Psychology Department
Distinguished Professor of Education
Professor, Psychology
Affiliate, Women's and Gender Studies
Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Fields: Child development, cognitive development in early childhood, social cognition, gender-role development.
Email: dbukatko@holycross.edu
Office Phone: 508-793-3433
Office: Beaven 322
PO Box: 175A
Zoom Office Hours:
Mondays 2:00 – 4:00 PM, Wednesdays 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, or by appointment
Biography
My general research interests are in the area of cognitive development in young children, specifically preschoolers. I have had a longstanding interest in young children's memory, concept development, and problem-solving skills. My current projects focus on the ways in which developmental science offers ideas for benefiting the education of young children, particularly in the area of mathematics. What are the general cognitive processes that underlie early numerical understanding, especially those mathematical competencies that forecast later academic achievement? Why does a good understanding of the number line, for example, or skill with patterns, enhance numerical reasoning? My second area of interest concerns young children's understanding of gender concepts, and in particular, the types of cues they use to make judgments of social status and power. I am interested in uncovering the kinds of verbal and nonverbal cues that children use to make assessments about who has power and status and whether these cues retain their salience in cross-cultural comparisons.
Courses
- Developmental Psychology
- Statistics
- Research Methods
- Seminar: Gender-Role Development
- Cognitive Development
- Developmental Science and Education
Books
Bukatko, D., & Daehler, M. W. (2012). Child development: A thematic approach (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. (Previous editions in 2004, 2001, 1998, 1995, and 1992 with Houghton Mifflin, Boston).
Bukatko, D. (2008). Child and adolescent development. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Daehler, M. W., & Bukatko, D. (1985). Cognitive development. New York: Knopf.
Selected Publications
Bukatko, D. (2016). Stage theories. In D. L Couchenour & K. Chrisman (Eds.), Sage Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Suprawati, N., Anggoro, F. K., & Bukatko, D. (2014). “I think I can”: Achievement-oriented themes in storybooks from Indonesia, Japan, and the United States. Frontiers in Psychology, 5: 167.
Fox, A. B., Bukatko, D., Hallahan, M., & Crawford, M. (2007). The medium makes a difference: Gender similarities and differences in instant messaging. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 26, 389-397.
Carli, L. L., & Bukatko, D. (2000). Gender, communication, and social influence: A developmental perspective. In T. Eckes & H. M. Trautner (Eds.), The developmental social psychology of gender (pp. 295-331). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Recent Grants
Bukatko, D., Damiano, D., & Roberts, C. (2010-2012) Foundational mathematics concepts for the high school to college transition. Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, Improving Teacher Quality Grant, $240,000 awarded.
Bukatko, D., Bell, B., Bitran, D., Roberts, C., & Shertzer, J. (2009-2013). Attracting liberal arts STEM students to teaching: A Noyce Phase 1 proposal. National Science Foundation, $900,000 awarded.
Bukatko, D. (2008-2010). Summer mathematics and science teacher professional development workshops. Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, Improving Teacher Quality Grant, $150,000 awarded.