Child and Family Studies

There is a general consensus among policy makers, researchers, and educational planners that school, family, and community are the three major contexts in which children grow and develop and that these overlapping spheres of influence directly affect the child's learning and development. In addition, the U.S. Department of Education has called on every state to develop policies that would assist local educational agencies to respond to the varying needs of parents and children, including parents of children who are economically disadvantaged, bilingual, children of immigrants or parents of children with disabilities.

The Child and Family Studies doctoral program of study is designed, therefore, to address the growing concern for meeting the educational and developmental needs of children in the different settings in which learning and development occur. The curriculum addresses the philosophical, historical, and cultural foundations of educational practice. It offers future researchers and practitioners a program of study in child development and learning and examines how they relate to educational practice from birth through the early childhood and elementary school years. Its philosophy is based on the assumption that a complex interdependent relationship exists among school, family, and society, so that these new realities must be evaluated and incorporated into any doctoral program that purports to prepare students to take leadership roles in education today. The Child and Family Studies doctoral program of study espouses an approach that requires those working with children in early childhood settings to be aware of the impact of culture, ethnicity, gender, history, values, and economics upon the lives of children and families.

Philosophy and Research Goals

Based on developmental and constructivist perspectives, the doctoral program of study in Child and Family Studies is an interdisciplinary area that provides students with the theoretical foundations of development and learning from birth through early childhood to the end of the elementary school years, by studying the child in the diverse contexts which frame educational practice today. The Child and Family Studies doctoral program of study acknowledges the theoretical contributions from ancillary disciplines which deal with children, families, learning, and education.

A central goal of this doctoral area is to produce a unique research data base that reflects the cross-disciplinary nature of this theoretical area as well as the changing demographic, social, and cultural profile of contemporary children and families. This area of study is based on the assumption that best practice is rooted in well-established, research-based principles of development combined with a thorough knowledge of the social and cultural contexts in which children learn and develop. In addition, the quality of school-family-community partnerships plays a key role in the education and development of the young child. The culture of the school and its influence on the child, teachers, and families are explored, and the implications of working in a multicultural society and with different family structures are emphasized.

The Child and Family Studies program of study faculty recognizes that research must be conducted on the broader range of cultural and societal contexts that frame and constitute child development and learning. One of the major aims of the program of study is to foster proficiency in research methodology. The required research courses are designed to enable students to select the appropriate research methods to analyze developmental, family, and cultural phenomena and their relation to educational practice.

Research Foci

Reflecting the research interests of the faculty, student research includes topics on the child as learner, the psychological foundations of development and early education, the relationship between education and culture, brain development, educational psychology, the human interactions involved in the teaching process, the definition of the teacher's role, the implications of the new technologies for learning, adolescent development, character development, the family of the special needs child, early intervention, family development, and the role parents, families and communities play in the education and development of the young child.

Collaborative research is being conducted in a range of regional and international settings such as the Springfield Public Schools System; Tufts University at Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Mass.; University of Tromso, Norway; University of Nagasaki, Japan; Keimyung University, Korea; and Children's Hospital, Harvard University, Boston.

Desired Doctoral Student Characteristics

This doctoral area is designed for students considering leadership or planning responsibilities in university schools of education, school systems, research centers, or policy making bodies operated by foundations or other nonprofit agencies, which serve the needs of children and families from birth to early childhood to the end of the elementary school years.

Students who hold Bachelor's and Master's degrees from a college of recognized standing in Education or an education-related field (such as Psychology or Social Work) are eligible for admission to the program of study. Admission requirements include strong evidence of professional direction, as indicated by previous work experience, curriculum vitae, letters of reference, and high academic performance in prior graduate-level programs.

The program of study is interdisciplinary in nature and, while the core faculty represents the fields of Early Childhood Education and Developmental and Educational Psychology, courses from the disciplines of sociology, philosophy, anthropology, philosophy, psychology, and history are included as integral elements of the program of study. By exposing students to faculty from a variety of programs and disciplines, we believe that a new interdisciplinary paradigm will emerge that will add a new dimension to the study of the learning environments of the child and new insight into learning and education.

Contact Information:

Coordinator:Claire Hamilton (Associate Professor)

Associated Faculty

Alfred L. Karlson (Associate Professor), J. Kevin Nugent (Professor), Cynthia Rosenberger (Lecturer), Ernest D. Washington (Professor).