| My main research interests
involve cognitive development, particularly in terms of the social and cultural
contexts in which children develop cognitive skills. More
specifically, my interests fall into two main areas: a) the
role of social interaction in representational development and b) the impact of parental
beliefs on development.
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The Role of Social Interaction in Representational Development |
| According to many
traditional theories, drawing pictures, engaging in pretend play, reading, and
other representational skills are viewed as solitary activities and are seen as
developing primarily within the child from the beginnings of these activities
through early childhood. I am very interested in exploring
how social interactions play a role in young children's ability to use and
understand different types of representations.
So far I have focused on how children learn
to draw, pretend and read in collaboration with adults. I am hoping to
extend this work by investigating peer relationships.
I am particularly interested in how symbols of
various kinds are created and transmitted through peer culture during childhood.
For instance, I hope to soon begin a longitudinal study of how children
learn about various types of representations in Head Start classrooms.
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Parental Belief Systems |
| Parents’ belief systems
may impact child development in a variety of ways. What
parents value may help determine the extent to which
they encourage or discourage certain behaviors in their children and may help
determine what opportunities parents give to their children.
For example, parents who think that drawing is an important skill and who think
that adults should teach children to draw may spend a lot of time drawing with
their children. On the other hand, you might imagine that
parents who do no think that drawing is important or who think that children
should learn to draw on their own would not spend much time drawing with their
children. |
| Currently I am interested
in exploring how such beliefs impact the nature of adult-child interactions in
the realm of cognitive development. For example, I am
currently working on a study of parents' beliefs about reading, drawing
and make-believe play and their support for these childhood
behaviors. In the near future, I
hope to begin a project focusing on parents of biracial children-- examining
connections between their beliefs about racial identity and how they
socialize their children's racial identities. |
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Research Opportunities |
| Students in the lab will
get a chance to... |
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learn
how social & cultural contexts impact how we behave & think, |
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| work with other undergraduate & graduate students |
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| work with children and parents, |
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| learn different types of data collection & analysis, |
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| gain computer & digital video recording skills, |
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| learn how to read & understand psychology literature. |
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| If any of
this sounds interesting to you, please check out these upcoming research opportunities. You can
reach me at 438-5729 or by e-mail:
gsbrasw@ilstu.edu, if you have additional questions.
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