Kathy is the Stanley and Debra Lefkowitz Faculty Fellow in the Department of Psychology at Temple University, a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, director of Temple University’s Infant Language Laboratory, and the recipient of the AERA Outstanding Public Communication for Education Research Award, the American Psychological Association’s Bronfenbrenner Award, the American Psychological Association’s Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science, the Association for Psychological Science James McKeen Cattell Award, the Society for Research in Child Development, Distinguished Scientific Contributions to Child Development Award, the APA Distinguished Lecturer Award and the SIMMS/Mann Whole Child Award.
Some toddlers are chronically absent from preschool. A text message can help….
Head Start, the childcare program designed more than half-a-century ago for low-income families in the US, has an unusual problem: It is both oversubscribed and under-attended. Created in 1965 as part of president Lyndon Johnson’s War on Poverty, Head Start helps to prepare disadvantaged 3- and 4-year olds for formal schooling. A parallel initiative, called Early Head Start, also serves children under 3. Read More…
Why We Play
WHYY: ThePulse
You know what they say — all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And science seems to confirm that statement, with findings that play is as important for adults’ emotional health as it is for children’s development. But what exactly counts as play? Who engages in it — and why is it so important? On this episode, we explore some of those questions. Read More…
The best gift you can give your kids this holiday season is to put down your phone
And as we start 2020, Quartz offers a resolution for all of us to put our phones down in front of the kids. Good advice…
“Holidays can be a stressful time for parents. When kids don’t have daycare or school to fill their days, they expect constant entertainment. Then there’s present shopping, meal cooking, and the possibility of extended family descending on you. You’d be forgiven for wanting to hunker down on the couch with your phone and tune it all out.
But a body of research on child development tells us that’s a bad idea…” Read More….
The William Penn Foundation’s Report on Playful Learning Landscapes
A joint project of Temple University’s Infant and Child Laboratory and the Brookings Institution, Playful Learning Landscapes is a broad umbrella initiative that marries community involvement and learning sciences with placemaking in order to design carefully curated playful experiences in everyday spaces. As it focuses on learning outcomes, particularly for children and families from under-resourced communities, Playful Learning Landscapes offers a new way to involve families in the kinds of experiences that enrich relationships and enhance children’s development. Read More…
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Kathy's work appears in news publications around the world.
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The best gift you can give your kids this holiday season is to put down your phone
And as we start 2020, Quartz offers a resolution for all of us to put our phones down in front of the kids. Good advice… “Holidays can be a stressful time for parents. When kids don’t have daycare or school to fill their days, they expect constant entertainment. Then there’s present shopping, meal cooking, and […]
Read full story >
The Key To Raising Brilliant Kids? Play A Game
NPRWe all want to raise smart, successful kids, so it’s tempting to play Mozart for our babies and run math drills for kindergartners. After all, we need to give them a head start while they’re still little sponges, right? “It doesn’t quite work that way,” says Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University […]
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Why We Play
WHYY: ThePulseYou know what they say — all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. And science seems to confirm that statement, with findings that play is as important for adults’ emotional health as it is for children’s development. But what exactly counts as play? Who engages in it — and why is it […]
Read full story >
Some of Kathy's books include:
User’s Manual for the Quick Interactive Language Screener™ (QUILS™)A measure of Vocabulary, Syntax, and Language Acquisition Skills in Young Children
Becoming Brilliant:What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children
A Mandate for Playful Learning in Preschool:Presenting the Evidence
Celebrate the Scribble:Appreciating Children's Art
Play = Learning:How Play Motivates and Enhances Children's Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth
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Kathy is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, where she contributes articles to her Blog on a regular basis.