Research

Our ongoing research, projects, and strong community partnerships have enabled us to continuously contribute to early childhood care and education across multiple disciplines. We welcome you to join our team.

Projects that are completed

Summer Camp Musings, One Year after COVID: Early Childhood Summer Camp Teacher Perspectives in a Borderland Early Childhood Lab School. A case study research project to understand the obstacles and negotiations that 3 educators and 2 pre-service teachers had to consider as they facilitated the first in-person summer camp for children aged 2-3 after the pandemic shut down in-person childcare. Research shared at the Association of Teacher Educators Conference, February, 2022

Kin and Kith (Revised to Family and Friends) Pilot Project. An outreach project that was successful due to local community non-profit collaboration and funded by Brindle Community Foundation. The focus was to provide accessible culturally relevant activities for family and friends of toddlers to increase the enjoyment of playing and supporting their growing child. Research shared at the Hawaii International Conference on Education, January 2022 and multiple sessions at New Mexico Association for the Education of Young Children. 

Literacy in Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Program: Longitudinal study considering the ways that future early childhood educators perceive preparedness to teach literacy when entering the field.
Relevant Social Justice Informed Mathematics Field trips: Preparing Pre-service Teachers for an Uncertain Future. This study analyzed the ways that elementary preservice teachers learned to design math-based field trips to enhance integration of social justice issues. Research shared at the Association of Teacher Educators Conference, February, 2022. 

Pathway to Transfer: Validating the Lived Experiences of Non-traditional Students in an Early Childhood Program to Community to College in the Journal of Research and Practice. A collaborative project between a local community college and university that documents some of the experiences that non-traditional students have had while completing their degrees in early childhood. The study provides recommendations such as developing relationships, hosting validating events, and increasing collaboration between the community college and state university as instrumental in creating a supportive transfer system. https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/YDZZIGTQ7YNFDPUVTYWC/full?target=10.1080/10668926.2022.2043955 

Projects in progress

Doña Ana County Infant and Toddler Bag Project: Facilitating Access and Empowering Families Through Data-Driven, Community-Centered Partnerships. A pilot project that resulted in a poster presentation to share the successes and challenges of a community-based outreach project at the New Mexico Breastfeeding Task Force Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 11, 2022. Collaborators: Doña Ana Early Childhood Coalition NGAGE, Jardín de los Niños, Bold Futures, and Glass Family Research Institute for Early Childhood Studies.

A New Language Norm: Revaluing the Essence of Translanguaging and (Re)imagining Equitable Education Systems. A collaborative mixed methods project between faculty in the College of Health, Education, and Social Transformation. A version of this theoretical study was accepted at La Cosecha 2021 and American Educational Research Association, 2022. The study is in initial stages for data collection in early childhood pre-service courses at NMSU during fall 2022.

Southwest NM Educator McKinney-Vento Act Training: Preparing to Serving Homeless and Near-Homeless Families: A training that was hosted by the GFRI in collaboration with a full professor in the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation and national activists in September (94 registered virtually) and January 3^rd to Jardín de los Niños staff. The training focused on facilitating a discussion with advocates in the field and provide resources to early childhood educators and stakeholders in New Mexico as related to the McKinney-Vento Act (including community agencies, churches, and school entities).
 
Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund: An interdisciplinary project funded by the NM Governor to provide training and support for educators and families throughout the peak of remote/online teaching.
 
Early Childhood Educator and Administrator Focus Groups: Exploring How to Reduce Inequities. A project in collaboration with the NGAGE Doña Ana County Early Childhood Education Coalition and NMSU faculty members/early childhood doctoral student. Data will provide insight to the specific challenges and strengths within the Doña Ana County early education context which might inform national dialogue and local efforts related to supports needed.

Aspirations, Hopes & Fears: Honoring the Needs of Diverse Families Outside of the IFSP/IEP Process. A collaborative pilot project between NMSU faculty and early childhood educators in the borderlands to envision a new model of creating support for culturally and linguistically diverse families who have young children with disabilities.

Treasure Map Experience:  This state-wide research collaboration aims to understand young children’s cognitive development and symbolic representation through 3D treasure map experiences with assisted digital tools. The mixed methods research study will be collecting data from various sources, and data will be analyzed through the NVivo software.

Gender Bias in Play: This project aims to understand the inherent bias that early childhood educators in the southwest borderlands may have toward reinforcing gender heteronormativity as they support young children in their academic and social/emotional development through play. 

Early Childhood STEAM & Gardening. This collaborative professional development session offered through the CNM Early Childhood Mentor Network will analyze the perceptions that in-service early childhood educators in the southwest have of identified strengths and barriers of integrating gardening and STEAM concepts into curriculum design, social emotional development, and family engagement.
Little Free Libraries/Pantries: A collaborative community project that seeks to understand the ways that community members living across the state of NM support or resist maintaining free resource sites for families with young children in their communities.

Project ideas that are seeking funding

Amount Sought: At least $200,000 

Tiny Aggie Gardeners: Creating a 4-part Community Model for Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) at home and in-school environments.
Includes collaboration between College of HEST & ACES. We will create an innovative hands-on agricultural space including a vegetable and sensory garden for NMSU students and the community to use for early childhood education development (this includes a research collaboration with Ls Semilla as well as families served via the NMSU Autism Diagnostic Clinic). 

Amount Sought: $25,000Project Focus: Companion Animals and Human Health. An interdisciplinary pilot study exploring of the impact that companion animals have on the mental health of early childhood HeadStart & university lab school teachers and staff.

Includes collaboration between education, school psychology and human animal interaction fields (NMSU and Colorado State University). We will use a mixed methods approach to understand the impacts that integrating animal companions into early childhood teacher work schedules may have (via qualitative survey instrument, human and dog saliva collection to measure cortisol levels, & technology such as fit bit to measure internal levels of heart rate and stress).

Amount Sought: $10,000