Human Development & Family Science News
April is Child Abuse Awareness Month
As they’ve done in previous years, Falk students and their peers on campus, working with faculty and staff, have partnered with McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center to bring attention to the issue in a visual way: by planting pinwheels on campus. Earlier this month, 720 pinwheels were installed on the lawn between the Schine Student Center and Newhouse buildings, with each pinwheel signifying a safe and healthy childhood.“It’s a very striking visual for a very important cause,” according to Brooke Tyszka, academic counselor for Falk College student services.
Students in Kappa Omicron Nu, the national honor society program for Child and Family Studies majors, along with students in the Society for Public Health Education in the Department of Public Health, Food Studies and Nutrition at Falk College, and the Orange Pulse Dance troupe raised funds through Pinwheels for Prevention. Money raised will to go McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center. McMahon/Ryan is a nationally accredited Child Advocacy Center and nonrofit organization dedicated to ending child abuse in Central New York through intervention and prevention education.
On April 24, the Student Council on Family Relations, and the Department of Child and Family Studies, will present “Pitfalls in the Diagnosis of Abuse,” with special guest, Dr. Ann Botash, McMahon/Ryan Child Abuse Referral and Evaluation Program (CARE) Director and Child Abuse Pediatrician. The event will take place at 1:00 p.m., 175 White Hall.
Read more about Pinwheels for Prevention
View April 24th event flier
Utilizing Technology to Enhance Child Life Practice
March is the professional recognition month for Child Life Specialists. The Department of Child and Family Studies is hosting a lunch lecture with Lou Riccio titled “Utilizing Technology to Enhance Child Life Practice” on Wednesday, March 18th at 11:30 am in Room 111, Peck Hall Room, 601 E Genesee St, Syracuse, NY. The Child Life Department from Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital will be in attendance, so this will be an excellent opportunity to learn about technology in Child Life, as well as network with pediatric specialists.
Riccio will review current trends in the use of technology to support the psychosocial needs of children facing illness, injury and hospitalization, as well as address aspects of therapeutic play that can be enhanced through technology and gamification. Join us for an interdisciplinary discussion to address the intersection of technology, therapeutic play, and software development that promotes wellness and coping for children in medical settings.
CFS students help raise $84,013 for Golisano Children's Hospital
Falk College child and family studies students took part in the OttoTHON dance marathon on the Syracuse University campus Saturday, February 28. A CFS student in the Child Life Specialist track, Lucero Andujar, was a key organizer for this event [she serves on the Executive Board]. She has a career goal of becoming a pediatric surgeon. SUNY Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital was the recipient of funds raised. Lucero has been working closely with Toni Gary and Children’s Miracle Network. Another CFS major, Nicole Autuno, in the Child Life Specialist track, also assisted with the event. Beth Nelsen, an alumna of Falk College’s nutrition science graduate program, represented the Department of Pediatrics/Golisano Children’s Hospital. The students’ efforts raised $84,013 for the Children’s Hospital.
Read more about the event
Purposeful pairing of music education majors, BMW preschoolers creates beautiful music and more
“Early experiences with music provide the foundation upon which future music learning and appreciation are built,” says Daria Webber, director of the Bernice M. Wright (BMW) Child Development Laboratory School in Falk College’s Department of Child & Family Studies.
Music is a natural and important part of a young child’s growth and development. Consequently, developmentally appropriate programs in early childhood settings that incorporate singing, moving, listening, creating, and playing instruments offer an important individual form of self-expression. An ongoing creative collaboration involving BMW teachers and music education faculty members in the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ (VPA) Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music, in conjunction with Syracuse University’s School of Education, recently connected college-aged and preschool students for a unique and valuable learning experience.
During the Fall 2014 semester, Juliet Hess, Ph.D., assistant professor of music education, working with Webber, brought sophomore students enrolled in the Foundations of Music Education class to South Campus to enhance an already existing music program provided in BMW classrooms. “While sophomore students have the opportunity to observe classes in school settings, the collaboration with Bernice Wright afforded them their first formal opportunity to teach,” notes Hess.
Syracuse University music students spent time with the preschool-aged children on Friday mornings, alternating between small-group activities in individual classrooms, and whole-group presentations to all of the children gathered together. Some of the activities included songs and finger plays, creative movement, and instrument demonstrations and experiences. The program concluded with an “All School Sing,” which featured the work of the BMW and VPA students.
