Research
Camden doctoral students begin deeper discoveries of what it means to be a child
Diane Marano, a childhood studies doctoral candidate, is a 1978 graduate of the Rutgers School of Law –Camden. Retired from the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office after 25 years as an assistant prosecutor and 21 years as chief of the juvenile unit, Marano enrolled this year in Camden's doctoral program in childhood studies and is researching adolescents and life stress points.
A case involving the prosecution of a 13-year-old for homicide is what drives her to pursue new knowledge that could lead to improving children’s lives. “In law, children can be looked at as objects. Now I’m learning to consider a child’s perspective and I can hear a child’s voice more clearly,” Marano said.
She believes that Camden’s approach in this field holds promise to help more children reach better outcomes. “I’ve worked with children who have been victims of shootings and then become violent criminals," Marano said. "Some express that they want to kill themselves while they are killing others. These problems are not easy to fix or they’d be fixed already.”
This fall, the Camden Campus welcomed Marano and 13 other students as the inaugural class in the nation’s first Ph.D. program in childhood studies, which is also the first doctoral program at Rutgers–Camden.
Daniel Hart, director of the childhood studies program and professor of psychology in Camden, said that the program employs a multidisciplinary approach that aims to transform the study of children as well as enrich professional careers and outcomes in education, higher education, early childhood, children’s literature, research, and public policy.
“The study of childhood deepens our culture’s awareness of a population of individuals whose distinctive experiences are often ignored and poorly understood,” Hart said. “The program’s interdisciplinary approach offers the promise of shining additional light on the complex problems that cripple healthy development.”
Faculty and students also engage in research projects through Rutgers–Camden’s Center for Children and Childhood Studies addressing childhood matters and implement a wide array of initiatives designed to assist Camden’s children in New Jersey and the world in such areas as literacy, health, and career training.
Deb Valentine, a Ph.D. candidate in childhood studies, is researching how early childcare could be improved in the United States by exploring successful social programs of the past, namely the Smith Memorial Playground in Fairmount Park. Founded in 1899, the playground was designed for urban children to enjoy clean open space for no cost in an environment that nurtured independent play and fostered respect for others. A landmark of the six and a half acre site, where Valentine has taken her sons, is a 100-year-old wooden slide.
“The Smith Playground was both a playground and a kind of social intervention – it met the needs of kids and families in challenging environments. I’m hoping that we can learn from some of these happenings, like how to deal with race and cultures,” Valentine said.
Valentine, who has taught in a private school, directed a childcare center and worked at a homeless shelter, hopes to teach early childhood courses at the university level upon earning her Ph.D.
Another doctoral student, William Marble, is the director of early childhood for the Gloucester City School District. One of two men in the program, he has dedicated his career toward making childhood a positive experience, especially for those with challenged backgrounds.
After earning his master’s degree in educational leadership from Wilmington University, Marble was looking for a doctoral program and the multidisciplinary approach of the Rutgers–Camden program interested him.
“We benefit from experts in a variety of fields on the common theme of childhood, allowing us a broader understanding of children and childhood,” Marble said He plans to incorporate what he learns at Camden into his professional work to improve the education of economically disadvantaged students in New Jersey.