Doctoral candidate receives dissertation award from SRCD

Taehee Kim (M.A. ’23, Ph.D. ’27), a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Psychology, recently received a Student and Early Career Council Dissertation Research Funding Award from the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD).

Established in 2008, SRCD’s funding awards are given to scholars with research proposals that display a strong potential to advance the field of child development. Scholars receive $2,000 to fund their proposed dissertation project.

“I am deeply honored to receive the SRCD’s Student and Early Career Council Dissertation Award,” said Kim, who was one of 10 scholars to receive the award this year. “This award not only validates the importance of my research on social skills, but it also helps me examine how family and school contexts shape these viewpoints.”

Kim is studying and conducting research in the College’s applied cognition and development program under the mentorship of professor Kristen Bub. Her research centers on improving the measurement and development of social-emotional skills in middle grades children by examining the unique perspectives of parents and teachers.

In her mixed-method dissertation, Kim aims to identify patterns of agreement and disagreement between parents and teachers regarding children’s social skills; explore the contextual factors within families and schools that contribute to their differing views on children’s social skills; and delve into the experiences of parents and teachers when communicating their perspectives on social skills.

“At UGA, my dissertation research explores how parents and teachers perceive children’s social skills and what contextual factors influence their perspectives,” said Kim. “I hope my work will enhance communication between parents and teachers around these skills and support more optimal social development for children.”

From her research findings, Kim aims to expand the field’s understanding of how cultural and linguistic backgrounds influence parent and teacher perspectives and communication about social skills, while promoting more equitable social-emotional development.