College of Education and Human Development

The 2018 Winter Olympics have officially begun in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and top athletes from around the world are currently competing in 15 events over more than two weeks. But there’s more than just sport at this worldwide mega event—there’s also diplomacy. Read more...

The Mason Arts Research Center does not have a physical structure at George Mason University. But its co-directors want to make it a highly visible hub of research into how arts participation affects child development. It will do so with a two-year, $150,000 renewable grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the vision of co-directors Thalia Goldstein, assistant professor of applied developmental psychology; Adam Winsler, professor of applied developmental psychology; and Kim Sheridan, associate professor of educational psychology. Read more...

Fred Bemak, a professor and academic program coordinator of George Mason University’s College of Education and Human Development counseling and development program, is a recipient of a 2018 Oustanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV). Bemak, in the College of Education and Human Development, is one of 12 recipients selected from 83 nominees, and the 21st George Mason recipient since the award’s inception in 1987. Read more...

If you’re an enormous social media company looking to adapt some of your technology for younger children, you want to make sure you’re creating a fun user experience—but also a safe one. That’s what Facebook was recently looking to do. While preparing to put together what eventually became Messenger Kids, which launched in late 2017, the company consulted with experts on children and media. One of those experts was Kevin Clark, CEHD professor and director of the Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity. Read more...

As the scope of potential short- and long-term damage from brain injuries in football becomes clearer every day, the mad scramble is on to try to address the crisis, which threatens the very existence of the sport. And while the leading chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, research at Boston University has made the most headlines, two scientists at George Mason University have been working on a potentially groundbreaking diagnostic tool that could change the way we test for and treat brain injury across the sports world and beyond. Read more...

Until recently, there was no library at Montrose Alternative Learning Center, a school for students in grades K-10 with behavioral challenges, academic difficulties, or who would fit best in a less traditional learning environment. And it had been that way for quite a while. Read more...

Panel discussion highlights new minor in Sport and Conflict Resolution and addresses the question of athletes as activists. The role that athletes play in conflict resolution was addressed during a two-hour forum earlier this month at Merten Hall on the Fairfax Campus. Read more...

A middle school teacher in Prince William County was appointed Virginia’s next education secretary by Gov.-elect Ralph Northam (D). The announcement that Atif Qarni — a civics, economics, U.S. history and math teacher at Beville Middle School in Woodbridge — would join Northam’s Cabinet was made at the school Thursday by the governor-elect. Read more...

When Seth Parsons arrived at Mason in 2008, he was curious about something. Teaching can obviously be a tough job. So what makes a teacher stick it out? “There has to be something that sustains excellent teachers who remain in the field,” says Parsons, an associate professor at CEHD. Read more...

Veronica Lewis dressed as a bat for Halloween this year, which was more about her sense of humor than any fashion statement. Lewis, a junior information technology major at George Mason University, has low vision. Specifically, she has blurry double vision, limited peripheral vision and no depth perception, none of which can be corrected by glasses. Read more...