Affiliates of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools showcased their recent and ongoing studies during the Nov. 12 College of Education and Human Sciences Student Research Conference.
The conference, held throughout Teachers College and Mabel Lee Halls, gave students a forum to unveil research papers and project posters among their CEHS peers and mentors. Jon Pedersen, CEHS associate dean for research and CYFS faculty affiliate, provided the conference’s opening remarks.
Amanda Witte, CYFS project director and doctoral student affiliate in educational psychology, presented a paper titled “Parenting Talent: A Qualitative Investigation of the Role Parents Play in Talent Development.” CYFS Doctoral Affiliate Kadie Dooley, also in educational psychology, discussed the paper “Assessing Elementary Students’ Perception of Recess: Where Kids Get Along, Where Kids Don’t Get Along, and Why.” Witte and Dooley recently received the Hong Kong Travel Award, affording them the opportunity to present these papers at the University of Hong Kong on Dec. 3.
Numerous other CYFS graduate and undergraduate student affiliates also participated in the conference. Yanjie Long, a graduate student in child, youth and family studies, presented a research paper titled “The Impact of Parental Involvement on Preschool Children’s Later Language Development in Low-Income Hispanic English Language Learners.” In addition, 11 CYFS student affiliates and 3 personnel exhibited posters at the conference. (For a full list of CYFS exhibitors and their posters, click here.)
CYFS Faculty Affiliate Christine Marvin attended the poster session and thought students took full advantage of the opportunity to improve their presentation skills.
“I was impressed with the many who saw this as an opportunity to learn from [fellow] students and faculty members in attendance. I think the conference offers an opportunity to develop a professional voice and work through the process of taking an outsider’s perspective on their work,” Marvin said. “There was great dialogue, and the poster session room was a buzz of conversation for a number of hours.”
Marvin noted that the conference’s scale specifically suits the needs of up-and-coming researchers.
“It provides our students a safe environment for their dress rehearsal before sharing their work at a state, regional or national level,” she said. “From what I saw Saturday in the poster sessions, we have some who will be more than ready for that opportunity.”