Human Development & Family Science  News

From Classroom to Community, HDFS Senior Prepares for Career in Pediatric Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is designed to help people of all ages to participate in life activities that are important to them. And it’s what Madalyn plans to do with her career.

Alongside the school’s occupational therapist, she engages students in activities that help them accomplish set goals to promote their academic success. “I observe children who experience a range of disabilities and difficulties that impair their ability to learn in the classroom,” she says. “The children are engaged in set activities that are specific to helping them practice towards their goals, as well as provide them with strategies that they can utilize to be successful both in the classroom and in everyday life.” Over the course of her internship, Madalyn has created multiple tools to review student progress hand help them toward their individual goals, such as mindfulness strategy cards, daily planners, and handwriting sheets.

As a Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) major and Psychology minor, Madalyn studies the physical, social, and psychological development of humans throughout the lifespan as well as family dynamics and its effects. “I chose HDFS because I have always wanted to work with children and was very interested in the overall development of children and how they function and grow,” she says. “I have taken classes that focus on infancy and gerontology, with every age group covered in between.”
HDFS’s curriculum is endorsed by the Association of Child Life Professionals and prepares students to meet the additional requirements to become certified as Child Life Specialists, professionals who encourage optimum development for children facing a broad range of challenges, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization. Many students like Madalyn focus their coursework in these areas. “Through my concentration in child life, I have gained a great understanding of the need for play in a child’s life—how children should be playing at certain ages, how to use play to connect with a child, as well as to facilitate learning and growth through play.”

Madalyn has had a few adventures during her time at Syracuse. As a junior, she studied abroad with the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Syracuse University Program in Florence, Italy and got to travel around Europe. But one of her favorite experiences was just a few blocks from campus. “One experience that really meant the most to me was my time working with the Love Your Melon Club. This gave me the opportunity to learn about the stories and experiences of children who are sick with cancer, she says. As part of the club, she helped run a DKMS swab drive to encourage Syracuse students to join the National Bone Marrow Registry. She also worked with children during hospital visits at Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. “During a visit at Golisano, I was able to observe a Child Life Specialist and work with two young girls who had been diagnosed with cancer and play with them for the day. This was an experience I will never forget.”

After graduation, Madalyn plans to attend graduate school to become an Occupational Therapist. “Many of my classes have allowed me to realize that I want to work with children as a pediatric Occupational Therapist. I want to use my knowledge of growth and development from HDFS to help children accomplish the everyday tasks they may have difficulty with. We take the ability to feed ourselves, get up and down from a chair and to do so many other daily occupations for granted, while some people struggle with these things. I want to help give a child the ability to live their life to the fullest and to do all of the little things we should all be lucky enough to do with ease.”

Learn more about human development and family science, career paths, and programs at Syracuse University’s Falk College.

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Falk students, faculty, staff honored at One University celebration

The One University Awards event is a daylong celebration of excellence by members of the Syracuse University community in academics, scholarship, creative work, leadership, and dedicated service. It was held on May 7, 2021. View the ceremony.

Several members of the Falk College community were recognized for excellence, including Professor Margaret Voss who was named a 2021-24 Meredith Professor. Learn more about her project. Professors Brooks Gump and Merril Silverstein received the Chancellor’s Citation for Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction. Dean Diane Lyden Murphy received the Forever Orange Award that honors individuals who embody the spirit of Syracuse University through academic excellence, exemplary leadership, and selfless service to the entire Orange community, on campus and beyond. Claire Cooke ’21, human development and family science major and a member of the field hockey team received the Student-Athlete Scholar Award, and; public health graduate student Pruthvi Kilaru ’18, G’20 and Professors Brittany Kmush and David Larsen, along with other members of the Public Health Team, received the Chancellor’s Citation for Outstanding Group Contributions to the Student Experience and University Initiatives

Also recognized from Falk College were emeriti faculty, faculty and staff with years of service milestones, University Scholars, Class and School and College Marshals and Remembrance Scholars. Read the full list of honorees and details about these awards.

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Watch Falk College’s Commencement and Convocation Ceremonies

Chancellor Syverud addressed students in the School of Architecture; College of Arts and Sciences; Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs; David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics; School of Education; and University College during the ceremony Saturday, May 22.

