Our research serves to inform policies that
promote equity and justice for racially and ethnically minoritized
children in the contexts of education, health, and community.
Peer-Reviewed Publications:
Curenton, S.M., Iruka, I.U., Humphries, M., Jensen, M., Durden, T., Rochester, S.E., Sims, J., Whittaker, J., & Kinzie, M. (2019). Validity for the Assessing Classroom Sociocultural Equity Scale (ACSES) in Early Childhood Classrooms. Early Education and Development.
Curenton, S. M., Sims, J., Rochester, S.E., & Gardner, S. L. (2019). The Conversation Compass Communication Screener-Revised. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 182-193.
Curenton, S. M., Crowley, J. E., & Mouzon, D. M. (2018). Qualitative Descriptions of Middle-Class, African American Mothers’ Child-Rearing Practices and Values. Journal of Family Issues, 39(4), 868–895.
Schilder, D. E., Broadstone, M., & Curenton, S. M. (2017). Special Issue: Early Care and Education Collaboration. Early Education and Development, 28:8, 1072-1074.
Iruka, I., Curenton, S. M., & Gardner, S. (2016). How changes in home and neighborhood factors are related to change in Black children’s academic and social development from kindergarten to third grade. Journal of Negro Education, 84, 282–297.
Curenton, S. M., Dong, N., & Shen, X. (2015). Does aggregate school-wide achievement mediate fifth grade outcomes for former early childhood education participants? Developmental Psychology, 51, 921–934.
Curenton, S. M. (2015). African American preschoolers’ pragmatic skills: Talking about emotions and the mind in the midst of fantasy. Topics in Language Disorders, 35, 46–60. [Special issue on African American children].
Kennedy, S. S., & Curenton, S. M. (2013). Is the socioemotional quality of emergent reading interactions related to young children’s emergent reading skills? The URC Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 12.
Curenton, S. M., & Zucker, T. (2013). Instructional conversations in early childhood classrooms: Policy suggestions for curriculum standards and professional development. Creative Education, 14, 60–68. [Special issue on preschool].
Curenton, S. M., & Kennedy, S. S. (2013). Comparison of shared reading versus emergent reading: How the two provide distinct opportunities for early literacy. ISRN Education. doi.org/10.1155/2013/936191
Piasta, S. B., Justice, L. M., Cabell, S. Q., Wiggins, A. K., Pence Turnbull, K., & Curenton, S. M. (2012). Impact of professional development on preschool teachers’ conversational responsivity and children’s linguistic productivity and complexity. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 387–400.
Cabell, S. Q., Justice, L. M., Piasta, S. P., Curenton, S. M., Wiggins, A., Pence Turnbull, K., & Petscher, Y. (2011). The impact of teacher responsivity education on preschoolers’ language and literacy skills. American Journal of Speech–Language Pathology, 20, 315–330.
Crowley, J., & Curenton, S. M. (2011). Organizational social support and parenting challenges among mocha moms. Family Relations, 60, 1–14.
Curenton, S. M. (2010). Understanding the landscape of stories: The association between preschoolers’ narrative comprehension and production skills and cognitive abilities. Early Child Development and Care, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2010.490946
Curenton, S. M. (2010). Introduction to the special issue: Narratives as learning tools to promote school readiness. Early Education and Development, 21, 287–292.
Curenton, S. M., & Craig, M. J. (2009). Shared-reading versus oral storytelling: Associations with preschoolers’ prosocial skills and problem behaviors. Early Child Development and Care, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430903292208
Curenton, S. M., McWey, L. M., & Bolen, M. G. (2009). Distinguishing maltreating versus nonmaltreating at-risk families: Implications for foster care and early childhood education interventions. Families in Society, 90, 176–182.
Curenton, S. M. (2008). Early childhood leaders and literacy. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23, 597–598.
Curenton, S. M., Craig, M. J., & Flanigan, N. (2008). Use of decontextualized talk across story contexts: How oral storytelling and emergent reading can scaffold children’s development. Early Education and Development, 18, 161–187.
Curenton, S. M., & Justice, L. M. (2008). Children’s preliteracy skills: Influence of maternal education and mothers’ beliefs about shared-reading interactions. Early Education and Development, 19, 261–283.
Curenton, S. M. (2006). Oral storytelling: A cultural art that promotes school readiness. Young Children, 61, 78–89.
Garner, P. W., Curenton, S. M., & Taylor, K. (2005). Predictors of mental state understanding in preschoolers of varying socioeconomic backgrounds. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 271–281.
Curenton, S. M. (2004). The association between narratives and theory of mind for low-income preschoolers. Early Education and Development, 15, 121–145.
Curenton, S. M., & Justice, L. (2004). African American and Caucasian preschoolers’ use of decontextualized language: Use of literate language features in oral narratives. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in the Schools, 35, 240–253.
Curenton, S. M., & Wilson, M. N. (2003). “I’m happy with my mommy”: Low-income preschoolers’ causal attributions for emotions. Early Education and Development, 14, 199–213.
Curenton, S. M. (2003). Low-income preschoolers’ false belief performance. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 164, 411–424.
