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Wendy Wagner Robeson, Ed.D.

Senior Research Scientist

Wendy Robeson has been with the Wellesley Centers for Women since 1989. She considers herself fortunate that her work at the Centers meshes very well with her long-time interests in children and child development, including children’s language development. She is also extremely interested in early care and education and school readiness. Tied to these research interests is a keen awareness that what she does through research can and does affect social policy, and Wendy strives to keep up with the ever-changing policy landscape.

Beginning when she was eight years old, Wendy wanted to be a teacher and work with children, and she has been able to fulfill that wish. She began her career as a language arts and English teacher in an inner-city middle school in Houston, Texas, after graduating from Boston University with a degree in education, math, and English. After finishing her master’s degree in early childhood education at the University of Houston, Wendy headed to Cambridge, Massachusetts to begin work on a doctoral degree at Harvard Graduate School of Education and pursued her interest in children’s language development.

Today, many years later, Wendy still works with children through her research projects including the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the Massachusetts Early Care and Education and School Readiness Study. She has also taught in the Education Department at Wellesley College and enjoyed it tremendously.

It is her hope that through her work at the Centers, Wendy can make a difference in the lives of children and their families by conducting research in child development and child care that in turn, can affect change in policy at the local, state and federal level.


Professional Affiliations:
Society for Research in Child Development; National Association for the Education of Young Children; Boston Association for the Education of Young Children; King Philip Middle School Parent Council; Stand for Children; Patriots’ Trail Girl Scout Council

Publications:
McCartney, K., & Robeson, W.W. (1992). Emergence of communication: Words, grammar and first conversations. In J.R. Lally, P.L. Mangione, & L.L. Young-Holt (Eds.), Infant/toddler caregiving: A guide to language development and communication (pp. 29-39). Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.

Robeson, W.W. (1994). The relationship between verbal feedback from mothers and their children's language development. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, MA.

Robeson, W.W. (1996). Language development from birth to six months. The Early Childhood Connection Project Paper 03. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley College Center for Women.

Robeson , W.W. (1998). An outcome evaluation of ACRE family day care provider training program.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network.1 (1999).Child outcomes when child-care classes meet recommended guidelines for quality. American Journal of Public Health, 89(7), 1072-1077.

Marshall, N.L., Robeson, W.W., & Keefe. (1999). Gender equity in early childhood education. Young Children, 54(4), 9-13.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2000). Characteristics and quality of child care for toddlers and preschoolers. Applied Developmental Science, 4(3), 116-135.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2000). The relation of child care to cognitive and language development. Child Development, 71(4), 960-980.

Marshall, N.L., Creps, C.L., Burstein, N.R., Glantz, F.B., Robeson, W.W., Barnett, S. (2001). The Cost and Quality of Full Day, Year-round Early Care and Education in Massachusetts: Preschool Classrooms. Wellesley Centers for Women and Abt Associates Inc. Also available through ERIC/EECE as ED 475 638 or PS 030 115.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2001). Before Head Start: Income and ethnicity, family characteristics, child care experiences, and child development. Early Education and Development, 12(4), 545-576.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2001). Parenting and family influences when children are in child care: Results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. In J. Borkowski, S. Ramey, & M. Bristol-Power (Eds.). Parenting and the child’s world: Influences on intellectual, academic, and social-emotional development (pp. 99-123). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2001). Nonmaternal care and family factors in early development: An overview of the NICHD Study Of Early Child Care. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 22, 457-492.

Marshall, N.L., Creps, C.L., Burstein, N.R., Glantz, F.B., Robeson, W.W., Barnett, S., Schimmenti, J., & Keefe, N. (2002). Early Care and Education in Massachusetts Public School Preschool Classrooms. Wellesley Centers for Women and Abt Associates Inc.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2002). Early child care and children’s development prior to school entry: Results from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. American Educational Research Journal, 39, 133-164.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2002). Structure → process → outcome: Direct and indirect effects of caregiving quality on young children’s development. Psychological Science, 13, 199-206.

Robeson, W.W., & Roberts, J. (2002). A descriptive comparison of system-based family child care providers and non-system-based family child care providers and the children they serve in Massachusetts. Report to Acre Family Day Care Corporation.

Johnson, D.J., Jaeger, E., Randolph, S.M., Cauce, A.M., Ward, J., & the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2003). Studying the effects of early child care experiences on the development of children of color in the U.S.: Toward a more inclusive research agenda. Child Development, 74, 1558-1576.

Marshall, N.L., Creps, C.L., Burstein, N.R., Cahill, K.E., Robeson, W.W., Wang, S.Y., Schimmenti, J., & Glantz, F.B. (2003). Family Child Care Today: A Report of the Findings of the Massachusetts Cost/Quality Study: Family Child Care Homes. Wellesley Centers for Women and Abt Associates, Inc.

Marshall, N.L., Robeson, W.W., & Keefe, N. (2003). Gender Equity in Early Childhood Education. In A World of Difference: Readings on Teaching Young Children in a Diverse Society, edited by C. Copple. Washington, DC: NAEYC.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2003). Does amount of time spent in child care predict socioemotional adjustment during the transition to kindergarten? Child Development, 74, 976-1005.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2003). Does quality of child care affect child outcomes at age 4 ½? Developmental Psychology, 39, 451-469.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, & Duncan, G. J. (2003). Modeling the impacts of child care quality on children’s preschool cognitive development. Child Development, 74, 1454-1475.

Marshall, N.L., Creps, C.L., Burstein, N.R., Roberts, J., Dennehy, J., Robeson, W.W., & Glantz, F.B. (2004). The Cost and Quality of Full Day, Year-Round Early Care and Education in Maine: Preschool Classrooms. Center for Research on Women, Wellesley College, Muskie Institute of the University of Southern Maine, and Abt Associates Inc.

Marshall, N.L., Creps, C.L., Burstein, N.R., Roberts, J., Glantz, F.B., & Robeson, W.W. (2004). The Cost and Quality of Full-Day Year-Round Early Care and Education in Massachusetts: Infant and Toddler Classrooms. Center for Research on Women, Wellesley College.

Marshall, N.L., Creps, C.L., Squibb, B., Roberts, J., Dennehy, J., Robeson, W.W., & Wang, S.Y. (2004). The Cost and Quality of Family Child Care in Maine. Wellesley Centers for Women.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2004). Type of care and children’s development at 54 months. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 19(2), 203-230.

Marshall, N.L., Dennehy, J., Starr, E., & Robeson, W.W. (2005). Institutions of Higher Education Program Directory. Center for Research on Women, Wellesley College.

Marshall, N.L., Dennehy, J., Johnson-Staub, C., & Robeson, W.W. (2005). Massachusetts Capacity Study Research Brief: Characteristics of the Current Early Education and Care Workforce Serving 3-5 Year-olds. Center for Research on Women, Wellesley College.

Marshall, N.L., Dennehy, J., Starr, E., & Robeson, W.W. (2005). Preparing the Early Education and Care Workforce: The Capacity of Massachusetts’ Institutions of Higher Education. Center for Research on Women, Wellesley College.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2005). Child Care and Child Development. New York: Guilford Press.

Robeson, W.W., & Roberts, J. (2007). Playground and recreational activities. In B.J. Bank (Ed.), Gender and Education: An Encyclopedia (pp. 613-619). Westport, CT: Praeger.

NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (Under review). Children in working poor families: Parent employment and poverty as predictors of developmental outcomes. Child Development.

 

1 Robeson is a member of the NICHD Early Child Care Research Network and listed as an author under the corporate authorship banner.

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