Projects
Research is at the heart of all we do at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. As one of the nation's foremost multidisciplinary centers devoted to the study of children from infancy to adolescence, our scientists are committed to conducting research and evaluation studies that improve children's lives, support families, and inform public policy.
Learn more about our projects—current and completed—by clicking on the links below. And to stay up to date on news and events related to our work via social media, visit our Project Digital Directory.
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Persistent, and quite pervasive, racial disparities have been found between Black, autistic children and their white, autistic peers. These disparities range from notable inequities in the timeliness of diagnosis to receipt of substandard services to their under-representation in research studies. While key disparities have been documented, there is a need for increased attention on potential underlying drivers of these disparities that are rooted in the Black experience. We know from existing research on Black health and wellness that racism is linked to some poorer physical and mental health outcomes. This project will examine the impact of racism and resulting racial trauma on the mental health outcomes of Black parents of autistic children (ages 3 -9) as well as the downstream consequences that parental racial trauma has on child behavior and development.
This project will support the use of implementation science methods and practices within the technical assistance services provided by the Comprehensive Center Region 6. In years 1 through 5, the NIRN team will continue to support the capacity-building efforts of the TA providers and the state education agencies being served by the comprehensive center, as well as the implementation of cross-state initiatives.
This project will support the University of Kansas in their research of the RAISE intervention to accelerate post-pandemic learning gains for students with or at risk for disabilities. The project involves implementing an evidence-based intervention on use of data to match instruction to student’s need, collecting data from participating schools, analyzing data, preparing reports and dashboards for monitoring and disseminating results.
The goal of this project is to expand the focus and reach of the RISER Network to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other related organizations and institutions to mentor pre- and post-doctoral fellows. Fellows interested in the research-to-practice-to-policy for Black children, families, and communities will receive multi-tiered, equity-centered, culturally grounded methodological and experiential experiences to guide their future careers.
This project will train school staff who support students using pull-out reading instruction and intervention (e.g., “educators” such as reading specialists, paraeducators, instructional facilitators, tutors) to use Targeted Reading Instruction (TRI, formerly called Targeted Reading Intervention) with two adaptations: 1) a digital version of the traditionally “paper and pencil” intervention (“TRI app”) in a 2) high dosage model whereby educators provide daily reading support to multiple K-3 students not yet reading on grade level.
Effective implementation capacity is essential to improving education. The SISEP Center supports education systems in creating implementation capacity for evidence‐based practices benefiting students with disabilities. Project funding is by the Office of Special Education Programs.
This project's purpose is to expand the knowledge on the practices and supports necessary to improve access and participation within STEM learning opportunities for young children with disabilities and intersecting identities.
Early childhood educators (ECE) work with young children with disabilities as well as children from diverse backgrounds to support learning and development. It is critical for ECEs to be adequately prepared to serve children who are linguistically, culturally, and ability-diverse. The purpose of this project is to work with early childhood community college programs in North Carolina to enhance and redesign courses to better prepare ECEs to work with children with disabilities and children from diverse backgrounds.
The proposed study will employ several methodologies including single-case design and qualitative methods to explore processes and drivers necessary to support early intervention (EI) providers in using online modules with embedded coaching supports to: (a) increase their own knowledge and use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and (b) support EI providers to coach caregivers to use EBPs. The study will examine factors that lead to effective EI services empowering caregivers of toddlers with autism to embed EBPs into their everyday routines and activities. We will collaborate with EI providers and caregivers of toddlers with autism to examine the extent to which online EBP modules with ongoing implementation support:
•are perceived as useful and relevant to EI providers
•effectively support EI providers and caregivers to embed EBPs with fidelity
We also intend to:
•determine if and how provider and caregiver use of EPBs impacts child coordinated joint engagement
•explore provider and caregiver perceptions related to EBPs and implementing them
By examining perceptions and outcomes related to implementing EBPs, the study may enhance the quality of EI professional practice and improve outcomes for children with autism and their caregivers.
The mental health of children in the United States is a national emergency, with notable and accelerating rates of anxiety, depression, and ADHD. Recent research suggests exposure to natural environments (green spaces) reduces risk for these disorders, alleviating stress, restoring emotional and physiologic resources, providing opportunities to build regulatory skills through risky play and physical activity, and reducing harm from environmental stressors, such as heat.
Drawing from 18 years of observational, survey, and medical record data gathered from The Family Life Project, a population-based study of 1,292 children born in low-income, rural communities, the project will derive new, remotely-sensed, geospatial measures of types of greenspaces around children’s residences, and integrate these measures with extensive child, family, and home data from 2 months to 16-18 years of age to address critical questions about the types and timing of green space exposures that offset risk for anxiety, depression, and ADHD.
The purpose of this project, in partnership with Mathematica-MPR, is to understand the landscape of program structures and supports for mental and behavioral health in Early Head Start/Head Start for children, families, and staff. To accomplish this, efforts will include engagement with experts; conceptual model development; study design and measurement development; data collection and analysis; dissemination of findings; and archiving data.
The National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute is partnering with EL Education to submit a proposal to the Research Partnership for Professional Learning. This project aims to implement EL Education's math professional learning to support teachers in transforming how math is taught and experienced by students, particularly students identifying as Black, Latino/a, and/or experiencing poverty.
