Current Assignment in the College of Education and Human Sciences:
I have a split teaching and research appointment between the Psychology Department and the Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies
Philosophy Statement: I have interests in basic and applied research in the fields of early education and developmental psychology and am active in grant-funded research. Since 1988, I have been studying and writing about the early childhood programs of northern and central Italy and their application to American contexts. I have also done research in Kenya, Norway, China, and South Korea on early child care, parental expectations, and children's social relationships. I am very interested in working with graduate and undergraduate students in psychology and education and have helped create a new teacher preparation program called Inclusive Early Childhood Education: Birth to Grade 3 Program at the University of Nebraska. I am currently involved in grant projects called NEBRASKA MATH, Instructional and Emotional Quality of Parent-Child Book-Reading and Early Head Start Children’s Learning Outcomes, and Rural Language and Literacy Connections.
