Human Development and Family Sciences

Interests: The roles of family, early care and education, school, and community for promoting children’s cognitive and socio-emotional development, particularly in the context of economic and social disadvantages.

Favorite part of the ECD/ECDE program: Advising and teaching future early childhood leaders across diverse professions.

Courses taught: Infant and Toddler Development (HDFS 3101); Early and Middle Childhood Development (HDFS 3102)

Education:
2004- BA The University of Vermont, Psychology and English
2013- PhD Boston College, Applied Developmental and Educational Psychology

Activities Beyond UCONN:
Science and Social Policy Committee Member, Society for Research in Child Development
Editorial Board Member, Applied Developmental Science
Member, Collaborative for Understanding the Pedagogy of Infant/Toddler Development (CUPID)

Recent related publications:
Thomson, D., Casey, B. M., Lombardi, C. M., & Nguyen, H. N. (in press). Quality of fathers’ spatial concept support during block building predicts their daughters’ early math skills – but not their sons’. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Lombardi, C. M., Casey, B. M., Thomson, D., Nguyen, H. N., & Dearing, E. (2017). Maternal support of young children’s planning and spatial concept learning as predictors of later math (and reading) achievement. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 41(4), 114-125.

Lombardi, C. M. & Coley, R. L. (2017). Early maternal employment and children’s academic and behavioral skills in Australia and the United Kingdom. Child Development, 88(1), 263-281.

Longo, F., Lombardi, C. M. & Dearing, E. (2017). Family investments in low-income children’s achievement and socioemotional functioning. Developmental Psychology, 53(12), 2273-2289.