During the commencement ceremony professor’s David Larsen and Brittany Kmush in Falk College’s Department of Public Health both received the Chancellor’s medal for their work helping Syracuse University to successfully navigate the COVID-19 crisis. Their expertise in endemiology and public health ensured that the University’s policies were informed by data and aligned with best practices. The Chancellor’s Medal is the highest honor Syracuse University offers and is rarely given. Both had also received the Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence during this year’s One University Awards for their invaluable contributions, extraordinary work and selfless efforts to ensure a safe, healthy and rewarding residential experience for our students, faculty and staff in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Falk College also presented a live virtual Convocation at 11 a.m. ET on Saturday, May 22. Watch the recording below.

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HDFS Student Awards 2021

The Department of Human Development & Family Science had their 2021 Virtual End of the Year Celebration on May 14th and was pleased to recognize the outstanding work of its undergraduate and graduate students for excellence. Watch a recording of the virtual ceremony below:

Undergraduate Student Awards

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Graduate Student Awards

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Congratulations Class of 2021!

19/05/21

Along with Dean Murphy, the entire Falk College community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, community partners and friends, congratulates the Class of 2021! Over the past several weeks, departments across Falk College honored student achievements and celebrated the graduating Class of 2021, which are detailed on individual department websites.

Graduates and families should visit the main page on the Commencement website on Saturday, May 22 at 11 a.m. EST to view the virtual school and college convocations, including the Falk Convocation, and livestream of all Commencement ceremonies. Recordings of virtual convocations will be posted online so that graduates and their families can view them at a later date.

Details about Syracuse University Commencement weekend, May 22-23 are available, including specific information about safety protocols for those attending in person.

“To the Class of 2021, as the newest Falk alumni, you join an accomplished community of socially responsible citizens who can and who must lead change,” notes Diane Lyden Murphy, dean, Falk College.

We know you will lead the way! Congratulations, and best wishes!

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Discovering Her Passions

After graduation, senior Ashlyn Friedberg knows exactly where she’s going. But it was not that way when she was starting College. As a College freshman coming to Syracuse from Brooklyn, NY, she wanted to study something that would give her a solid foundation for plenty of career options. So, she chose to major in Human Development and Family Science.

HDFS students study the social, emotional, and physical development of children while examining relationships within families and in other social contexts, such as schools and workplaces. This prepares them for careers in the medical field, public health, mental health and allied health professions, community and social services, law and public policy, teaching and education administration, research, communications, and business.

“Being an HDFS major means learning about the development of individuals using psychology, sociology, and education,” says Ashlyn, adding that critical thinking skills were central to the program. “It provides a well-rounded educational experience that can be bridged together with many fields.”

As part of her studies, Ashlyn completed an internship with Syracuse University’s Center for Disability Resources, where she leaded about disability services and resources at the higher education level and conducted her own research project to support student needs. “My research included a survey which was distributed to faculty across the university. Through this research, I am making recommendations to the CDR for future trainings and workshops they provide to faculty.”

Through her time at Syracuse, Ashlyn found the career path she was looking for. In the fall, she will start graduate school at Brooklyn College where she will pursue a degree in School Psychology. “I hope to work with children in schools and provide them with the support to reach their goals,” she says. One day, she hopes to pursue a Ph.D. and become a University professor. “Looking back, I will remember the constant support that the HDFS department provided me. Without this environment, I don’t know if I would be where I am today.”

Learn more about human development and family science, career paths, and programs at Syracuse University’s Falk College.

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Senior says HDFS major was “the perfect fit”

When it came time to go to college, Jordyn Joel ’22 chose human development and family science. “HDFS explores lifespan development and the science behind it. A wide variety of courses are offered, such as human sexuality, child development, problems in youth and emerging adulthood,” says Jordyn. The wide range of classes drew her to the major. “I was able to pick and choose which routes I wanted to go whether it was family science, domestic violence within relationships, child development, gerontology, social work, and so many more.” As someone who spent a lot of time working with children, and always wanted to help families, “this was the perfect fit for me.”

