Research Themes
CYFS collaborates with diverse faculty across the University, funding agencies and other partners to strengthen Nebraska’s research in the social, behavioral and educational sciences, addressing critical challenges facing children, youth, families, schools and communities. Explore the center’s primary research themes below.
Academic Intervention & Learning
Research-based programs and practices are key to educational excellence. Our researchers investigate strategies for educators of all grade levels, school specialists and administrators. These strategies are grounded in empirical methods and are proven to produce positive effects across academic areas, including math, science, arts, technology and social sciences.
We believe education begins at birth. Our research-based approaches support children and youth across their lifespan, from their earliest days through college — and beyond.
Our research also identifies strategies that support learning more broadly, including teacher professional development, family-school-community partnerships, school environment and policy development. All these areas intersect with children’s lives and learning and are critical for educational success.
Funded Research Projects
Early Childhood Education & Development
Early education and development are the foundation upon which children build their futures. Operationalized through the Nebraska Academy for Early Childhood Research (NAECR), our research embraces all facets of early childhood, from cognition and social-emotional well-being to language and behavior. NAECR engages in, generates and supports interdisciplinary research to benefit young children, and to enhance the environments in which they learn and grow. NAECR also helps bridge the gap between the research, practice and policy communities.
We seek to address both typical development and the progression of children who are especially vulnerable or have special needs. Because children shape and are shaped by social and cultural systems, our research programs investigate how children function and are influenced by different systems — within homes, schools, peer groups and communities.
We've especially worked to improve early childhood education, child care programs and home visitation interventions by supporting the teachers and early childhood staff who lead them. In aiming to position children for success, we've also focused on fostering strong partnerships between families and these early childhood professionals.
Visit NAECR Website Funded Research Projects
Biological Bases of Learning & Behavior
Understanding the biological bases of learning and human behavior is essential to promote children’s healthy development and success into adulthood. Our researchers seek to understand connections between biology, behavior and learning to unravel how these elements shape human experiences, while also working to ensure equitable access to services in schools, child care facilities, clinical offices and other settings.
We have a particular interest in examining biological factors that affect children's cognitive, social and emotional well-being to equip parents/caregivers, educators and practitioners with valuable insights that will inform practices and interventions that enhance communication, personal autonomy and quality of life.
Our research programs explore neuroimaging, cochlear implants, brain-based communication devices and other physiological processes to understand their influence on a range of skills such as speech and language, literacy, executive function and emotion regulation. Researchers use cutting-edge technology and foster collaborative partnerships aimed at increasing access to education and health care and improving outcomes across the life span.
Rural Schools & Communities
Close to 20 percent of students in the United States reside in rural communities and attend rural schools — and face the associated realities of distance, health and mental health disparities, and limited access to valuable resources. Rural schools have many strengths, yet there is wide variability in access to educational opportunities and outcomes for rural students. CYFS is committed to understanding and addressing the unique challenges and needs of teachers, students and families in rural communities. Our investment in rural education relies on building and expanding strong relationships with rural schools, as we join together to assist students in rural communities nationwide.
With the belief that teachers make the largest and most sustainable impact on educational improvements for students, we work to identify, develop and validate methods that help teachers deliver research-based instruction in rural classrooms. We've specifically focused on investigating how professional development opportunities — provided face-to-face or via distance technology — influence teachers’ knowledge, perceptions and practices.
Funded Research Projects
Research, Measurement & Evaluation Methods
Data drives the cutting-edge research conducted by our interdisciplinary researchers and affiliates. Housed within CYFS, the Nebraska Academy for Methodology, Analytics and Psychometrics (MAP Academy) promotes the advancement of methodologies, applied analytics and data infrastructure to support and enhance rigorous research within the social, behavioral, health and educational sciences. Our methodologists collaborate with scholars to conceptualize research designs, implement data quality best practices, conduct statistical analyses and interpret results to maximize positive impacts on children, youth, families and schools.
We promote the highest standards of research by sponsoring workshops and seminars that feature experts in research, measurement and evaluation methods and analytic techniques. When confronted with challenges lacking clear solutions, our methodologists explore the adaptation and development of techniques to advance interdisciplinary research.
MAP Academy personnel possess expertise in mixed-methods, experimental, quasi-experimental and correlational designs, as well as applied analytics and statistical approaches linked to these designs. They are also experts in open science best practices that support study pre-registration, data transparency and reproducibility, data sharing and registered reports.
Visit MAP Academy Website Funded Research Projects
Social, Emotional & Behavioral Well-being
Promoting the social and emotional well-being of children is central to cultivating a healthy, well-adjusted society. Our researchers seek to understand children's social-emotional strengths and challenges to help build competencies and manage or prevent behavioral difficulties.
We have a particular interest in how ecological systems – including families, schools and peer groups – influence children's social skills and capabilities; feelings of worth and confidence; perceptions of their potential; and motivation to invest in their futures. Our research often bridges gaps between these systems to align beliefs, goals and strategies to enhance youth’s social-emotional welfare.
Our research programs investigate interventions to provide parents, educators and practitioners with the evidence-based resources to assess and confront a spectrum of negative social-emotional expressions, including aggression, bullying, delinquency and substance abuse. We also engage in research to foster positive social and emotional development across the developmental spectrum, from early childhood to adolescence and beyond.
Funded Research Projects