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kathleen-peets

Kathleen Peets

Associate Director, Academic Leadership and Associate Professor
EducationEdD
OfficeKHS-354B, Kerr Hall South
Phone416-979-5000, ext. 557646
Areas of ExpertiseLanguage and literacy; Cross-cultural development; Bilingualism.

My training has been largely multidisciplinary, with a background in linguistics (BA, York University) developmental psychology and education within a cross-cultural model (EdM, EdD, Harvard University). As a result, my work is focused on the development of language and its relationship to early literacy, and my work is rooted in both sociocultural and social interactionist theoretical frameworks. My work is in collaboration with many people in the Toronto Metropolitan University community and beyond, and is fueled very much by the contributions of many undergraduate and graduate student research assistants. For the last several years I have been collaborating with a community partner based in Canada and Nigeria, Early Childhood Development Initiative, led by Patrica Falope (leading policy innovation in Nigeria and a graduate of our Master’s program).

Currently Ms. Falope and I are engaged in data analysis for our SSHRC-funded project looking at the implementation of play-based learning in collaboration with local educators in Nigeria. Our work integrates children’s, teachers’ and parents’ perspectives as we look at aspects of language, literacy and cognitive development through play-based curricula. Next steps in this program of research are to bring insights gained from Nigerian perspectives and findings to the West African diaspora here in Toronto, and gain their perspectives on current practices in early learning for their children.

  • CLD206: Language Development
  • CLD307: Cognitive Development
  • CLD314: Literacy in the Early Years
  • CS8938: Cross-cultural Development

Research interests:

  • Language development.
  • Literacy in the early years.
  • Cross-cultural early learning, language and literacy, bilingualism.

Research projects

  • Project: Cross-Cultural Play-Based Learning
    • Funded by: SSHRC
    • Years: 2018-2023
  • Project: The role of discourse in listening and reading comprehension among children with language impairment
    • Funded by: SSHRC
    • Years: 2013-2016
  • Project: Play-based learning, language and literacy in Nigerian early learning (pilot)
    • Year: Spring, 2016
  • Project: Children’s book reviews (emerging area of research)
  • Project: Community-based research supporting children’s language and literacy (in development)

Chapters:

  • Peets, K. F. (2013). Cognitive processes underlying typical and atypical second-language and literacy development. In C. A. Stone, E. R. Silliman, B. J. Ehren & G. P. Wallach (Eds.), Handbook of language and literacy: Development and disorders (pp. 66-83). Guilford Press.
  • Peets, K. F. (2010). Bilingualism and cognitive linkages: Learning to read in different languages. In M. Shatz & L. C. Wilkinson (Eds.), The education of English language learners: Research to practice (pp. 133-152). Guilford Press.

Journal articles: