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Karen Bierman receives Prevention Science Award

Karen Bierman receives Prevention Science Award

Karen Bierman

We are happy to share the news that Karen Bierman received the 2013 Prevention Science Award from the Society for Prevention Research.  The following announcement appeared on their website:

Prevention Science Award

The Prevention Science Award is given for the work of developing and testing prevention strategies.

This year, we are pleased to present the Prevention Science Award to Dr. Karen Bierman who is one of the preeminent leaders in the field of prevention science and child clinical psychology, with an outstanding record of programmatic work with wide-ranging impact on theory, practice, and policy in two areas: the development of peer relations and aggression, as well as the development of effective prevention programs. Particularly impressive is the contribution Dr. Bierman’s work has made to the development of comprehensive prevention models for children at high risk for violence, delinquency and other adolescent problem behaviors. As one of the original Principal Investigators of Fast Track, she has now spent two decades directing one of the most important studies in the history of prevention science. Furthermore, Dr. Bierman’s work is focused on how to improve the lives of children and families as well as the quality of schools and communities. While her research is of the highest scientific quality, it has simultaneously been done by developing long-term mutually beneficial partnerships with schools and communities throughout Pennsylvania. These collaborations are mutual: with The Pennsylvania State University researchers and students learning from the knowledge and skills of school and community staff, and at the same time, she has translated this information into new evidence-based programs that can benefit these communities.

Although Dr. Bierman has been involved in a series of important studies including Fast Track, the Head Start REDI Project, and PATHS to Success, her work which deserves special attention is Head Start REDI which is a series of two longitudinal trials focused on how to improve Head Start outcomes by improving both social and emotional programming, pre-literary programming, integrating socialemotional and literacy training together, and in addition, reaching out to parents. In a series of papers reported in Child Development, Development and Psychopathology, Social Development, American Education Research Journal, and Early Childhood Research Quarterly, her work has shown substantial improvement in children’s school readiness and behavioral outcomes. It has shown that Head Start programs can be substantially improved by using theoretically-driven, teacher– tested new models of intervention.

Dr. Bierman’s work speaks to a wide range of audiences spanning from the numerous local communities (school- and community-based practitioners) to government policy-makers, including her testimony to the U.S. Senate. Her ability to develop long-term collaborations with schools, Head Starts, and community agencies is a model for scientists who strive to do high quality outreach scholarship in prevention science.