Kristen Bub

HDE Doctoral Candidate

Kristen Bub is a 3rd year doctoral student, with Dean and Lesser Professor Kathleen McCartney and Eliot Professor John Willett as her advisors. She is a research assistant for the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, a prospective longitudinal study of children in context from birth through 6th grade. In addition to serving on various HGSE committees, she has been a teaching fellow for several courses (S-030, S-052, S-077, H-090) and has published and presented with the Society for Research in Child Development and the American Psychological Association.

What did you do before you came to HGSE?

Prior to coming to HGSE as a doctoral student, I worked for Kathy [Kathleen McCartney] on the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, first at the University of New Hampshire and then at HGSE.

Comments on the coursework?

My coursework has focused on quantitative methods. I think the methods courses (both quantitative and qualitative) are some of the best courses at the school and the best in the country. They are rigorous and extremely comprehensive. The best course I have taken here is [Academic Dean and Thompson Professor] Richard Murnane & John Willett's causal inferences course (S-290). I also enjoyed Lecturer Rick Weissbourd's Effective Interventions and School Reforms for At-Risk Children (H-326)and Professor Gary Orfield's Education Policy and Urban Poverty (A-109). These courses have provided me with important theoretical and practical tools for my research and my future work.

What is your research question?

I continue to work on a variety of projects related to the NICHD Study of Early Child Care Youth Development. My particular interest is in the role that children's early behavioral trajectories plays in their academic development and the moderating effect that high quality early care and education programs can have in children's development. I expect to continue this work through my dissertation. I am also involved in the Early Head Start project. Currently I am collaborating on a project looking at children's prekindergarten language and literacy skills.

What is your career goal?

Right now, I see myself working in the policy, specifically related to the provision of high-quality early care and education for all children (much like in Massachusetts). I am also very interested in working toward bridging the gaps between research, policy, and most importantly, practice.

However, I have become more interested in academia and could see myself as a faculty member in a research university.