The Future of Applied Child Development Research and Public Policy

Abstract

After reviewing a brief general history of applied child development research, this paper suggests that in the future we should study questions that society needs to answer as well as questions that might contribute to theory, and that our research methods need to be adjusted to match these types of questions. Further, academics are urged to broaden their audience from a nearly exclusive focus on other academics to a focus on the three ps--practitioners, policymakers, and the public--and to recognize that scholarship is packaged differently for these audiences. Finally, it is suggested that applied child development research should market as well as sell, partner with nonacademic groups, disseminate results more vigorously, and focus efforts on local as well as national issues.

Historical and Theoretical Bases of Applied Developmental Science

“…Using the latter field as a sample case, we may note that several extensive histories of developmental psychology have been published and most include references to the ebb and flow of interest and priority for what might be termed the applied, practical, or societally oriented issues central to ADS. Especially relevant are discussions offered by Bronfenbrenner, Kessel, Kessen, and White (1986); ; Davidson and Benjamin (1987); Hetherington (1998);McCall (1996); McCall and Groark (2000); Sears (1975); Siegel and White (1982); Parke, Ornstein, Reiser, and Zahn-Waxler (1994), Zigler (1998);andFinn-Stevenson (1992, 1999). Hetherington (1998) frames her analysis by accenting her use of the term "developmental science .…”

An Investigation of Multiple Pathways of Developmental Intervention Change

“…More recently, the emergence of applied developmental science coupled with a rapidly growing research literature on positive youth development (PYD) (Lerner, Fisher, & Weinberg, 2000;McCall & Groark, 2000) has opened up new directions for extending the range and scope of the contributions of developmental science to intervention science.…”

“…In the early phases of applied developmental science, its primary contribution tended to be in the form of the policy implications of developmental research, i.e., evidence based policy recommendations with respect to the design of developmentally appropriate and relevant institutional programs and services (McCall & Groark, 2000).…”

Interventions for Enhancing Parenting Quality in Early Infancy

“…It is well known that tested interventions can guarantee that public funds are well spent and produce the desired effect. Scientist in this contexts have begun to include in their academic responsibilities reflections and disclosures on the implications of this type of research, in order to help bridge the gap between academic knowledge, current quality of home care, and children' s developmental needs [79][80][81][82].…”