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Natalie Spadafora

Post-doctoral fellow, Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University

Natalie Spadafora is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Offord Centre for Child Studies at McMaster University. She is a member of the Educational Development Instrument (EDI) team, working under the supervision of Dr. Magdalena Janus. Natalie obtained her Ph.D. in Child and Youth Studies at Brock University, under the supervision of Drs. Zopito Marini and Anthony Volk. Natalie’s research to date takes a psychoeducational perspective, investigating issues to do with child and adolescent development, with an emphasis on peer relationships and antisocial behavior (e.g., bullying, classroom incivility). She is also interested in factors that impact the teaching and learning of children and youth. Currently, Natalie's research on the EDI team is focused on gathering an understanding of the learning that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic school related shutdowns and understanding the potential impact on the youngest learners. She is working on the "HiFLEC" study: Hidden Future Front Line: Educators’ perspective on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on kindergarten children, which was a web-based survey completed by kindergarten educators in Ontario during the first pandemic-related shutdowns in Canada from March-June 2020.

Experience

  • 2021–present
    Postdoctoral fellow, McMaster University
  • 2019–present
    Instructor, Brock University

Education

  • 2021 
    Brock University, Ph.D. in Child and Youth Studies
  • 2015 
    Brock University, M.A. in Child and Youth Studies
  • 2013 
    Brock University, Bachelor of Education
  • 2013 
    Brock University, B.A. (honours) in Child and Youth Studies

Publications

  • 2022
    From full day learning to 30 minutes a day: A descriptive study of early learning during the first COVID-19 pandemic school shutdown in Ontario, Spadafora et al.
  • 2022
    Assessing changes to adolescent health-promoting behaviors following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-methods exploration of the role of within-person combinations of trait perfectionism, Blackburn et al.
  • 2022
    Family responsibilities and mental health of kindergarten educators during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in Ontario, Canada. Teaching and Teacher Education, 103735., Spadafora et al.
  • 2021
    The Association Between Reading Motivation and Reading Achievement in Chinese Students: Exploring the Role of Personality, Spadafora et al.
  • 2021
    Using social network position to understand early adolescents’ power and dominance within a school context, Andrews et al.
  • 2021
    Child and Youth Classroom Incivility Scale (CYCIS): exploring uncivil behaviors in the classroom, Spadafora & Volk
  • 2021
    Be a Little Rude, but not too Much: Exploring Classroom Incivility and Social Network Position in Adolescents, Spadafora et al.
  • 2020
    Should I defend or should I go? An adaptive, qualitative examination of the personal costs and benefits associated with bullying intervention, Spadafora, Marini, Volk
  • 2020
    Test Anxiety in First-Generation Students: An Examination of the Role of Psychological Needs., Spadafora et al.
  • 2020
    Cooperative Versus Coercive Dominance Strategies: Relations with the Environment and Personality, Volk et al.
  • 2020
    Do little annoyances relate to bullying? The links between personality, attitudes towards classroom incivility, and bullying, Spadafora et al.
  • 2018
    Temperamental differences and classroom incivility: Exploring the role of individual differences, Spadafora et al.
  • 2018
    Self-Regulation and" Time off": Evaluations and Reflections on the Development of a Blended Course, Spadafora & Marini
  • 2016
    Measuring adolescent attitudes toward classroom incivility: Exploring differences between intentional and unintentional incivility, Farrell et al.