Some preschoolers listen to the teacher as others tune her out. While some stay within the lines, others color outside them. Some play by themselves; others share toys. And though some sit still, others fidget endlessly.
Collectively, Kathleen Rudasill sees these routine activities as a window into the emerging personalities of young children – one that potentially offers new perspectives on helping those from difficult backgrounds reach their potential.
UNL professor Susan Swearer, whose research on bullying has yielded collaborations with the White House and Lady Gaga, has launched a new initiative to support personal, social and cultural acceptance from childhood through adulthood.
Swearer’s Empowerment Initiative will facilitate translational research and outreach efforts designed to foster healthy communities, schools and families free from bullying and other negative behaviors.
CYFS faculty affiliate Julia McQuillan received the Chancellor’s Outstanding Contribution to Women award during a March 12 ceremony at the Nebraska Union.
McQuillan, a professor and chair of sociology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was honored for her efforts to create a climate that encourages women to succeed at the university.
CYFS faculty affiliate Dennis Molfese will join the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine Committee on Sports-Related Concussions in Youth, a panel tasked with reporting to Congress and President Barack Obama on brain injuries in children and young adults.
Many scholars envision that their countless hours of research will ultimately yield practical applications. CYFS faculty affiliate Keith Allen recently went a step further by co-developing one – for smartphones and tablets.
Allen, a professor of psychology and pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Munroe-Meyer Institute, has co-created the MySocius app to help parents foster communication and social interaction skills in children with autism.
As the federal government wrestles with the age-old issue of spending versus saving, three CYFS researchers have embarked on a study to pinpoint the economic value of Nebraska’s investments in early childhood.
CYFS Research Associate Professor Lisa Knoche has teamed with new Faculty Affiliates David Rosenbaum and Eric Thompson to evaluate the fiscal benefits of funding the state’s early childhood education and programs.
CYFS Faculty Affiliate Reece Peterson, professor of special education and communication disorders at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was quoted in a Dec. 6 Washington Post story on the practices of restraining and secluding students with emotional or behavioral disorders.
CYFS Faculty Affiliate Susan Swearer will lead a new research board to advise Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation on its youth empowerment and tolerance programs, the foundation announced this week.
The group also will work to boost the influence of the foundation’s proposals and apply well-founded research to all of the foundation’s upcoming programs.