COLLEGE OF

Education and Human Development

Our research and expertise

We advance research, teaching, and community engagement to increase opportunities for all individuals to have a successful start in life and to foster healthy human development, and will provide programs that meet the demands of the 21st century.

For students, both current and future

Use this list (and filters) to find research topics relevant to your interests and passions. Find faculty working in your topic and connect with people invested in projects you'd like work on.

For members of the media

Find leading experts on specific topics for your upcoming stories and editorials. Contact Sarah Jergenson sarahj@umn.edu to request an interview with any one of our experts.

Recent publications

Visit EXPERTS@MINNESOTA for a list of recent CEHD publications. Search publications by topic, author, and year.

Find a research topic

Access to Education

Examining how to remove barriers so all people can have equal opportunity in education.

Adoption

How adoption affects development and the family environment.

Art Education

Examining art, theater, and performance education in schools, museums, and community arts organizations.

Behavioral and social emotional development

Identifying and defining problems in behavioral and social difficulties to guide instruction, treatments, and assessment.

Behavioral Psychology

Studying the connection between minds and behavior, examining how and why people behave the way they do.

Brain Development

How the developing brain shapes individuals and is synthesized and linked to their daily life.

Career and Technical Education

Researching best practices in preparing teachers in career and technical education at the secondary and post-secondary level.

Child Care

Researching and developing best practices in caring for young children and training providers.

Child Welfare

Child welfare typically including foster care, adoption, and other efforts aimed at protecting children and family stability.

Children's Mental Health

Supporting children and families with research, field work, and resources for understanding and resilience.

Cognitive Development

Development of the brain's cognitive functions, such as perception, memory, attention, motor skills, and language.

Community Services and Supports

Assisting individuals with disabilities at varying ages in achieving their goals as individuals and in the community.

Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR)

An action research approach involving collaboration among researchers and community members directly affected by an issue.

Cooperative Learning

A teaching strategy where small groups of students work together to help one another in learning.

Counseling

Research and training in the processes and outcomes of advising people in many areas of life and work.

Couple and Family Therapy (CFT)

Researching and training practitioners in therapy and counseling for relationships.

Decision Making

Understanding how the process of making a choice impacts behavior and relationships.

Disability

Exploring physical, mental, and emotional impairments and how they affect individuals, families, and communities.

Distance Education

Understanding how teaching and technology combine to serve students and educators in different locations.

Divorce

Looking at how dissolutions of marriages impact individuals, families, and communities.

Education Policy Higher Ed

Studying legal, regulatory, and enforcement practices of post-secondary education policies.

Education Policy K-12

Policy and governance affecting public, private, and charter schools that serve students from kindergarten to 12th grade.

Education Theory

Investigating how teaching, learning, and educational organization are informed by culture, behavior, and sociology.

Educational Assessment

Holding educators accountable for instructing all students effectively and assessing their learning progress.