Faculty Research Interests

Faculty Research Interests

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Dr. Balkwell's research thrusts and interests have been in the areas of multicultural family and adult development and aging. The project on which she is currently working with faculty and student colleagues in the Department combines both of these interests. The Image of Grandparents Presented in Children's Literature Project has compared descriptions and illustrations of grandparents in Hebrew, Spanish, and English books. The current phase of the project analyzes books written in English portraying grandparents of different ethnic backgrounds within contemporary American culture.

Dr. Balkwell is also interested in the effects of appearance and adornment on gender roles in diverse cultures. Her most recent writings on this topic have been book reviews that deal with the use of clothing among Native American populations.

Dr. Deutsch's research interests focus on the development of a values instrument for use with adolescents and adults, family and work situations. She has collaborated with Alicia Turner Foster, M.B.A. a community professional. The project is in its establishment of norms phase.

Dr. Deutsch is also interested in enhancing leadership among females. She is an invited member of an instructional design team that developed a curriculum for the not-for-profit organization: Girls to Women: Valued Girls Become Valuable Women, Kansas City, Missouri. (Curriculum in place 1994-present). Several cohorts have completed the programs designed to attract girls to "typical" male oriented professions. The evaluation phase of this project has started. Dr. Deutsch serves on the national board as well.

The third project involving Dr. Deutsch is the design of a curriculum for Latina parents to enhance parenting and community leadership skills. The Project Director is Gloria-Bonilla-Santiago, Ph.D., Rutgers University. This project is in its evaluation phase.

Dr. Ritblatt's research interests focus on intergenerational relationships, the emotional intelligence and at-risk behaviors in adolescents, parent-child interactions along the life-span, couples relationship and communication, and parents involvement in education. Presently, Dr. Ritblatt is involved in two projects:

"Images of Elderly and Grandparents in Children's Literature." What are the societal attitudes towards grandparents and elderly as they are portrayed in young children's books is one of the main research questions. Also of interest is multicultural comparisons of these images in diverse cultural groups in the United States and around the world. The commonalities and differences between cultures will help us understand the universality of intergenerational relationships and their cultural specific characteristics. The applied part of this research is to develop a curriculum for young children using books to enhance positive attitudes towards the elderly and grandparents.

"Theory of Mind in Young Children." How do young children perceive the world around them? Are they able to use "common sense" to interpret, predict, and interact with the social environment? A curriculum guide for preschool teachers was developed in order to enhance the development of theory of mind in young children.

With Professor Ritblatt's recent award of a June Burnett Fellow, she will be working with a select team of colleagues to evolve research projects concerned with parent involvement in education.