Now, as a junior at Syracuse University’s Falk College, Jordyn spent her spring semester completing an internship at Grimshaw Elementary School in a first grade classroom supporting the class teacher and helping the students with their work. “Over the course of the semester, I have made it my goal to teach the class the importance of meditation and mindfulness. I am excited to be able to use my knowledge about this topic and present it to the classroom.” In addition to applied skills in lesson planning, communication, and observation, Jordyn says, “I have become more professional and mature, while students look up to me for insight and help. I have also created strong relationships with the students, and the teacher, that I will remember forever.”

“Looking back on my time at Syracuse, the experiences that mean the most to me are the opportunities Falk offered me,” she adds. “I was able to branch out and explore all the different oppositions of my major, along with getting the opportunity to help the Syracuse community while working at Grimshaw Elementary.” After Syracuse, Jordyn plans to pursue a graduate degree in social work and start her own practice helping people and families.

Learn more about human development and family science, career paths, and programs at Syracuse University’s Falk College.

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Chandice Haste-Jackson Appointed Interim Director of First-Year Seminar Program

Chandice Haste-Jackson, associate teaching professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science in Falk College, has been appointed interim director of the First-Year Seminar course, effective Feb. 1, 2021.

The First-Year Seminar course is part of a change to the undergraduate curriculum approved by every Syracuse University school and college during the fall semester. Along with the inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility (IDEA) course requirement, the First-Year Seminar is part of a commitment the University made to students in the 2019-2020 academic year requiring all students to take courses covering IDEA topics. The First-Year Seminar will replace the SEM 100 course for all incoming undergraduate students beginning in Fall 2021.

In this new role, Haste-Jackson will collaborate with faculty, administrators and students to develop and deliver the new course. In collaboration with Provost Faculty Fellows Kira Reed and Jeff Mangram, she will work to recruit and train a diverse group of qualified instructors and create the curriculum for the First-Year Seminar. Additionally, she will ensure that the new course is appropriately assessed and continually improved in collaboration with the faculty advisory committee. Haste-Jackson will also partner with faculty across the University to develop ideas and strategies for leveraging the first-year seminar in the service of promoting diversity, equity and inclusion across the curriculum. Additionally, she will work with the Office of First-Year and Transfer Programs on the development of a holistic experience for incoming Syracuse University students.

As associate teaching professor in Falk College, Haste-Jackson teaches courses on intimate relationships and gender roles, family development, relationship development and diversity, equity and inclusion. In addition, she coordinates the first year Gateway course for undergraduate students in the Falk College and teaches both large group (all college) and small group (major concentration) courses within the program. She previously served as chair of the Falk College Dean’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion.

“Dr. Haste-Jackson is an exceptionally qualified educator on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility both on campus and well beyond,” says Diane Lyden Murphy, Dean of Falk College. “She has a true talent for guiding students in meaningful engagement with each other and with these critical, complex issues in-depth. Beyond the classroom, Falk College benefitted greatly from her service and leadership as chair of the Dean’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion, where she led faculty, staff, and students in College-wide initiatives that turned insights into action for lasting change in our community. We are thrilled that she will be using her talents as interim director of the First-Year Seminar course,” adds Dean Murphy.

For more information, please refer to the University’s announcement.

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Talking to Kids About Race and Ethnicity

How parents talk to their kids about racial inequality and trauma has taken on a sense of urgency, states Jaipaul L. Roopnarine, a researcher in Syracuse University’s Falk College.

“Ethnic-racial socialization is positively linked to better academic outcomes and better behavioral adjustment in children as well as a stronger sense of racial identity in adolescents,” says Roopnarine, the Pearl S. Falk Professor of Human Development and Family Science. “It imbues children with a sense of self-confidence and teaches them about bias.”

Since 2015, he and Kimberly Davidson G’16, a former doctoral student who is now an assistant professor at Central Michigan University, have followed preschoolers in New York’s Head Start Program to understand how they learn about race and ethnicity from their parents, teachers and caregivers—a process known as ethnic-racial socialization. Their work is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“These discussions need to occur in all ethnic groups and go beyond egalitarian messages,” says Roopnarine, who also holds professorial appointments at Anton de Kom University of Suriname in South America and the University of the West Indies. “Such messages should be brief for young children and avoid taking a colorblind approach. We shouldn’t overwhelm them with graphic images of events.”

We recently caught up with Roopnarine to find out how socialization works, particularly among ethnic-racial minority families.

What’s the difference between ethnic and racial socialization?

