Associate Professor, Human Development and Human Services
My research focuses on children’s early-learning experiences across sociocultural contexts. Specifically, I am interested in how children’s questions can be used as a mechanism for learning from others.
My research has been presented at numerous national and international conferences, and I have co-authored several book chapters on such topics as the role of peers in children’s learning and on cues children use to learn from others across cultural contexts.
In addition, I have published numerous scholarly articles in journals such as Child Development and the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
Kurkul, K. E., Dwyer, J., & Corriveau, K.H. (2021). Children’s questions, teacher’s responses and children’s follow-up across diverse preschool settings. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.09.010
Kurkul, K. E., Castine, E., Leech, K., & Corriveau, K. H. (2021). How does a switch work? The relation between adult mechanistic language and children’s learning. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 72, 101221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101221
Leech, K. A., Haber, A. S., Arunachalam, S., Kurkul, K., & Corriveau, K. H. (2019). On the malleability of selective trust. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 183, 65-74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2019.01.013
Kurkul, K., & Corriveau, K. (2018). Question, explanation, follow-up: A mechanism for learning from others? Child Development, 89(1), 280-294. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12726
Kurkul, K., & Corriveau, K. (2017). The uncontrollable nature of early learning experiences. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 40. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X17001017
Lilia Hessasta ’25, who will serve as assistant stage manager for Merrimack College's upcoming production of “The Drowsy Chaperone," was awarded Outstanding Stage Management Intern at this year’s Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.