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Vidya Thirumurthy

Associate professor, Pacific Lutheran University

I have been working with children, pre and in service teachers, and parents for the past 30 years. Over the years, I have had several opportunities to observe the cognitive development of children and their cognitive reasoning, and the opportunities parents and teachers provide that shape children's thinking. My research often focused on precisely those aspects. During my Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship in India, I observed five families in their homes to document the sociocultural activities that nurture academic skills and dispositions in children. Homework stood out as the primary sociocultural activity in the families I observed, irrespective of their social class and religion!

I have published several articles in peer reviewed journals on issues related to education in India and from around the world and cultural aspects that nurture cognitive skills in children.

Experience

  • 2005–2014
    Associate Professor, Pacific Lutheran University

Education

  • 2003 
    State University of New York @ Buffalo, Ph.D

Grants and Contracts

  • 2012
    Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship
    Role:
    Researcher
    Funding Source:
    US State Department

Honours

Secretary (2008-2011) Association for Childhood Education International, Fulbright Senior Research Scholar,2011-2012