Fostering Productive Parent Engagement in the Early School Years: Translating Research into Practice

Presentations will be followed by an in-depth discussion with our panel of featured speakers listed below:

From University of Nebraska, Dr. Susan Sheridan’s primary grant work and research focus is in a model of service delivery known as “conjoint behavioral consultation” (also known as TAPP), focused on bringing parents, teachers, and other care providers together to develop constructive relationships and address concerns they share for children. Additional research areas include family interventions, the development and generalization of effective social skills in children, and the role of parents in social skill development.

From Penn State, Dr. Karen Bierman's research interests center on child social-emotional development and the design and evaluation of school- and community-based prevention programs that promote social-emotional learning, self-regulation, positive peer relations, and school success. She directs the Head Start REDI (Research-based, developmentally informed) prevention trial, funded by NICHD, which is evaluating the long-term benefits of evidence-based enrichments to Head Start classroom and home visiting programs. She also leads a related NICHD-funded study examining the impact of REDI delivered in child-care centers supported by on-line implementation supports.

From University of Oregon, Dr. Elizabeth Stormshak's research focuses on understanding risk factors in early and middle childhood associated with the development of problem behavior in late adolescence, including substance use and delinquency. Her primary research focus includes testing the efficacy of family-centered interventions, such as the Family Check-Up, that reduce the later risk of problem behavior. She also studies the process of dissemination of evidence-based interventions into real world community settings. She has worked collaboratively with a variety of service providers, including elementary and middle schools in the state of Oregon as well as community mental health agencies.

From New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Spring Dawson-McClure is an Assistant Professor of Population Health and is a psychologist and prevention scientist focused on the development, evaluation, and large-scale implementation of community and school-based strategies to reduce racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in children's learning, behavior, and health. She has expertise in family engagement and parenting and is committed to centering racial equity and the voices of families of color in all aspects of her work.

This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Human Development and Family Studies.