My broadest research goal is to understand the relationship of enculturation and development in children. My research is done primarily in a small Mayan village in Yucatan, Mexico, where I have lived and worked part-time for over 30 years.  My research has been focused on children’s play and work as culturally structured activities, the developmental trajectory of linguistic relativity, and most recently, infant socialization and development using longitudinal video data of 8- to 15-month olds.

 

I am also interested in other informal learning environments, including museums.  For 20 years I have conducted research on how children and their families use children’s museums, including cultural differences, and how museums can design exhibits that better respond to the needs of their visitors.

 

For both of these research environments, I strive to integrate quantitative and qualitative methods. I encourage students who are interested in these research topics to come talk to me about becoming involved in my ongoing research projects.