Human Development & Family Science News
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services awards Elif Dede Yildirim, Jaipaul Roopnarine $100,000 grant to investigate relationships between child development outcomes and paternal engagement
Child and family studies Ph.D. student, Elif Dede Yildirim, working with Jaipaul Roopnarine, Ph.D., has received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families. The research project, “Paternal Factors and Childhood Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Relationship Quality and Support Networks,” offers great promise for state and local agencies that focus on preventing developmental risks to children that are attributed to challenging home and neighborhood environments.
Several initiatives at the federal, state, and local levels have identified fathers as important figures in combating poverty, reducing the lost developmental potential of young children, improving childhood nutrition, and reducing experiences with violence during the early childhood years. Researchers from diverse disciplines have identified risks and protective factors within and external to the family that are associated with different dimensions of father engagement and child development outcomes.
Despite these advances, little is known about the links between interventions for fathers and childhood outcomes, and what factors within the family mediate these links in families who participate and do not participate in relationship education. This research project, which will span the coming year, will study the associations between fathers’ responsiveness, depressive symptoms, and experiences of interpartner violence, young children’s social and language skills, and whether social support networks and relationship quality mediate these associations differently.
“This award will permit us to examine the impact of early intervention to strengthen paternal involvement with children in a national representative sample of low-income fathers. Our findings should assist in designing more effective intervention programs for fathers,” says Roopnarine.
Dede Yildirim, who expects to complete her Ph.D. in 2016, will use the data for her dissertation, which is entitled, “The Association between Family Economic Well Being and Children’s Socio-Emotional Outcomes via Paternal Parenting and Stress: A Bayesian Approach.” The recipient of the Child and Family Studies’ Master Award for Research Excellence in 2013, Yildirim has several publications in press working with Roopnarine, including “The Mediating Role of Maternal Warmth in the Relationship Between Harsh Parental Practices and Externalizing Behaviors in Hispanic American, African American and European American Families,” in Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, and “Family Structure and Socialization Patterns in Caribbean and Caribbean Immigrant Families: Developmental Outcomes,” in the book, “Childhood and adolescence in cross-cultural perspective,” (U. Gielen & J.L. Roopnarine, Eds., New York, NY: Praeger).
Dede Yildirim is a graduate assistant in the Department of Child and Family Studies where she is a teaching assistant for the HSH 101—Freshman Gateway seminar. She is additionally working on projects that include a cross cultural comparison of predictors and outcomes of physical punishment and predictors, and outcomes of physical punishment among college students in Turkey. A research assistant for nutrition professor, Tanya Horacek, on the Healthy Campus Environmental Audit. Dede Yildirim is a participant in the Future Professoriate Program at Syracuse University and a member of the Student Council on Family Relations at Syracuse University.
Syracuse University’s Falk College Highlights Graduate Studies During November 15 Information Session
Faculty, staff, students available to talk about programs, coursework, student life
Syracuse University faculty, staff and current students will welcome potential graduate students interested in the Falk College’s graduate programs in child and family studies, public health, marriage and family therapy, nutrition science, social work andsport management during a special Fall Information Session for graduate studies on Saturday, November 15. The presentation begins at 10:00 a.m. in the Shaffer Art Building, Shemin Auditorium.
Detailed information will be provided on graduate programs in child and family studies (MA, MS, Ph.D.), child and family health (MS), marriage and family therapy (MA), social work (MSW) as well as the dual degree program (MA/MSW) in marriage and family therapy and social work, nutrition science, and sport venue and event management (MS). Details on our newCertificate of Advanced Study (CAS) programs in trauma-informed practice and intercollegiate athletic advising and supportwill be available along with information on other Falk College CAS programs in addiction studies, dietetic internship, and global health.
Admissions staff will be available at the information session to meet with students and provide information on academic programs, scholarships and housing.
