Research Group on Child Development, Education and Policy

The Research Group on Child Development, Education, and Policy (CDEP) is a multi-disciplinary collaborative to conduct high-quality research to study early childhood and family characteristics that impact learning, development, school readiness and health outcomes. Research shows educational investments made during early childhood, especially for disadvantaged youth, improves the wellbeing, resilience, and productivity of children. Furthermore, these benefits carry into adulthood and have a positive impact on society (Heckman & Masterov, 2007).

Our work is focused on understanding learning, cognition, socio-emotional functioning, the physical well-being of children, as well as the resources, opportunities, relationships, and social policies that impact children’s development.  Faculty and students with varied interests (education, school psychology, public health, family studies) meet regularly with the goal to support each other’s research and develop collaborations.

Co-Directors

  • Adriana Cimetta, Associate Research Professor, Department of Educational Psychology
  • Christina Cutshaw, Assistant Professor of Practice, Department of Health Promotion Sciences; Assistant Professor, Francis McClelland Institute
  • Ron Marx, Professor, Dean Emeritus, Department of Educational Psychology
  • David Yaden, Jr., Professor, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies

Research Affiliates

  • Katherine Cheng, Assistant Research Professor, Department of Educational Psychology

Undergraduate and Graduate Student Research Affiliates

  • Changting Dai, Department of Educational Psychology
  • Rebecca Friesen, Department of Educational Psychology
  • Sarah Lynn Neiling, Department of Health Promotion Sciences; Department of Speech, Language Hearing and Hearing Science
  • Emilia Roland-Umasabor,  Department of Educational Psychology
  • Qian Wang, Department of Educational Psychology
  • Binlan (Cassie) Zhao, Department of Educational Psychology
  • Melinda Willett-Struyk, Department of Educational Psychology

CDEP Alumni

  • Ghadah Alkhadim, Ph.D.  Statistical and Psychometric Consultant, Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education and Assistant Professor, Taif University
  • Otilia Barbu, Ph.D., Senior Data Scientist, Center for Digital Health Innovation, University of California San Francisco
  • Lauren Clough, Ph.D., Customer Experience Research, Mattel Inc.
  • Emily Earl, Ph.D., Career Success Coach, Eller College of Management, University of Arizona
  • Jenna Hollander, M.A.
  • Matthew Holliday, Ph.D., Senior Institutional Research Analyst, University of Michigan
  • Joy Jerauld, Ph.D.
  • Margaret Medina, Ph.D., Research Analyst, Pearson Inc.
  • Avery Mickens, M.A., Graduate student in Economics and Psychology at the Institut De Psychologie at Universite Paris Descartes
  • Carlos Williams, M.A.

Publications

Alkhadim, G. S., Cimetta, A. D., Marx, R. W., Cutshaw, C. A., & Yaden, D. B. (2021). Validating the Research-Based Early Math Assessment (REMA) among rural children in Southwest United StatesStudies in Educational Evaluation68, 1-11.

Cimetta, A.D., Sulkowski, M.L., Cutshaw, C. A., Yaden, D.B., Marx, R.W. (2020) Does having a young child with emotional and behavioral risk factors influence firearm ownership and storage? Journal of Education and Human Development. 9(3), 28-39. DOI: 10.15640/jehd.v9n3a3

Cimetta, A. D., Marx, R. W., Yaden, D. B., Alkhadim, G. S., Cutshaw, C., A. (2017). Latent variable structure and measurement invariance of a modified early literacy assessment. International Journal of School and Educational Psychology 6(3), 208-222. doi:10.1080/21683603.2017.1322016

Yaden, D. B., Marx, R. W., Cimetta, A. D., Alkhadim, G. S., Cutshaw, C., A. (2017). Assessing early literacy with Hispanic preschoolers: The factor structure of the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening—Español. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 39(2), 193-210. doi: 10.1177/0739986316688877

Barbu, O., Yaden, D., Levin-Donnerstein, D., Marx, R.W. (2015). Assessing approaches to learning in school readiness: Comparing the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment to an early learning standards-based measure. AERA Open, 1(3), 1-15. doi: 10.1177/2332858415593923

Barbu, O., Marx, R.W., Yaden, D., Levin-Donnerstein, D. (2015). Measuring approaches to learning in preschoolers: validating the structure of an instrument for teachers and parents. Education 3-13, 44(6), 1-17. doi: 10.1080/03004279.2015.1024273