Lillard, A. S., Zeljo, A., Curenton, S. M., & Seja, A. (2000). Children’s understanding of the animacy constraint on pretense. Merrill–Palmer Quarterly, 46, 21–44.
Lillard, A. S., & Curenton, S. M. (1999). Do young children understand what others feel, want, and know? Young Children, 54(5), 52–57.
Books and Edited Volumes:
Iruka, I. U., Curenton, S. M., & Durden, T. (2016). African American children in early childhood education: Making the case for policy investments in families, schools, and communities. In C. W. Lewis & J. L. Moore III (Series Eds.), Advances in race and ethnicity in education. Manuscript in progress.
Curenton, S. M. (2016). The conversation compass: A teacher’s guide to high quality language. St. Paul, MN: RedLeaf Press.
Iruka, I. U., Curenton, S. M., & Eke, W. A. I. (2014). The CRAF–E4 Family Engagement Model: Building practitioners’ competence to work with diverse families. Boston, MA: Elsevier/Academic Press.
Curenton, S. M., & Iruka, I. (2013). Cultural competence in early childhood education. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
Curenton, S. M. (Ed.). (2010). Narratives as learning tools to promote school readiness (Special issue). Early Education and Development, 21.
Book Chapters:
Gardner, S. L., & Curenton, S. M. (2017). Conversation Compass© Communication Screener: a conversation screener for teachers. Early Child Development and Care, 187(3-4), 487-497.
Curenton, S. M., & Gardner-Neblett, N. (2014). Narrative thinking: Implications for Black children’s social cognition. In S. Robson & S. F. Quinn (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook on young children’s thinking (pp. 294–305). New York, NY: Routledge.
Curenton, S. M., Justice, L. M., Zucker, T., & McGinty, A. (2013). Language and literacy curriculum and instruction. In V. Buysse & E. Peisner-Feinberg (Eds.), Handbook of response to intervention (RTI) for early childhood (pp. 237–249). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
Curenton, S. M. (2011). Multicultural issues. In J. N. Kaderavek (Ed.), Language disorders in children: Fundamental concepts of assessment and intervention (pp. 382–412). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Barnett, W. S., Curenton, S. M., & Strickland, D. (2009). Head Start. In Encyclopedia of African American education. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Curenton, S. M., & Lucas, T. M. (2007). Assessing young children’s oral narrative skills: The story pyramid framework. In K. Pence (Ed.), Assessment in emergent and early literacy (pp. 377–432). San Diego, CA: Plural.
Sutton, M., Sofka, A. E., Bojczyk, K., & Curenton, S. (2007). Assessing the quality of storybook reading. In K. Pence (Ed.), Assessment in emergent and early literacy (pp. 227–271). San Diego, CA: Plural.
Curenton, S. M. (2005). Towards better definition and measurement in early childhood professional development. In M. Zaslow & I. Martinez-Beck (Eds.), Early childhood professional development and children’s successful transition to elementary school (pp. 17–19). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
Curenton, S.M., Iruka, I.U., Humphries, M., Jensen, M., Durden, T., Rochester, S.E., Sims, J., Whittaker, J., & Kinzie, M. (2019). Validity for the Assessing Classroom Sociocultural Equity Scale (ACSES) in Early Childhood Classrooms. Early Education and Development.
Curenton, S. M., Sims, J., Rochester, S.E., & Gardner, S. L. (2019). The Conversation Compass Communication Screener-Revised. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 47, 182-193.
Curenton, S. M., Crowley, J. E., & Mouzon, D. M. (2018). Qualitative Descriptions of Middle-Class, African American Mothers’ Child-Rearing Practices and Values. Journal of Family Issues, 39(4), 868–895.
Schilder, D. E., Broadstone, M., & Curenton, S. M. (2017). Special Issue: Early Care and Education Collaboration. Early Education and Development, 28:8, 1072-1074.
Iruka, I., Curenton, S. M., & Gardner, S. (2016). How changes in home and neighborhood factors are related to change in Black children’s academic and social development from kindergarten to third grade. Journal of Negro Education, 84, 282–297.
Curenton, S. M., Dong, N., & Shen, X. (2015). Does aggregate school-wide achievement mediate fifth grade outcomes for former early childhood education participants? Developmental Psychology, 51, 921–934.
Curenton, S. M. (2015). African American preschoolers’ pragmatic skills: Talking about emotions and the mind in the midst of fantasy. Topics in Language Disorders, 35, 46–60. [Special issue on African American children].
Kennedy, S. S., & Curenton, S. M. (2013). Is the socioemotional quality of emergent reading interactions related to young children’s emergent reading skills? The URC Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences, 12.
Curenton, S. M., & Zucker, T. (2013). Instructional conversations in early childhood classrooms: Policy suggestions for curriculum standards and professional development. Creative Education, 14, 60–68. [Special issue on preschool].
Curenton, S. M., & Kennedy, S. S. (2013). Comparison of shared reading versus emergent reading: How the two provide distinct opportunities for early literacy. ISRN Education. doi.org/10.1155/2013/936191
Piasta, S. B., Justice, L. M., Cabell, S. Q., Wiggins, A. K., Pence Turnbull, K., & Curenton, S. M. (2012). Impact of professional development on preschool teachers’ conversational responsivity and children’s linguistic productivity and complexity. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 27, 387–400.
