Child Development Faculty Members

Dorothy Espelage

The foci of my scholarship at UIUC have included investigations of several health-related behaviors, including bullying and youth aggression, disordered eating in adolescents and young adults, and psychosocial adjustment of families of children managing chronic illness. The majority of my energy is spent on my first two programs bullying during early adolescence and eating disorders. Within the last few years, both of these programs have evolved into the study of these health behaviors during early adolescence and both have included examination of the influences of the peer group on their maintenance. I also work with graduate students with research interests in childhood sexual abuse and dating violence. Click here to see my complete, updated research profile.

Michelle Perry

My research has focused on children's acquisition of knowledge, especially of the sort taught in schools (e.g., children's acquisition of mathematical concepts). My general area of interest is cognitive development and learning, especially in school-aged children. Currently, I am pursuing research that examines how different representations of mathematical information impact children's developing understanding of that information. My research examines the specific ways in which environmental and instructional features may influence children's learning and cognitive development. Click here to see my complete, updated research profile.

Philip Rodkin (Child Development Chair)

I study how children at school get along with one another—the friendships and antipathies they form, the norms they promote and defy, the cultures they create—and focus on aggression and conflict, particularly how aggressive children are integrated into peer social life. My scholarship is framed by basic issues in children’s personality and social development and is directed towards critical educational concerns such as school violence reduction, the middle childhood origins of peer sexual harassment, and teacher education about children’s social dynamics. Click here to see my complete, updated research profile.

Allison Ryan

Young adolescents' motivation, engagement, and performance in school are important issues. While all individuals do not experience serious problems in school during early adolescence, many do. Disengagement in school at this age has far-reaching consequences for education and career opportunities. The overall goal of my research is to increase our understanding of achievement beliefs and behaviors during this stage of life. A theme throughout my research on achievement during early adolescence is a focus on the intersection of social and academic concerns of young adolescents at school. In a variety of ways I have explored how interpersonal relationships in the classroom setting are intertwined with, and facilitate or constrain, students' motivation, engagement and achievement. My research falls into three general areas: (1) students' help seeking beliefs and behaviors, (2) the classroom social environment, and (3) peer groups and processes of peer influence in the classroom. Click here to see my complete, updated research profile.

Jenny Singleton

My current program of research focuses on deaf children's language development, both American Sign Language and English, especially within the school context. Teachers often become the primary linguistic model for deaf preschool aged children. In one of my current projects, I am investigating the ways that deaf teachers support deaf children's identity and language development through visual means. This project is funded through the NSF Science of Learning Centers program (VL2: Visual Language and Visual Learning, Gallaudet University). Other recent projects include: technologies for ASL and English literacy development; development of ASL proficiency assessments; English written language assessment for school aged deaf children; Atypical Sign Acquisition. I have a continuing program of service and outreach, focusing on breast cancer awareness in the Deaf community, hearing children of deaf adults, and UIUC campus accessibility for students, faculty, and staff with disabilities. I am also a Commissioner on the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission. Click here to see my complete, updated research profile.

Brendesha Tynes

My current work explores adolescent narratives in an online forum designed to discuss racism. The data cover a three-year period and include discussions of participants' differences, similarities and how they have personally been affected by racism. Using content and discourse analysis, I examine participants' argumentation strategies and social reasoning. Future projects include studies of the psychological effects of experiencing racism online on African American and Latino adolescents and the use of educational interventions to combat racial prejudice on and offline. Click here to see my complete, updated research profile.