teaching
Courses Offered - Spring 2010
Children in Contemporary Society (CCS)
CCS 150.01/PubPol 124.01
Dr. Leslie Babinski, Research Scientist
TuTh 10:05 – 11:20 am
Using an interdisciplinary approach, this course provides an overview of key issues facing today’s youth. The course will outline the major developmental stages of childhood and address the intersection between the child and the major influences in a child's life: parents and family life; education, health, and service systems; neighborhoods and communities; the media; and the economy. A core objective is to develop an understanding of risk and protective factors related to childhood adversity—including health inequities, family violence, mental health problems, delinquency, and poverty—and the role of social programs and policies in shaping children’s lives. Emphasis will be placed on: (1) applying theory to solving complex societal problems, and (2) using materials and methodologies from different disciplines (psychology, public policy, sociology, economics) to facilitate learning across traditional disciplinary boundaries. CCS 150 is a required course for certificate program Children in Contemporary Society, but is open to all undergraduate students.
Multidisciplinary Approaches to Contemporary Children's Issues
CCS 210S.01/PubPol 210S.01
Dr. Ken Dodge, William McDougall Professor of Public Policy and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
M 4:25 – 6:55 pm
Permission number available from Barbara Pollock (bpollock@duke.edu)
The goal of this course is to teach students how to translate scholarship to policy-relevant actions. This course is ideal for advanced undergraduate students and graduate students who have already completed or are now completing an independent research project on a topic related to children, families, or education. The course will teach students how to translate the knowledge that they have gained from their project into public policy and practice. The course will also enhance students’ ability to relate their acquired knowledge to other disciplines. Students will write several manuscripts for diverse audiences (e.g., an Op-Ed for the public, a brief for policy makers, a research summary for scientists in other disciplines). Students also will critique scholarship from other disciplines and translate it to their own. Students will learn how to present their analyses in oral, academic, and lay-public forums. Research intensive. Capstone course required for the Children in Contemporary Society Certificate Program.
Social Science Policy Research
PubPol 183S.01/Psy 160S.01
Dr. Elizabeth Snyder-Fickler, Research Scientist
WF 11:40 am – 12:55 pm
Permission number available from Barbara Pollock (bpollock@duke.edu)
In this course we will examine the crucial steps to conducting social science research, including developing research questions and hypotheses, research designs, and methods of data analysis. This class will not only help you understand and critically evaluate the research of others, but it will also provide you with the necessary tools to develop your own research projects. Some of the topics that will be covered include theories and hypotheses, ethics of social research, how to design a research project, sampling, indexes and scales, experimental designs, survey research, qualitative and quantitative research. One of the objectives of this course is that students will identify important contemporary problems and then develop research questions and methods to address those questions. This course fulfills the research methods requirement for the Children in Contemporary Society Certificate program.