“Musical experiences in early childhood classrooms need to be play based, as is true in all areas of our curriculum,” says Webber. The VPA students varied the types of learning opportunities, such as one-on-one, free choice, large group and small group, which provided many varied and valuable learning experiences for all students of all ages. This relationship has continued into the Spring 2015 semester, with students in the general music methods course collaborating with BMW teachers. “It is vital for music education students to have teaching opportunities with a range of ages in supportive and collaborative environments. Over the weeks of the program, students become more confident, and adapt and refine their teaching pedagogy to speak to young children. They experience team teaching and have many opportunities to interact with students in groups and individually,” says Hess. “The music education students point to this experience as one of their most significant formative experiences in music education thus far.” “We are thrilled to take advantage of being part of a University community that allows us to collaborate across disciplines. We have been fortunate to have several families enrolled here at BMW over the years who are musicians and music educators, who assist us in making these connections, namely Dr. Elisa Dekaney, associate professor of music in the Setnor School. It was in 2010 when we first started this collaboration, and we are looking forward to continuing this relationship for years to come,” says Webber. The Bernice M. Wright (BMW) Child Development Laboratory School in Falk College’s Department of Child and Family Studies was founded in 1970 and offers a high-quality, developmentally appropriate inclusive early childhood education program. It is accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Falk College Community Meet-and-Greet with Dean Murphy
Dear Falk Undergraduate and Grad. Students,
Please join Falk College Dean, Diane Lyden Murphy, and your classmates for a Falk Student Community Meet-and-Greet. A date will be scheduled after Spring Break. Dean Murphy is interested in hearing your ideas about student needs in our new building. What would you like to see in the student lounge? What makes your study space ideal? Hear about renovations in-the-works, including space for student services, food services, and collaborative learning.
Pizza, salad and soda will be served!
Share your suggestions via email.
Exploring community health, social policy
by Abigail Aaron
Child and Family Studies Major
During the Spring of my Junior Year I was fortunate enough to study in the amazingly beautiful yet unique country of South Africa, in the city of Durban located on the western coast of South Africa. The program that I was enrolled in was titled, Community Health and Social Policy, and so I took courses that discussed healthcare delivery in South Africa including the practice, prevention and promotion of healthcare, as well as the role that the media plays on influencing the wide range of health topics in South Africa.
My classes discussed topics such as social justice in rural communities, and healthcare practices that are specific to South Africa such as traditional healing. In addition to these classes, I took a beginning Zulu class where I learned to speak and read beginners Zulu so that I could converse with the locals as well as the four families that welcomed me into their homes during my homestays.
I had one homestay for five weeks in a township called Cato Manor located directly outside the city of Durban, and three rural homestays (2 days each) with families in the rural areas of South Africa in the countryside a few hours outside of Durban. During the last month of my program I completed a medical learnership in a rural hospital where I was able to shadow doctors and learn about the various health care issues specific to that community.
Majoring in social work, child and family studies, or other human services programs? Study Abroad Spring 2016 in Strasbourg
Falk College’s School of Social Work and SUAbroad are offering a new opportunity in Strasbourg, France for SU undergraduates and students at other colleges and universities. The 16-credit hour Strasbourg Spring 2016 Semester allows for enrollment in five courses and includes a brief optional internship opportunity abroad. In addition to bringing students face-to-face with human service delivery in other nations and enhancing cross-cultural understanding and competencies, program highlights include:
Strasbourg is a beautiful and charming city, smaller than Paris and very manageable. The program itinerary includes Paris, Amsterdam and Cologne during the semester. Students will visit major cities and historical sites, meeting government leaders, educators, and activists. Located in a city with several major European institutions and in the center of Western Europe, this program offers special learning opportunities for students in the city and regionally.
Strasbourg offers unique learning and internship opportunities because the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, and the European Court of Human Rights are located in close proximity to the SUAbroad campus. Students will benefit from on-going collaborative partnerships between the School of Social Work and French, German and Swiss institutions of higher education in social work and social pedagogy, a field of study in Europe focused on children and families.
Courses meet requirements in social work and child and family studies, address liberal arts and sciences requirements, and offer collaborative courses with the French social work and social pedagogy programs.
Please note: While applications for this program will be available later in the spring, students interested in this and other study abroad programs should work with their advisors during registration to manage their schedules to make a semester abroad possible.
An Agent of Change
by Ellie Prather ‘15
Child and Family Studies Major, Health and Wellness Minor
During Summer 2014, I was accepted into the Boston University Summer Study Internship Program in the Public Health and Social Policy Track. This unforgettable opportunity provided me with eight college credits and guided me to my internship placement at Medically Induced Trauma Support Services, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting patients, families and clinicians who have been involved in medical error. The experience exceeded my expectations as I was subjected to such a prominent yet undervalued issue, and was surrounded by inspirational people striving for a safer and more transparent healthcare system.
Having the opportunity to be a member of this team motivated me to be an agent of change. In addition to my incredible internship experience I have been lucky enough to be a research assistant for Project Ethics, a study taking place on campus about the inclusion of adults with intellectual disabilities in research. This has shown me how research unfolds and the amount of work that goes into producing results that could affect people’s lives for the better. As the president and founder of the student organization, Protect Our Breasts, I have had the opportunity to educate my community on breast cancer prevention while strengthening my leadership skills and truly understanding the importance and power of teamwork. This work in conjunction with my Child and Family Studies, and Health and Wellness coursework has showed me first-hand how the education I have been receiving plays out in the real world context. I am grateful for the major and minor that I chose because knowing how children and families function on community, national and global levels, and how health and wellness tie into that has not only been beneficial for me in a professional sense and towards my career outlook but for me personally as a growing individual.
