Rebecca Bulotsky Shearer, Ph.D.
Rebecca J. Bulotsky Shearer
Assistant Professor, Child Division
Ph.D. earned from the University of Pennsylvania, 2004
Research Interests
Early identification of emotional and behavioral problems within the preschool classroom context; development of reliable and valid multidimensional assessment tools for diverse low-income children; consequential validity of preschool assessments and use of assessment to inform intervention in early childhood education; the relationship between early classroom behavioral adjustment, school readiness and elementary academic achievement for low-income children; developing community research partnerships and promoting system-level change that benefits low-income children and families.
Current Research
I am a child clinical and school psychologist and have worked both as a practitioner and researcher with very young children and families living in impoverished urban areas for the past 15 years. My research is guided by a "whole child" developmental-ecological systems perspective which is child-centered and considers both proximal and broader system-level influences on children's development over time. My research is also grounded in a community-based partnership model whereby research is conducted "from the ground up" in close collaboration with key contributors to children's development (e.g., parents, peers, teachers; Fantuzzo, Bulotsky-Shearer, & McWayne, 2006). This process starts with genuine dialogue about children's needs and considers the strengths and intervention capacities of large systems; I feel this approach helps to ensure that research is relevant to community members (Gaskins, 1994) and holds the greatest promise to inform system-level interventions that can benefit low-income children and families.
I am interested in the early identification of classroom emotional and behavioral problems and the development of reliable and valid measures that can inform programmatic interventions in early childhood education settings that serve low-income preschool children. I am currently studying problem behaviors that interfere with classroom learning and the relationship between early behavior problems and school achievement for Head Start children. Secondarily, I am also interested in other key proximal influences on children's social and academic development, including classroom process quality (interpersonal and instructional processes within the early childhood classroom) and parent involvement that support children's learning.
My research has been funded by the Head Start Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a longitudinal study of Head Start children's classroom behavior problems and elementary school social and academic adjustment. Currently, I am funded by the Head Start Bureau to conduct a secondary data analysis of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (1997 cohort) and Early Head Start National Evaluation Study. This research is being conducted in collaboration with Erikson Institute in Chicago. We are examining the combined and interactive contribution of multiple dimensions of classroom process quality and parent involvement on the academic achievement and social adjustment of Head Start and Early Head Start children.
Selected Publications
Bulotsky-Shearer, R., Fantuzzo, J. W., & McDermott, P. A. (2008). An investigation of classroom situational dimensions of emotional and behavioral adjustment and cognitive and social outcomes for Head Start children.Developmental Psychology, 44 (1), 139-154.
Fantuzzo, J. W., Bulotsky-Shearer, R., Frye, D. McDermott, P. A., McWayne, C., & Perlman, S. (2007). Investigation of Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Dimensions of School Readiness for Low-income, Urban Preschool Children. School Psychology Review, 36(1), 44-62.
Fantuzzo, J. W., Bulotsky-Shearer, R., Fusco, R. A., & McWayne, C. (2005). An investigation of preschool emotional and behavioral adjustment problems and social-emotional school readiness competencies. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 20 (3), 259-275.
Fantuzzo, J. W., Bulotsky-Shearer, R., & Sekino, Y. (2005). Head Start. In C. B. Fisher & R. M. Lerner (Eds.),Applied developmental science: An encyclopedia of research, policies, and programs (pp.531-536). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Bulotsky-Shearer, R., & Fantuzzo, J. (2004). Adjustment Scales for Preschool Intervention: Extending validity and relevance across multiple perspectives. Psychology in the Schools, 41 (7), 725-736.
Fantuzzo, J. W., Bulotsky-Shearer, R., McDermott, P., Mosca, S. & Lutz, M. (2003). A multivariate analysis of emotional and behavioral adjustment and preschool educational outcomes. School Psychology Review, 32 (2), 185-203.
Fantuzzo, J., McWayne, C., & Bulotsky, R. (2003). Forging strategic partnerships to advance mental health science and practice for vulnerable children. School Psychology Review 32, 17-37.
McWayne, C. & Bulotsky, R. (2002). Graduate Student Perspective: Commentary on the building community partnerships panel: Fostering relationships between academic institutions and community agencies, schools, and families. National Head Start Association Dialog: A Research-To-Practice Journal for the Early Intervention Field, 5 (2 & 3), 410-414.
Books
Fantuzzo, J. W., Bulotsky-Shearer, R., & McWayne, C. M. (2006). The pursuit of wellness for victims of child maltreatment: A model for targeting relevant competencies, contexts, and contributors. In J. R. Lutzker (Ed.), Violence Prevention (pp. 69-96). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.