SEDL
Post-doctoral collaborators
Elita Amini Virmani
Phone:(530) 747-3831 My primary research interests focus on enhancing the quality of early childhood education through efforts focused on fostering teacher capacity for sensitive, responsive, and reflective caregiving. Currently, I am investigating the role of early childhood mental health consultation as an approach to improving teacher sensitivity through ongoing professional development. In past research I have examined the role of reflective supervision in promoting caregiver capacity for reflective function. My secondary research interests focus on parent-child interactions during early childhood and their influence on children's emotional development and social competence. Specifically, I have examined the role of attachment security, parent conversational variables, and children's characteristics in predicting children's capacity to engage in conversations and emotional experiences and events. Additionally, I have investigated the role of attachment security and children's social information processing skills on children's social competence with peers. In future research I plan to examine early intervention and prevention efforts that aim to enhance children's developing social and emotional competencies through approaches that foster sensitive and responsive parent-child and teacher-child interactions. |