School of Teacher Education
Linda Harrison
Senior Lecturer
BSc(Agr) (Hons), MSc McGill, DipT (EC) MCAE, MEd Syd, PhD Macq.
Linda Harrison
Bio
A/Prof Harrison’s PhD and subsequent research has focused on children’s attachment relationships with important adults. This body of work includes specialist expertise in scoring infant-mother attachment security in the Strange Situation Procedure, using observational methods to assess child-caregiver interaction in childcare, and developing age-appropriate measures for gathering children’s perceptions on their attachment relations with parents and teachers. She is currently working with Dolby, Ungerer, Cooper and Aarts on the Attachment Matters project, in which researchers and teachers in early childhood settings work together to develop new understandings of ways that child-teacher relationships and interactions can support children’s learning and social competence with peers. She is also the Expert Consultant to the Evaluation of the Partnerships in Early Childhood Project which is a childcare centre based intervention program for low-income families and their children. This work sits within the wider focus of her research into determinants and outcomes of childcare quality: as a member of the LSAC Consortium Advisory Group since the inception of this landmark study in 2002, where she advises on the design and implementation of the study, with a particular focus on childcare and early education; as a Principal Investigator for the Child Care Choices (CCC) investigation of the effects of multiple childcare arrangements on early childhood development; and as a Principal Investigator for the Practice Potentials study of professional development and quality outcomes in long day care centres.
A/Prof Harrison’s expertise in childcare research has been recognised by invitations to present at international and national conferences and to provide consultancy advice for key early childhood (Professional Support Coordination Alliance) and research organisations (UNSW Social Policy Research Centre; Australian Institute of Family Studies). Her work has been published in top quality journals (Developmental Psychology (ISI = 3.421), Child Development (ISI= 3.043), Early Childhood Research Quarterly (ISI= .703) and is widely distributed through government (Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs) and professional venues (KU Children’s Services, Early Childhood Australia, Independent Education Union).
Research
Year |
Grant Type |
Investigators |
Title |
Amount |
2008 - 2011 |
ARC Linkage Industry Partners
1. National Family Day Care Assn
2. KU Children's Services
|
J. Sumsion L. Harrison F. Press S. McLeod B. Bradley J. Goodfellow |
What's life like for babies and toddlers in childcare? Understanding the 'lived experience' of infants through an innovative mosaic methodology. |
IP $66,000 IP In-Kind $70,000 ARC $250,000 |
2008-2010 |
ARC Discovery |
L. Harrison F. Press J. Sumsion J. Bowes M. French (APD) |
A multi-modal investigation of current and proposed structures and processes determining and sustaining quality in australian centre-based child care. |
$257,196
|
2007 - 2009 |
ARC Discovery Grant |
S. McLeod L. Harrison L. McAllister |
Children with speech impairment: A population study of prevalence, severtiy, impact and serice provision. |
$218,600
|
2007 |
Professional Support Coordination Allicance competitive tender |
M. Waniganayake L. Harrison |
Practice potentials. Promoting professional growth and quality outcomes in early childhood |
$111,552
|
2006 |
Office for Women, Commonwealth Dep of Family and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. competitive tender |
L. Harrison J. Ungerer S. Zubrick S. Wise F. Press M. Waniganayake |
Thematic report on wave 1 of the longitudinal Study of Australian Children. |
$67,663
|
2004 - 2008 |
New South Wales Department of Community Services Research contract |
J. Bowes L. Harrison J. Ungerer |
Effects of multipul and changeable child care: Extension to age 8 years. |
$1,304,306
|
2006 - 2009 |
Christie Foundation Grant |
R. Dolby J.Ungerer L. Harrison G. Cooper M.Aarts |
Attachment matters. From relationships to learning at preschool |
$295,966
|
Teaching
- EED121 Children as Learners
- EED121 Children as Learners
- EED205 Journey of Childhood
- EER408 EdRes:Methods & Practices
Professional Engagement
- Member of the National Research Partnership for Developmental Health and Wellbeing (NRP). This organisation was formed in February 2001, by invitation to selected Australian researchers, to work towards the preparation of an expression of interest for the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). LSAC is a major research initiative of the Commonwealth Department of Family and Community Services, budgeted at $18 million for a nine year study.
- Reviewer, Research in Practice Series, Australian Early Childhood Association.
- Member, Society for Research in Child Development, International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development, Australian Association for Infant Mental Health, Australian Human Development Association, Australian Early Childhood Association.
Publications
Books/Chapters in Books
- Ungerer, J. A. & Harrison, L. J. (in press, 2008). Researching children families and communities. In J. Bowes (Ed.) Children, families & communities: Contexts and consequences, 3rd Edition. Melbourne: Oxford University Press
- Harrison, L. J. (2007). Speech acquisition in a social context, In S. McLeod (Ed.) The international guide to speech acquisition (pp. 78-85). Clifton Park, NY: Thomson Delmar Learning.
- Harrison, L. J. (2001), Quantitative designs and statistical analysis, In G. MacNaughton, S. Rolfe, & I. Siraj-Blatchford, (Eds.) Doing early childhood research: International perspectives in theory and practice (pp. 93-116). Sydney: Allen & Unwin. Buckingham and Philadelphia: Open University Press.