New this Spring: CFS 423 – Death, Dying & Loss – Child and Family Perspectives
This course will help students understand pediatric death, dying and loss through exploring the psychosocial, sociocultural and ethical aspects of loss and through examining concepts of loss, grief and bereavement. Theories of child and adolescent development will provide students with a comprehensive framework of children’s understanding of illness and end of life care. Students will be given the opportunity to examine their own beliefs about death through the analysis of their own life experiences.
CFS students explore the benefits of sport for human development with UNICEF president Caryl Stern
For students in the Department of Child and Family Studies’ course, Sport and Human Development, a recent interactive class discussion focused on the power of sport in UNICEF’s day-to-day work with children and communities around the world. Dr. Terry MacDonald created and teaches the course, which examines the role sports play in positive and healthy youth development. During the Fall semester, she invited Caryl M. Stern, president and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF, and Matt Meyerson, UNICEF senior director for sport partnerships, to meet with her students. During the class, Stern focused on her interests in this area and the ways in which UNICEF uses sport as a context to provide humanitarian aid and services to those in need. She showed videos of sport ambassadors who collaborate with UNICEF programs in developing countries to bring attention to issues of poverty, public health (such as clean water, immunizations), education, and disaster relief. Throughout the semester, class assignments and projects will continue to explore topics such as parental and peer influences on children’s psychosocial development through sport, the development of life skills and values in high school sports, and sport as a vehicle for social change, among many others.
Dr. Alice Sterling Honig Endowed Scholarship Announced
In honor of her dedication and service to Syracuse University and its students for more than 40 years as an educator, researcher, scholar, mentor and friend, the Falk College announced the establishment of the Dr. Alice Sterling Honig Endowed Scholarship Fund to benefit students majoring in child and family studies at Syracuse University. The endowed scholarship was created in her honor through a generous gift by long-time colleague and retired Syracuse University faculty member, Dr. Bettye Caldwell.
In the 1960s, Caldwell’s work in the area of comprehensive early childhood development programming primarily serving low-income preschool-age children and their families at the Children’s Center of Syracuse provided the foundation for what became one of the most important components of the Great Society programs launched by President Lyndon B. Johnson known today as Head Start.
Honig and Caldwell met at Syracuse University in the Department of Child and Family Studies in 1963 when Caldwell hired Honig as a research assistant for the grant, “Infant Learning and Patterns of Family Care.” The two remained colleagues, collaborators and friends since that time.
“In those 51 years since Alice got her first job in Syracuse, she has become one of the most productive and most respected people in the field of early child development. She has published hundreds of articles and books. Within the University, she has supervised the work of many students,” says Caldwell.
In addition to her role as a faculty member in the Department of Child and Family Studies at Syracuse University more than 50 years ago, Caldwell worked closely with Dr. Julius Richmond, then-chairman of pediatrics at Upstate University Hospital with whom she worked on the infant learning grant, along with Honig. In 1967, she formed the Children’s Center with Richmond, who eventually became surgeon general and went on to serve as national director of Head Start for President Lyndon Johnson. The work she and Richmond did in Syracuse as cofounders of that childhood learning initiative provided the foundation for the national Head Start program.
A licensed psychologist and a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the Society for Research in Child Development, Honig has done extensive research on infants and toddlers, language development, child-care practices, preschooler social development, fathering and the effects of divorce on children. Honig presents training sessions and delivers keynote addresses to promote high quality childcare all over the United States and in several other countries, including South Korea, Singapore, France, China, and Australia. For over a decade, Dr. Honig (with a lawyer as co-leader) conducted workshops for The Onondaga County Mental Health Association for parents with divorce and child custody issues.
Honig has authored or edited more than a dozen books and more than 600 articles and chapters. In October 2014, her latest book, “The Best for Babies” (Gryphon House) was released. She is currently editing a new book she has given as a gift to the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) entitled, “Experiencing Nature with Young Children: Awakening Delight, Curiosity and a Sense of Stewardship.”
She contributed regularly as a columnist for “Scholastic Parent and Child” and “Scholastic Early Education today” as well as for the Scholastic Website for parents. Dr. Honig for over 20 years has been the North American Editor for the British journal “Early Child Development and Care”. and on the Board of the National Head Start NHSA Dialog Journal. She has been on the editorial board of “Child Development,” the official journal of the Society for Research in Child Development. She is also a member of the Editorial board of”PsycCRITIQUES”.
