. 353–359).
Nazari, N., Safitri, S., Usak, M., Arabmarkadeh, A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2023). Psychometric validation of the Indonesian version of the fear of COVID-19 Scale: Personality traits predict the fear of COVID-19. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 21, 1348–1364. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-021-00593-0
Kurniawati, F., Saleh, A. Y., & Safitri, S. (2022). How to foster students' creativity? The effects of teacher subjective well-being mediation on intellectual humility. Jurnal Cakrawala Pendidikan, 41(1), 31–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.21831/cp.v41i1.40055
Safitri, S., Francisca, F., Handali, K. A., & Ariyanti, T. D. (2021). Applying school effectiveness principle as school system: A case analysis in leading primary school in Indonesia. Proceedings of The 4th Asia-Pacific Research in Social Sciences and Humanities Universitas Indonesia Conference (pp. 696–705). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210531.087
Safitri, S., & Preston, M. (2020). The development of Indonesian Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale for senior high school students. In R. Latifa, S. Solicha, I. Amalia, D. Yustari, & Y. Durachman (Eds.), Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Religion and Mental Health. European Alliance for Innovation. https://doi.org/10.4108/eai.18-9-2019.2293362
Safitri, S., Francisca, F., Giri, P. W., & Ariyanti, T. D. (2020). The development of a Task Commitment Scale for junior high school students. In L. Hanum (Ed.), Psychological aspects of student performances: Learning from studies in Indonesia context (pp. 75–90). Nova Science Publisher.
Safitri, S. (2017). Applying a sex education programme in elementary schools in Indonesia: Theory, application, and best practices. In A. A. Ariyanto, H. Muluk, P. Newcombe, F. P. Piercy, E. K. Poerwandari, & S. H. R. Suradijono (Eds.), Diversity in unity: Perspectives from psychology and behavioral sciences (pp. 217–223). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781315225302-27

+ Current Grants & Funded Research

Advisor

Nielsen Pereira

Courses Typically Taught

EDPS 235 - Learning and Motivation

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