SRCD Announces 2019-2020 Scholars-In-Residence

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Drs. Spears Brown, Goldstein, and Sagi-Schwartz Selected as Incoming Scholars.
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The Society for Research in Child Development is pleased to announce Dr. Christia Spears Brown of the University of Kentucky, Dr. Thalia R. Goldstein of George Mason University, and Dr. Abraham Sagi-Schwartz of the University of Haifa as its Scholars-in Residence for 2019-2020.

The Scholar-in-Residence program, launched in 2018, is designed to provide researchers time and space in SRCD’s Washington, D.C. office while on academic leave or sabbatical to complete a project, all the while exploring the Society and local scholarly, policy, or government connections. Scholars-in-residence receive funds to supplement existing sabbatical/leave support during their period of residence.

"SRCD is pleased to continue our Scholars-In-Residence program and we look forward to working with the impressive slate of incoming scholars as expand the impact of their research endeavors in D.C. and beyond," said Laura L. Namy, SRCD’s Executive Director.

About the 2019-2020 Scholars

Dr. Christia Spears Brown is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Brown’s research focuses on how children’s academic, psychological and social lives are shaped by the social groups they below to.  Dr. Brown’s time with SRCD will run from July 2019 to September 2019. 

Said Dr. Christia Spears Brown, “I am thrilled to be selected as one of SRCD’s Scholars-in-Residence. This will provide an ideal opportunity to research my new book translating why developmental science is important for policymakers and parents and spotlighting some hidden figures in our field and how their research helped improve children’s lives.” 

While at SRCD, Dr. Brown will focus on a book project that will be the first to document the lives and work of Drs. Ruth Horowitz and Mamie Clark, the two women who pioneered new methods in developmental science and whose work was crucial to the 1954 Supreme Court Brown v Board of Education decision that desegregated public schools in the United States. This book will also examine how developmental science continues to have the potential to positively shape public policy.

Dr. Thalia R. Goldstein is Assistant Professor of Applied Developmental Psychology at George Mason University. Dr. Goldstein’s work focuses on children's developing social and emotional skills, particularly theory of mind, empathy, and emotional control and regulation, and how such skills intersect with children's engagement in pretend play, theatre, drama, and other imaginative activities. Dr. Goldstein will serve as the SRCD Scholar-in-Residence from January 2020 to March 31, 2020.

Said Dr. Thalia R. Goldstein, “I’m very excited to work with the SRCD staff on three projects: developing evidence-based advocacy approaches to translate research on children's engagement in the arts to policy; learning how to best present developmental science findings to general audiences; continuing my empirical and experimental work on children's engagement in theatre, and the effects such engagement has for developing social and emotional skills."

During Dr. Goldstein’s time with SRCD, she will develop evidence-based advocacy approaches to translate research for policy, present evidence-based developmental science to a general audience and develop a book proposal on the science of acting, role play, pretend play and identify development, social skills and empathy. 

Dr. Abraham Sagi-Schwartz is a Full Professor of Psychology at the University of Haifa.  Dr. Sagi-Schwartz’s primary research interests focus on socioemotional development across the life span and diversified socio-cultural contexts, early child care, socioemotional development, child and family well-being, and adaptation under extreme life circumstances and experiences  (especially the effects of the Holocaust and chronic exposure to war and political violence) and translating developmental science knowledge into social, public, and foreign policy. Dr. Sagi-Schwartz’s time with SRCD will run from April 2020 to June 2020.

Said Dr. Sagi-Schwartz, "I am so excited for the opportunity to spend time as an SRCD Scholar-in-Residence which will enable me to share the story of the "impact for good" that over 100 graduates of the International MA program in Child Development at the University of Haifa have been producing over the past five years for thousands of children in more than 25 developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Euro-Asia. These graduates conceive themselves as "Ambassadors of Child Development" which is consistent with SRCD’s main strategic goals. As such, it is pleasing to see how they go beyond disciplinary and international boundaries and make a remarkable contribution to the wellbeing of children worldwide."

While at SRCD, Dr. Sagi-Schwartz will explore how lessons learned from the University of Haifa’s International MA Program in Child Development for Developing Countries could be applied in interdisciplinary professional development programs across the world, and how sustainability in developing countries can be secured. While in Washington, D.C., Dr. Sagi-Schwartz will take the opportunity to establish policy contacts, partners in human development, and organizations which support early childhood development in countries affected by conflict or extreme poverty.