Holliday, M.R., Cimetta, A.D., Cutshaw, C.A., Yaden, D.B., Marx, R.W. (2014). Protective factors for school readiness among children in poverty. Journal of Education for Students placed at Risk, 19(3-4), 125-147. doi: 10.1080/10824669.2014.971692

Barbu, O., Levin-Donnerstein, D., Marx, R.W., Yaden, D. (2012). Reliability and validity of the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (DECA) as a function of parent and teacher ratings. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 31(5), 469-481. doi: 10.1177/0734282912467758

 

Work in Progress

Clough, L. T., Cimetta, A. D., Cutshaw, C. A., Yaden, D. B., Marx, R. W. Influences of Home Environment on the Executive Function of Young Children. (Working manuscript)

Friesen, R., Cheng, K.C., Cimetta, A.D., Marx, R.W., Cutshaw, C.A., & Yaden, D.B., Environmental Factors Predicting Preschool Children’s Secure Exploration (in review, 2022).

 

Presentations

Friesen, R., Cheng, K.C., Cimetta, A.D., Marx, R.W., Cutshaw, C.A., & Yaden, D.B. (2022). Environmental factors predicting preschool children’s secure exploration mediated by parenting practices. American Educational Research Association Annual Conference. San Diego, CA. April.

Dai, C., Cimetta, AD., Marx, R.W., & Cutshaw, C.A. (2021).  Executive function and family engagement mediates SES and math in early childhood:  A strength-based analysis.  Poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.

Medina, M., Cimetta, A., Yaden, D., Cheng, K., Cutshaw, C., & Marx, R. (2021). The role of older siblings on a child’s literacy and language development. Poster presented at the Virtual Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association. (Selected as a top-rated poster included in the Division 15 Presidential Poster Session.)

Mickens, A.J., Cimetta, A.D. (2020). The impact of poverty on math readiness. American Educational Research Association Annual Conference. San Francisco, CA. April (conference cancelled due to COVID-19)

Cimetta, A.D., Sulkowski, M.L., Cutshaw, C. A., Yaden, D.B., Marx, R.W. (2019). Does having a young child with emotional and behavioral risk factors influence firearm ownership and storage? American Public Health Association Annual Conference. Philadelphia, PA. November.

Cimetta, A. D., Cutshaw, C., A., Marx, R. W., Yaden, D. B., Hollander, J. (2018). Firearm Ownership and Storage Practices among Families with Young Children: Family and Neighborhood Characteristics. American Public Health Association Annual Conference, San Diego, CA.

Alkhadim, G., Cimetta, A., Cutshaw, C., Marx, R., Yaden, D. (2018). Generalizability of the Research-Based Early Math Assessment from Urban NY Children to Rural AZ Children Using IRT. American Evaluation Association Annual Conference, Cleveland, OH.
 
Clough, L. T., Cimetta, A. D. (2018). Measuring the Relationship Between Children's Executive Function and Communicative Abilities. American Psychological Association Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA.
 
Clough, L. T., Cimetta, A. D., Cutshaw, C. A., Yaden, D. B., Marx, R. W. (2018). Examining Executive Function of Young Children through Cluster Analysis. American Educational Research Association Annual Conference, New York, NY.
 
Cimetta, A. D., Marx, R. W., Yaden, D. B., Alkhadim, G. S., Cutshaw, C., A. (2017). Latent Variable Structure and Measurement Invariance of a Modified Early Literacy Assessment. American Psychological Association Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.
 
Clough, L. T., Cimetta, A. D., Cutshaw, C. A., Yaden, D. B., Marx, R. W. (2017). Examining the Influences of Home Environment on the Executive Function of Young Children. American Psychological Association Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.
 
Yaden, D. B., Marx, R. W., Cimetta, A. D., Alkhadim, G. S., Cutshaw, C., A. (2017). Assessing Early Literacy with Hispanic Preschoolers: The Factor Structure of the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening—Español. American Educational Research Association Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX.
 
Holliday, M.R., Cimetta, A.D., Cutshaw, C.A., Marx, R.W., Yaden, D.B. (2013). Protective Factors for School Readiness Among Children in Poverty. American Psychological Association Annual Conference, Honolulu, HI.
 
Yaden, D.B., Cimetta, A.D. (2012). A Profile of Preschool Emergent Literacy Based Upon Children’s Performances and Family Literacy Practices. American Educational Research Association Annual Conference, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
 
Yaden, D., Perry, N., Nagasawa, M., Polasky, S., Cimetta, A. (2011). Evaluating School Readiness in Arizona: A Partial Blueprint for Arizona's First Things First Statewide Early Childhood Initiative. Greensboro, NC