Contact
Research Areas
Mothering; Family Studies/Support; Psychological Adaptiveness; Ethnographic Qualitative Research; Personal Narrative
Education
Ph.D., Tufts University
Ed.M., Harvard University
B.A., Wesleyan University; Psychology
Karen Craddock
Karen Craddock
Karen’s background is in Developmental Psychology and Family Studies with 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 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. Karen is also with Education Development Center as a Senior Training and Technical Assistance Associate where she currently works as a TA Specialist for a project focused on helping to promote young child social-emotional wellness nationally. She also served as an Administrative Fellow at Harvard University School of Public Health working on research to reduce health disparities. Previous experience in program administration, evaluation and research includes projects with Head Start, Boston Children’s Museum and Work/Family Directions which catalyzed interest in building bridges between responsive research and effective programming. She consults and collaborates on issues of parenting, race/ethnicity, health/wellness, child development and equity. She is delighted and enlightened along the journey with her family.
Current Projects
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 (Crad- dock, 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.
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.