Melissa Jacobson

I love qualitative research and I have a passion for supporting children's development. I truly enjoy spending time with children and seeing the world through their eyes. Qualitative research in this field illuminates the experiences and perspectives of children and families. I received my Ph.D. in child development with my dissertation focused on peer culture in the block play area of an early childhood classroom, utilizing qualitative research methodology.

I have had 14 years of experience working in the field of early childhood education and child development and 7 years of experience in research. I have worked in roles directly interacting with children and indirectly through research focused on supporting professionals and parents working with children. Through my professional experience, I have led and executed research projects, developed curriculum, presented research at professional conferences, and managed program evaluations. I have developed strong skills in qualitative research design and led data collection and analysis, organized data files, implemented data collection sessions and field work, and worked with qualitative data collection (QDA) software (e.g., NVivo). As a research assistant, I had some quantitative research design experience, which included working on a team to develop a tool for measuring math content knowledge of early childhood teachers, managing data entry and basic analysis, and following research protocols. Professionally and through academic opportunities, I have created and presented on professional development, research findings, and academic writing skills. In addition to my role as a writing tutor for the Academic Success Center, I designed and managed a year-long utilization-focused program evaluation.

I began teaching early childhood in 2012 and taught for 4 years at a center in Skokie, IL. I switched from teaching to research in 2016 when I began my academic program. I have worked on multiple research teams at Erikson Institute as a Graduate Research Assistant. I also was an academic writing tutor with the Academic Success Center at Erikson Institute. My most recent role is as the Project Manager of a research study (Brain Breaks) at Erikson Institute. I have also worked (unpaid) as a teaching assistant and a supervisor for a graduate student's practicum experience at an early childhood center. 

I started my academic journey getting my Bachelor's of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During my time at UIUC, I was a student teacher and worked at the Child Development Lab preschool. I got my Master's of Social Work degree from Washington University in St. Louis. My program was focused on children, youth, and families and I specialized in management. I received my Ph.D. in Child Development from Loyola University Chicago. This program was combined with Erikson Institute.