Bridget Hatfield

Academic interests

Bridget is interested in teacher- and parent-child relationships in early childhood, children’s stress and school readiness skills, quality of early childhood education, teacher professional development, & implications for policy.

Biography

Bridget teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in the Human Development and Family Sciences program and is affiliated with the Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families Early Childhood Core. Her research focuses on the importance of relationships and interactions in early childhood. Most of her work examines ways in which teacher-child relationships and classroom quality are associated with children’s activity in the stress response system and their behavior. She is also committed to leveraging that research to inform professional development opportunities and policies.
 
Bridget came to Oregon State from the University of Virginia, where she served as an IES postdoctoral research associate in the Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning. She’s also worked as an instructor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro and a consultant and trainer at Teachstone Inc. She received a bachelor’s of the arts degree from Transylvania University, a master’s degree in Child and Family Studies at the University of Tennessee, and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.