Policies supporting families with young children provide an important context for human development. The two primary public policies available to caregivers around and after childbirth are parental leave and early care and education (ECE). A substantial body of research evaluates the effects of parental leave and ECE policies on various...
Preschool television has historically not been representative of the world young childrenlive in. Although progress is being made, “representation matters” is still a phrase that rings true to this day. This dissertation focused on representation within STEM television shows because STEM education involves learning important skills such as problem solving...
This dissertation examines caregiving contexts in early childhood. Specifically, I look at how caregiving contexts are related to or influenced by other caregiving contexts and broader social contexts. The dissertation is composed of an introductory chapter that provides a theoretical overview and summary of the dissertation followed by two additional...
There is strong evidence for the benefits of teaching parents of toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) intervention strategies for facilitating language development. A strategy at the core of early parent-mediated interventions for ASD is responsiveness, defined as providing a child with a verbal response each time she communicates. Responsiveness...
With more jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields available than people to fill them, the United States is extremely focused on increasing STEM education to address this gap in the future workforce. This focus is not exclusive to higher education and secondary schooling, but rather, it has...