Susan Sonnenschein, Ph.D.
Associate Professor

Degrees:
Ph.D. Developmental Psychology State University of New York at Stony Brook
M.S. Educational Psychology, Pennsylvania State University
Certified School Psychologist

Area: Children’s cognitive and educational development and social/cultural facilitators of such development.

Office: MP 317 x (410) 455-2361
Lab: SS 502 x (410) 455-3180
Fax: (410) 455-1055

E-Mail: sonnensc@umbc.edu

Website: not provided by instructor

Research Interests

Susan Sonnenschein's research focuses primarily on aspects of educational development in children from different sociocultural groups, particularly children from low income backgrounds. One area of inquiry has been literacy and language development, with an emphasis on how parental beliefs and practices are related to children's development in these areas. Dr. Sonnenschein, along with several colleagues, recently published a book discussing the results of their federally funded 5-year longitudinal study of literacy development in young children from different sociocultural groups. A large focus of that study was a consideration of how parental beliefs and practices foster children's literacy appropriation; that is, their reading and writing skills, as well as their motivations for reading. A follow-up inquiry which revisited the children and families when the now adolescents were in 11 th grade showed the continuing impact of the early home environment on later literacy development.

Dr. Sonnenschein recently has extended her research to compare parental beliefs and practices in literacy and math and how these affect the development of children from different sociocultural backgrounds. She also is interested in developmental disabilities, particularly how aspects of parental beliefs, knowledge and practices are related to their children's development and relations between aspects of children's cognitive and social competence.

Dr. Sonnenschein has conducted numerous assessments of individual children and various intervention programs for children at risk for academic difficulties and delays. Her programmatic evaluations have considered the efficacy of certain preschool curricula, a distance learning program, elementary school, after school and summer tutorial programs, and the use of comic books as part of the language arts curriculum.

.Recent Courses Taught

Undergraduate
Developmental Psychology (Psyc 200)
Advanced Child Development (Psyc 407)
Intellectual Development and Education (Psyc 409)
Exceptional Child Psychology (Psyc 305)

Graduate
Cognitive Development (Psyc 651)
Assessment of Children (Psyc 721)

Selected Publications

Sonnenschein, S. (2002 ). Engaging children in the appropriation of literacy: The importance of parental beliefs and practices. In O. Saracho and B. Spodek (Eds.), Contemporary perspectives in early childhood education (pp.127-149). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishers.

Sonnenschein, S. & Munsterman, K. (2002). The influence of home-based reading interactions on 5-year-olds' reading motivations and early literacy development.Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17, 317-338.

Serpell, R., Sonnenschein, S., Baker, L., & Ganapathy, H. (2002). The initimate culture of families in early socialization of literacy.Journal of Family Psychology, 16, 391-405.

Baker, L., Mackler, K., Sonnenschein, S. & Serpell, R. (2001). Parents' interactions with their first grade children during storybook reading activity and home achievement.Journal of School Psychology, 38, 1-24.

Sonnenschein, S. & Schmidt, D. (2000). Fostering home and community connections to support children's reading development. In L. Baker, M. J. Dreher, & J.T. Guthrie (Eds.), Engaging young readers: Promoting achievement and motivation (pp.264-284). NY: Guilford.

Sonnenschein, S., Baker, L., Serpell, R. Scher, D., Goddard-Truitt, V., & Munsterman, K. (1997). Parental beliefs about ways to help children learn to read: The impact of an entertainment or a skills perspective. Early Child Development and Care, 127-128, 111-118.

Sonnenschein, S., Brody, G. & Munsterman, K. (1996). The influence of family beliefs and practices on children's early reading. In L. Baker, P. Afflerbach, & D. Reinking (Eds.), Developing engaged readers (pp.3-20). Hillsdale, NJ: LEA.

Selected Recent Presentations :

Sonnenschein, S., Baker, L., & Katenkamp, A. (2007, July). Relations between early and later literacy development: The impact of early home experiences. Paper presented at Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, Prague, CZ.

Sonnenschein,S ., & Baker, L. (2005, April). How parental beliefs about children's development relate to children's literacy competencies.In D. Aram (Chair), New perspectives on shared storybook reading: It is not just the print. Symposium presented at Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA. )

Sonnenschein,S ., Baker, L., Moyer, A, & LeFevre, S. (2005, April). Parental beliefs about children's reading and math development and relations with subsequent achievement.Paper presented at Society for Research in Child Development, Atlanta, GA.