- Harrison, L. J. & Ungerer, J. A. (1997/2003). Child care predictors of infant-mother attachment security at age 12 months. Early Child Development and Care, 137. Reproduced in B. Lambert (Ed.) (2003) Introducing research to early childhood students. NSW: Social Science Press.
- Harrison, L. J. (1996) Planning appropriate learning environments for children under three (Revised Edition). Australian Early Childhood Association Resource Book Series, 1(1990).
Journal Articles (Refereed)
- Harrison, L. J., Ungerer, J., Smith, G., Zubrick, S., & Wise, S., with Press, F., Waniganayake, M. and the LSAC Research Consortium (in press, 2008). Child Care in Australia. An analysis of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Social Policy Research Paper Series.
- Harrison, L.J. (2008). Does child care quality matter? Associations between socio-emotional development and non-parental child care in a representative sample of Australian children. Family Matters, 79, 14-25.
- Dunn, M., Harrison, L. J., & Coombe, K. (2007). In good hands: Preparing research-skilled graduates for the early childhood profession. Teaching and Teacher Education. Available online at www.sciencedirect.com
- Soloff, C., Sanson, C., Wake, M., & Harrison, L. (2007) Enhancing longitudinal studies by linkage to national databases: Growing Up in Australia, the longitudinal study of Australian children. Special Issue of the International Journal of Social Research Methodology: Theory & Practice
- Harrison, L., Clarke, L., & & Ungerer, J. (2007). Children's drawings provide a new perspective on linkages between teacher-child relationship quality and school adjustment. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 22, 55-71.
- Harrison, L. J., Dunn, M., & Coombe, K. (2006). Making research relevant in preservice early childhood teacher education. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 27, 217-230.
- Miles, R., Cutter-McKenzie, A., & Harrison, L. (2006) Teacher education: A diluted environmental education experience. Australian Journal of Environmental Education, 22, 49-60.
- Harrison, L., & Ungerer, J. (2005). What can the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children tell us about infants’ and 4 to 5-year-olds’ experiences of early childhood education and care? Family Matters, 72, 26-35.
- Murray, E., & Harrison, L. J. (2005) Children’s perspectives on their first year of school: Introducing a new pictorial measure of school stress. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 13, 111-127.
- Bowes, J., Harrison, L. J., Ungerer, J. A., Simpson, T., Wise, S., Sanson, & Watson, J. (2004). Child Care Choices: A longitudinal study of children, families and childcare in partnership with policy makers. The Australian Educational Researcher, 31, 69-86. On-line: http://www.aare.edu.au/aer/online/40030g.pdf
- Harrison, L. J., Rubia, K. & Manocha, R. (2004). Sahaja Yoga Meditation as a family treatment program for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 9(4), 479-497.
- Love, J. M., Harrison, L. J., Sagi-Schwartz, A., van IJzendoorn, M. H., Ross, C., Ungerer, J.A., Raikes, H., Brady-Smith, C., Boller, K., Brooks-Gunn, J., Constantine, J., Eliason Kisker, E., Paulsell, D., & Chazan-Cohen, R. (2003). Child care quality matters: How conclusions may vary with context. Child Development, 74, 1021-1033.
- Harrison, L. J. (2003). Attachment. Building secure relationships in early childhood. AECA Research in Practice Series 10(2).
- Bowes, J., Wise, S., Harrison, L. J., Sanson, A., Ungerer, J., Watson, J., & Simpson, T. (2003). Continuity of care in the early years? Multiple and changeable child care arrangements in Australia. Family Matters, 64, 30-35.
- Harrison, L. J. & Ungerer, J. A. (2002). Maternal employment predictors of infant-mother attachment security at 12 months postpartum. Developmental Psychology.
- Harrison, L. J. & Ungerer, J. A. (submitted). Continuity of child attachment relationship processes and children’s competence with peers. Child Development.
- Harrison, L. J. & Ungerer, J. A. (1997) Child care predictors of infant-mother attachment security at age 12 months. Early Child Development and Care, 137, 31-46.
Commissioned Reports
- Waniganayake, M., Harrison, L. J., De Gioia, K., Press, F., Cheeseman, S., & Burgess, C. (2008). Practice potentials. Impact of participation in professional development and support on quality outcomes for children in childcare centres. Research report commissioned by the Professional Support Coordination Alliance (PSCA).
- Sanson, A., Nicholson, J., Ungerer, J., Zubrick, S., Wilson, K., Ainley, J., Berthelson, D., Bittman, M., Broom, D., Harrison, L. J., Rodgers, B., Sawyer, M., Silburn, S., Strazdins, L., Vimpani, G., & Wake, M. (2002). Introducing the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. LSAC Discussion Paper No. 1. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.
Significant Conference Presentations
- Harrison, L. J., & Ungerer, J. A. (2000). Children and child care: A longitudinal study of the relationships between developmental outcomes and use of non-parental care from birth to six. Invited paper presented at the Commonwealth Family and Community Services Panel Data and Policy Conference, Canberra, ACT.