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.
The University of Texas at Austin’s Robert Crosnoe addressed how social marginalization affects teenage development during a recent Distinguished Lecture hosted by the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools.
Crosnoe, a professor of sociology at UT Austin, presented “Adolescence, Peers and the Challenges of High School” April 10 in the Nebraska Union’s Colonial Room.
The Early Head Start program aims to give young children exactly that. However, the program has fought a recurring battle against the maltreatment of those children by the same low-income families it seeks to assist.
In 2009, CYFS Doctoral Student Affiliate Grace Hubel began working as a mental health consultant with a local Early Head Start center in Lincoln, Neb. Through her interactions with families and conversations with staff, Hubel realized that the program’s children seemed especially susceptible to the neglect and abuse that research has linked with psychiatric disorders, poor communication skills and antisocial behavior.
The vast majority of teens spend more time bargaining with their parents than contending with the challenges of becoming one. A few, however, face the realities of parenthood – and preparing their own children for preschool before even finishing high school.
Two internationally recognized faculty affiliates of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools clarified popular misconceptions about dyslexia during an April 2 Creating Connections Speaker Series presentation.
An internationally recognized scholar spoke about the benefits of outdoor environments for children during a Feb. 21 presentation co-sponsored by the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools.
Susan Swearer, associate professor of educational psychology and CYFS faculty affiliate, participated in the White House Conference on Bullying Prevention held March 10.
Swearer was one of four national bullying experts who joined President and First Lady Obama, along with members of the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to discuss the causes, consequences and prevention of bullying. Teachers, parents and students from across the United States were also on hand to lend their perspectives.