Research on racial socialization emerged to understand how African American parents enable their children to maintain high self-esteem while preparing them to understand the structural inequalities and barriers that may hinder their development.

Ethnic socialization grew out of work on immigrant families—Latino, Asian, Caribbean and others—that focused on parents’ concerns about their children’s cultural identity, retention of cultural practices, and group orientation or assimilation.

Our work recognizes that positive messages can help children combat racial and ethnic stereotypes, in addition to bias.

You’re a proponent of intentional parenting for equity and justice, involving frank discussions between parents and children. Why are such parenting approaches gaining traction among ethnic-racial minority families?

Conversations about equity and justice should be in lockstep with children’s developmental levels and their willingness to engage in such topics.

My research with Kimberly Davidson considers how parents and teachers of children from ethnic-racial minority families address issues such as bias, egalitarianism and cultural socialization.

Would you elaborate?

Bias is prejudice for or against a certain race or ethnic group. Egalitarianism is the belief that all people are equal, regardless of race or ethnic background. Cultural socialization refers to how parents teach their children about the histories, traditions and values of their own racial or ethnic group.

These things affect a child’s ability to self-regulate (i.e., to practice self-control) during a difficult situation.

What have you and Professor Davidson learned?

Parents and preschool teachers talk to children the most about equality and the least about bias. Both equality and bias are important parts of socialization, especially during adolescence.

We also have found that 73% of parents keep culturally appropriate toys in the home—toys that are multicultural or represent their child’s ethnic or cultural background.

Roughly the same percentage of parents has at least three children’s books in the home that reflect their child’s ethnic-racial heritage and pictures on display depicting family members or other people from the child’s own ethnic-racial group.

What disparities have you uncovered?

African American parents engage in cultural socialization the most; European Americans the least. Also, African Americans use messages of self-worth and cultural pride in preparation for bias more than any other group.

Meanwhile, parents of biracial or multicultural children mostly utilize egalitarian messages.

Are teachers and parents usually on the same page?

Not always. There is a degree of mismatch between home and school environments.

Our research shows that 52% of parents and teachers match on levels of cultural socialization practices as well as beliefs about cultural socialization. Roughly the same number matches in its use of preparation for bias (56%) and on levels of egalitarianism (54%).

Interestingly, 75% of African American children have parents and teachers who do not match on their preparation for bias messages, compared to 19% of European American children whose parents and teachers don’t match.

What else do you study?

I am interested in risk and protective factors in parent-child relationships as well as childhood outcomes, particularly among African Americans, Hispanic Americans and European Americans.

One project, also supported by Health and Human Services, found that children of low-income families from urban and rural sites across the United States are more likely to have better social skills if their fathers engage with them as infants and toddlers. Likewise, I’ve found that, in Africa and the Caribbean, low levels of father engagement have strong implications for cognitive and social development during a child’s preschool years.

Positive parenting may not produce the same child development outcomes in high-income countries, independent of access to early childhood education. The two need to be offered in tandem to enhance a child’s early social and cognitive development.

This is an SU Story by Rob Enslin originally published on November 10, 2020.

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Human Development and Family Science Newsletter Highlights Research, Alumni Careers, and More

For more than 90 years, the work of the Department of Human Development and Family Science (HDFS) faculty, staff, students, and alumni has transformed communities locally, nationally, and globally. The HDFS department prepares students by offering the scientific study of human development, from infancy to end of life, through cultures and contexts. The program continues to flourish and has been consistently recognized as one of the very best programs in the country.

HDFS continues to make great strides through robust undergraduate and graduate student enrollment, curriculum development, faculty research, and service. Its child life specialist program is the first academic program in the world to be endorsed by the Association of Child Life Professionals, providing a strong history of providing positive impact on children and families in health care settings. Its mindfulness and contemplative studies minor draws students across the University as the multidisciplinary experiences in this minor are critical to the education and wellbeing of individuals.

HDFS alumni thrive in a wide range of careers, bringing their knowledge and skills to heath care, social services, education, law, and medicine. As the 2020-21 academic year begins, HDFS welcomes the Class of 2024, as well as new transfer and graduate students, who continue this tradition of excellence. Read more about research, scholarship, news updates, and more from HDFS students, faculty, and staff in the Fall 2020 HDFS Newsletter.

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