Courses like Child and Families in the Healthcare Setting, and Sport and Human Development opened my eyes to potential careers. Prosocial and Moral Development was another important course for me because it taught me valuable lessons about human nature, inspired me to be a better person and looked at development from an incredibly unique perspective. I thank SU and Falk College for the endless resources and opportunities and look forward to taking the experiences and education with me to implement in my career. Syracuse has formed me into an incredibly motivated individual and I pride myself in how career driven I have become. After graduation, I plan to be working in the field of health improvement, whether that be large scale or community level work.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awards $25,000 grant to CFS doctoral student, Kimberly Davidson, and Dr. Jaipaul Roopnarine to study racial-ethnic socialization in children
Child and family studies doctoral student, Kimberly Davidson, working with Jaipaul Roopnarine, Ph.D., have received a $25,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Head Start Research Scholars. Their research project will explore how children learn about race and ethnicity and the roles that home environment, the neighborhood where they live and the child care programs they attend play in their racial and ethnic socialization. The study’s findings have the potential to influence Head Start policy development related to multicultural curriculum, teacher professional development, and parent involvement strategies as well as to increase parent-teacher communication at the community level.
As the U.S. population continues to diversify, early childhood programs strive to meet the needs of culturally diverse families. While parents and teachers are the primary providers of socialization that gives young children the tools they need to thrive in today’s diverse world, they do not often adequately address topics of race and ethnicity, which is detrimental to healthy child development.
Davidson’s and Roopnarine’s study seeks to examine the racial-ethnic socialization of preschool-age children in home and school environments by multiple caregivers. Using cultural-ecological models as a guide, the study looks at components within each socialization setting that include: parents/teachers, physical environments, and the racial-ethnic composition of neighborhoods/child care programs.
Utilizing a proposed sample of approximately 200 three- to five-year-old children and their families that participate in Head Start programs in Upstate New York, the researchers will examine the effects of similar and dissimilar home and school racial-ethnic socialization on children’s socioemotional and cognitive development. The racially and ethnically diverse population of Head Start families will allow the researchers to define typologies of socialization between groups and will speak to the variation of child care needs by cultural orientation.
The Early Care and Education Research Scholars: Head Start Graduate Student Research Grant supports Davidson’s doctoral dissertation project entitled, “Divergence or Convergence of Home and School Racial-Ethnic Socialization: Effects on Preschool Children’s Racial Attitudes, Socioemotional and Cognitive Development.” It is one of only six grants awarded nationally in a highly competitive process. Davidson presented her project at the Annual Meeting of the Child Care Policy Research Consortium in early November in Washington, DC.
Davidson was honored in 2013 with the Alice Sterling Honig Award for graduate studies excellence in the Department of Child and Family Studies. A member of the Kappa Omicron Nu honor society, she has published several peer-reviewed journal articles, including “Parenting practices in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago: Connections to preschoolers’ social and cognitive skills,” in the Interamerican Journal of Psychology. Along with Roopnarine, she currently has book chapters in press: “Cultural variations in young children’s play: A selective overview,” in The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education and “Parent-child play across cultures: Theoretical considerations and suggestions for advancing play research,” in the Handbook of the Study of Play.
Davidson’s master thesis at the University of Tennessee examined the conceptualizations of race and ethnicity in a preschool classroom. Since arriving to Syracuse University, Davidson has worked closely with Dr. Roopnarine in developing seminars for local childhood educators. She also serves as editorial assistant for the journal, Fathering, which is edited by Dr. Roopnarine. Davidson has served as a teaching assistant for several classes in the Department of Child and Family Studies, including Child and Family in Cross-Cultural Perspectives, and the Development of Children and Youth. She is currently independently teaching the CFS course, Family and Child Intervention. She is vice president of the Student Council on Family Relations and is a member of the Society for Research on Child Development, Society for Cross-Cultural Research and the National Association of Multicultural Education.
Dr. Ramadoss presents on work-family interface in India
With a research focus that includes the workplace and how it affects employees and their families, assistant professor of child and family studies, Kamala Ramadoss, Ph.D., will be a featured presented during the South Asia Center’s Spring Speaker Series. On February 10, she will present, “Work-family Interface in India.” The presentation will take place at 340 Eggers Hall, 12:30 p.m. and is open to the campus community.
The economic boom resulting from the liberalization of the Indian economy has increased employment opportunities, particularly for women who have entered the paid work force in large numbers leading to increasing numbers of dual-earner families. This results in both positive and negative spillover effects from work-to-family and family-to-work, with implications for individual health and well being, marital commitment and life satisfaction. The Frone model of work-family conflict works somewhat differently in India; an understanding of the antecedents and consequences of the work-family interface can help design interventions and workplace policies that will promote better quality of life. Ramadoss’ presentation will explore these topics, with an opportunity for questions and answers at the end of the session.
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