Karen T. Craddock

Areas of Expertise

Mothering; Family Studies; Psychological Resistance Theory; Ethnographic Qualitative Research; Personal Narrative

Email: kcrad@brandeis.edu

Current Project

I plan to continue researching and writing on constructs of mothering as connected with relational theories and linking with paradigms of mentoring, especially among black women. Using the frame of Profiles of Resistance (Craddock, 2007), I will explore patterns of resistance to marginalization and how context of key relationships plays a role alongside creative expression’s impact on healing and wellness.

Biography

Karen’s professional and scholarly background is in Developmental Psychology and Family Studies with growing focus on the socio-cultural context in human development, education and relationship. Specific attention to marginalized or under-served communities amplifies interest in intersections of domains: Mothering/Parenting, Youth/Family support, Equity in Education and Psycho-Emotional processes. Each spurs further inquiry of psychological functioning with contextual approaches to areas including ecological frames of identity, expressive arts and cultural-relational constructs of healing and wellness. The power of narrative informs her thinking and methods while developing practice in research, consultation, teaching and writing. 

Her experience in program evaluation and research includes regional/national projects such as the Fast Track intervention and New England Quality Research Center for Head Start. Work with the Boston Children’s Museum and Work/Family Directions provided grounding in continued goals to build bridges between responsive research and effective programming. She also served as an Administrative Fellow at Harvard University School of Public Health working on research to reduce health disparities. Karen also serves on boards and organizations collaborating and consulting on issues of parenting, race/ethnicity, empowerment, child development and equity. She is delighted and enlightened along the journey with her two teenage sons and extended family.

Education

Ph.D., Tufts University

Ed.M., Harvard University

B.A., Wesleyan University; Psychology

Representative Publications

Craddock, Karen. “Mother to Mother: Profiles of Psychological Resistance in Young Black Mothers and Models of Mother Involvement in Relationship with Their Mothers.” Ph.D. Dissertation, Tufts University, 2007.
 
Craddock, Karen. “Mothers and Mentors: Psychological Resistance to Marginalization and Black ‘Mothering’ in the Academy.” Paper presented at the Association for the Research on Mothering (ARM) The Maternal Wall of Academe Conference at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, February 27, 2009.