Professor Rose Scott works with children and their families to understand how children learn language and how they learn to make sense of other people’s actions and emotions.
Research and Resources for the Region The professors have embraced each other’s research in creative ways, and they have also embraced the region. The lack of research that has been performed in the San Joaquin Valley gives them a blank canvas of sorts, Gilger said, and there are intriguing areas to explore. “There has been a lot of research on brain development, but not a lot on how bilingualism and growing up in different cultures contributes to this process,” he said. “There’s really an open playing field for doing that kind of research.” And while the region provides benefits to the faculty by way of research opportunities, the researchers are giving back to the region, as well. For the past three years, they have organized the Symposium on the Child and Family in collaboration with UC Merced’s Early Childhood Education Center, bringing hundreds of parents, educators and others to learn about the latest research in the field. The group’s community engagement took another major step in
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the spring, with the opening of the UC Merced Alliance for Child and Family Health and Development in downtown Merced. The center serves several purposes, from facilitating community involvement in research projects to providing guidance for concerned parents who aren’t sure where to turn. A key part of the Alliance effort is Help 4 My Child, which provides online resources and outreach activities for parents, physicians and teachers who want to learn about disorders and find services in and around the region. “Fresno and Modesto have resources like this, but there really is nothing in between,” Gilger said. “We have a lot of children in this region who are at high risk of health problems and developmental problems, and their parents aren’t sure where to turn. “We want to serve the community through our research, but also by providing a place where local parents, physicians and educators can gain a better understanding of the issues their children face.”