“I know of no one more deserving than Dr. Alice Honig to have an endowed scholarship named for her, and I am very happy to see that this is happening,” concludes Caldwell
The Magic of Science
by Daria Webber, Director
Bernice M. Wright Child Development Lab School
Department of Child and Family Studies
As I read an announcement: NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) Endorses the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) Position Statement: Early Childhood Science Education, I found myself reflecting on how we integrate science into our curriculum at the Bernice M. Wright Child Development Lab School here at Syracuse University. We know that children are natural scientists, “discovery scouts” as one of my own children’s preschool teachers called them, and their everyday play is full of scientific exploration. They are daily using some the very basic principles of scientific inquiry that include identifying, comparing, contrasting, classifying and hypothesizing. Science requires children to be actively involved in their play and the process that is occurring. It is a very magical world to young children.
This idea is very apparent in science activity at our preschool. This summer, all of the classrooms had butterfly tents in them, and students followed the process of the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. It began with the caterpillar, and the week culminated in the release of the butterflies on our playground. In between there was much discussion and activity at every stage. Children drew the chrysalis and made predictions about when the butterflies would emerge from the cocoon. They read books, which of course included Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar,” and visited web sites to gain information. They fed them their orange slices, and observed and documented their progress. As I observed the joy and excitement with the children as they released the butterflies, I could see that all of the adults, including myself, were also experiencing the joy and magic of science as the butterflies flew away, and we made new predictions of what would happen now that they were free.
Honig Authors The Best for Babies
Caregiver-child interactions are critically important in promoting cognitive, language, and social-emotional learning in young children. With examples and detailed explanations, Dr. Alice Honig’sThe Best for Babies: Expert Advice for Assessing Infant-Toddler Programs illuminates the behaviors and interactions that teachers or care providers should provide for the children in their care. The book offers an easy-to-use checklist that directors, mentor teachers, or parents can use to assess each teacher-child interpersonal relationship and the ways caregivers offer learning and living experiences for young children. Published by Gryphon House, the book will be released in November 2014.
Study Identifies Key Components for Prevention, Intervention Programs for Adolescent Smoking in China
Falk College professors, Ambika Krishnakumar (Child and Family Studies) and Lutchmie Narine (Public Health) authored “Parenting practices and adolescent smoking in mainland China: The mediating effect of smoking-related cognitions,” which appeared in the August 2014 edition of the Journal of Adolescence. In collaboration with Dr. Yan Wang, Drs. Krishnakumar and Narine examined the direct and indirect associations of general and smoking-specific parenting practices with Chinese adolescents’ smoking behaviors. Results suggest that parenting practices and smoking-related cognitions are critical components to be incorporated in prevention and intervention programs for adolescent smoking in China.
Falk College Welcomes New Faculty
As we begin the Fall 2014 semester, Syracuse University’s Falk College is pleased to announce the appointment of five new outstanding faculty members: Beth Dixon, Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern, Margaret Voss, Patrick Walsh, and Jennifer Wilkins. We also welcome Mine Göl-Güven as visiting assistant professor of child and family studies. Their exceptional wealth of academic and practical experience in their respective fields is complemented by their passion for teaching, research, scholarship and service. Each of them will offer students tremendous opportunities for learning inside and outside of the classroom. We invite you to read more about their accomplishments, and areas for potential collaboration
Dyshawn Davis, Senior CFS, Impacts Syracuse On, Off The field
CFS senior student-athlete, Dyshawn Davis, is a senior linebacker for the SU Men’s Football team. He spent the summer putting his classroom skills to work, working with children as part of the Building Men program, an educational outreach pilot program in Syracuse designed to help young men learn to make good decisions and develop character and leadership. Davis was one of five Orange players to intern with the organization, and it’s an experience, he said, that impacted him as much as it did the kids.
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