Cabell, S. Q., Justice, L. M., Piasta, S. P., Curenton, S. M., Wiggins, A., Pence Turnbull, K., & Petscher, Y. (2011). The impact of teacher responsivity education on preschoolers’ language and literacy skills. American Journal of Speech–Language Pathology, 20, 315–330.
Crowley, J., & Curenton, S. M. (2011). Organizational social support and parenting challenges among mocha moms. Family Relations, 60, 1–14.
Curenton, S. M. (2010). Introduction to the special issue: Narratives as learning tools to promote school readiness. Early Education and Development, 21, 287–292.
Curenton, S. M., McWey, L. M., & Bolen, M. G. (2009). Distinguishing maltreating versus nonmaltreating at-risk families: Implications for foster care and early childhood education interventions. Families in Society, 90, 176–182.
Curenton, S. M. (2008). Early childhood leaders and literacy. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23, 597–598.
Curenton, S. M., Craig, M. J., & Flanigan, N. (2008). Use of decontextualized talk across story contexts: How oral storytelling and emergent reading can scaffold children’s development. Early Education and Development, 18, 161–187.
Curenton, S. M., & Justice, L. M. (2008). Children’s preliteracy skills: Influence of maternal education and mothers’ beliefs about shared-reading interactions. Early Education and Development, 19, 261–283.
Garner, P. W., Curenton, S. M., & Taylor, K. (2005). Predictors of mental state understanding in preschoolers of varying socioeconomic backgrounds. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 29, 271–281.
Curenton, S. M. (2004). The association between narratives and theory of mind for low-income preschoolers. Early Education and Development, 15, 121–145.
Curenton, S. M., & Wilson, M. N. (2003). “I’m happy with my mommy”: Low-income preschoolers’ causal attributions for emotions. Early Education and Development, 14, 199–213.
Curenton, S. M. (2003). Low-income preschoolers’ false belief performance. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 164, 411–424.
Lillard, A. S., Zeljo, A., Curenton, S. M., & Seja, A. (2000). Children’s understanding of the animacy constraint on pretense. Merrill–Palmer Quarterly, 46, 21–44.
Lillard, A. S., & Curenton, S. M. (1999). Do young children understand what others feel, want, and know? Young Children, 54(5), 52–57.
Books and Edited Volumes:
Iruka, I. U., Curenton, S. M., & Durden, T. (2016). African American children in early childhood education: Making the case for policy investments in families, schools, and communities. In C. W. Lewis & J. L. Moore III (Series Eds.), Advances in race and ethnicity in education. Manuscript in progress.
Curenton, S. M. (2016). The conversation compass: A teacher’s guide to high quality language. St. Paul, MN: RedLeaf Press.
Iruka, I. U., Curenton, S. M., & Eke, W. A. I. (2014). The CRAF–E4 Family Engagement Model: Building practitioners’ competence to work with diverse families. Boston, MA: Elsevier/Academic Press.
Curenton, S. M., & Iruka, I. (2013). Cultural competence in early childhood education. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education.
Curenton, S. M. (Ed.). (2010). Narratives as learning tools to promote school readiness (Special issue). Early Education and Development, 21.
Book Chapters:
Gardner, S. L., & Curenton, S. M. (2017). Conversation Compass© Communication Screener: a conversation screener for teachers. Early Child Development and Care, 187(3-4), 487-497.
Curenton, S. M., & Gardner-Neblett, N. (2014). Narrative thinking: Implications for Black children’s social cognition. In S. Robson & S. F. Quinn (Eds.), The Routledge international handbook on young children’s thinking (pp. 294–305). New York, NY: Routledge.
Curenton, S. M., Justice, L. M., Zucker, T., & McGinty, A. (2013). Language and literacy curriculum and instruction. In V. Buysse & E. Peisner-Feinberg (Eds.), Handbook of response to intervention (RTI) for early childhood (pp. 237–249). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
Curenton, S. M. (2011). Multicultural issues. In J. N. Kaderavek (Ed.), Language disorders in children: Fundamental concepts of assessment and intervention (pp. 382–412). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Barnett, W. S., Curenton, S. M., & Strickland, D. (2009). Head Start. In Encyclopedia of African American education. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Curenton, S. M., & Lucas, T. M. (2007). Assessing young children’s oral narrative skills: The story pyramid framework. In K. Pence (Ed.), Assessment in emergent and early literacy (pp. 377–432). San Diego, CA: Plural.
Sutton, M., Sofka, A. E., Bojczyk, K., & Curenton, S. (2007). Assessing the quality of storybook reading. In K. Pence (Ed.), Assessment in emergent and early literacy (pp. 227–271). San Diego, CA: Plural.
Curenton, S. M. (2005). Towards better definition and measurement in early childhood professional development. In M. Zaslow & I. Martinez-Beck (Eds.), Early childhood professional development and children’s successful transition to elementary school (pp. 17–19). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
