Highlighting the research and work of CYFS Student Affiliates.
Despite the unusual circumstances of the past year and a half, the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools has remained focused on impacting lives through research that advances learning and development.
With diverse partners in research, practice and policy, CYFS has continued work to address the social, behavioral and educational needs of communities in Nebraska and beyond — both amid and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Early childhood obesity is a major U.S. public health problem, afflicting children from low-income and minority families in rural areas disproportionately with an increased risk for long-term health disparities, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Strong social-emotional skills have been found to impact children’s development and later success.
Research also shows children exposed to adverse experiences — maternal depression, poverty, parental substance use, physical abuse and neglect — are at risk for having lower social-emotional functioning compared to their peers.
Children who possess strong social-emotional skills in elementary school tend to experience academic and personal success. Children lacking those skills, however, often experience adverse outcomes — both short- and long-term.
To improve outcomes for children, it is crucial to understand factors associated with positive social-emotional development.
For some young children, learning the basics of 1-2-3 can be easy as A-B-C.
But because early numeracy skills often receive less attention than early literacy skills, children who lag in number comprehension may fall behind academically in kindergarten and beyond.
Much attention is paid to the work early childhood teachers do in the classroom. But their tasks away from their students are just as essential to children’s learning and development.
Unlike their K-12 counterparts, early childhood teachers lack dedicated time to address work demands beyond the direct care of children. Without formalized supports, out-of-classroom time may be scarified or interrupted as unexpected issues arise throughout the day.
Donna Chen, MAP Academy graduate research assistant, has earned a Dean’s Fellowship for the 2020-21 academic year through the Office of Graduate Studies for her “outstanding academic performance and scholarly potential.”
Chen is a fifth-year doctoral student in the Quantitative, Qualitative and Psychometric Methods program. She is working primarily on the Equity in Engineering and TAPP Latino projects.
Many children growing up in disadvantage enter school without the requisite social, emotional and behavioral skills to be successful. When those children start off behind, they have a difficult time catching up to more successful students.
Because a child’s early school experiences are predictive of their long-term educational trajectory, starting school socially and behaviorally ready is crucial. Otherwise, long-term detrimental outcomes and widening gaps in academic and social success may follow.
