W. David Wakefield, (UC Santa Barbara, 2000)

 

 

I joined the faculty at Cal State Northridge in January 2000 and am one of the origi-nal founding members of the Department of Child & Adolescent Development (established in 2003). Since joining the faculty, one of my consistent priorities has been expanding undergraduate students’ exposure to evidence-based practice and applications regarding the developmental processes of children, adolescents and young adults. In addition, I have been committed to developing pathways for un-dergraduate students to continue on to post-baccalaureate graduate & professional programs after completing the Bachelor’s degree at Cal State Northridge.

 

 

 

 

 

Where did you go to school?
I received both my Ph.D. and Master’s degree in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Child & Adolescent Development from UC Santa Barbara, where I studied both typical and atypical child and adolescent development. I earned my Bachelor of Arts degree at UC Berkeley where I double-majored in Psychology and Social Welfare and earned a minor in Education. I grew up in the South Bay area of Los Angeles and attended Los Angeles Unified schools for my entire K-12 education. My experiences as a student during my K-12 schooling and throughout my college years at UC Berkeley played a huge role in my interest in becoming a university professor in the field of child and adolescent development.

What's your area of specialty?
My professional expertise revolves around understanding the ways children and teens think about their ethnic and cultural group membership and how this impacts their academic engagement, their personal & professional goals, and their attitudes towards people from ethnic & cultural groups other than their own. My general research and teaching interests center around the personal and social development of children in culturally diverse contexts. This research is critical in better enhancing positive interpersonal relationships between members of different racial and ethnic groups and bridging the achievement gap. My research has particular relevance to parents and teachers since they structure children's daily experiences. One of my strongest passions is helping students identify and reach their long-term goals. As an undergraduate student, I had never thought about becoming a professor mostly because I had no idea what I would need to do to become one. As an African Ameri-can faculty member of mixed heritage, as well as being first in my family to receive a doctorate, I am highly committed to creating viable pathways for students to con-tinue on to advanced degree programs, and especially for students typically un-derrepresented in higher education.

What other “hats” do you wear at the University?
In addition to serving as a tenure-line faculty member and chair in the Department of Child and Adolescent Development, I also am affiliated with the Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP)—the university’s “blended degree program” which allows students to earn a B.A. in Liberal Studies AND a preliminary multiple-subject teaching credential. I also work closely with the Academic First Year Experi-ences Program (University 100)—a university program committed to ensuring the success of first-year students at Cal State Northridge both academically and socially.

In what other ways are you involved in the cam-pus and larger community?
Outside of class, I enjoy collaborating with students, professionals, and community members. I have the privilege of working with students in university organizations including the Cal State Northridge chapters of Phi Delta Kappa (the professional association in Education), the Child & Adolescent Development Association, and Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity (one of the National Panhellenic organizations), as their formal faculty advisor. I also enjoy working with new freshman and transfer students alongside my colleagues in the office of Student Development through the University’s New Student Orientation Programs. Off- campus, I also serve on the advisory boards of organizations including a nationally known children’s book pub-lishing house and a local early childhood education program—the Associated Stu-dents’ CSUN Children’s Center.

Selected Publications
Wakefield, W.D. (2010). Instructor Manual & Resources (The World of Children, Cook & Cook (2nd ed.)).New York: Pearson Higher Education.

Wakefield, W. D., and Hudley, C. (2007). Ethnic and racial identity and adolescent well-being. Theory into Practice, 46, 2, 147-154.

Wakefield, W. D., and Taylor, A. Z. (2006). Teaching racial identity. In Y. Jackson (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Ethnic Minority Psychology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Wakefield, W. D., and Belanger, J. (2006). Ethnic identity development measures. In Y. Jackson (Ed.) Encylopedia of Ethnic Minority Psychology. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publi-cations.

Wakefield, W. D. (2005). Understanding privilege in American society. In E. Chen and G. Omatsu (Eds.), Teaching about Asian Pacific Americans. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press.

Wakefield, W. D., and Hudley, C. (2003). African American male adolescents' prefer-ences in responding to racial discrimination: Effects of ethnic identity and situational influences. Adolescence.0 Hudley, C., Wake

Wakefield, W. D., Britsch, B., Cho, S., Smith, T., & DeMorat, M. (2001). Multiple percep-tions of children's aggression: Differences across neighborhood, age, gender, and per-ceiver. Psychology in the Schools, 38, 43-56.

Hudley, C., Britsch, B., Wakefield, W. D., Smith, T., DeMorat, M., & Cho, S. (1998). An attribution retraining program to reduce aggression in elementary school students. Psychology in the Schools, 35, 271-282.