Diana Schaack's research integrates educational and psychological theories into the study of the relationships, settings, and policies that foster positive child and teacher development within early care and education settings. Dr. Schaack also works closely with states and local communities in developing efforts to recruit, develop, and retain a diverse early childhood workforce and on efforts to ensure children’s access to high-quality early learning experiences.
Prior to joining the faculty at CU Denver, Dr. Schaack was an assistant professor at San Diego State University and was an assistant researcher at the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at the University of California, Berkeley.
Areas of Expertise
- Early childhood education policy
- Early childhood workforce
- Teacher-Child Attachment Relationships
- Family Child Care
Education, Licensure & Certifications
- B.A., Hobart and William Smith Colleges
- M.S. Bank Street College of Education
- PhD Erikson Institute/Loyola University Chicago
Research
Currently Dr. Schaack is leading a longitudinal study examining how the breadth, depth, and comprehensive of preschool teachers’ post-secondary coursework is associated with teaching and learning outcomes funded by the Institute of Education Sciences (R305A190317). She is also a co-investigator on a longitudinal evaluation of the Denver Preschool Program.
Publications and Presentations
- Le, V., Schaack, D., Nieshi, K., Hernandez, M., & Blank, R. (2019). Are there trade-offs between academic achievement and social-emotional outcomes in academically-rigorous Kindergarten classrooms? American Education Research Journal
- Setodji, C.M., Schaack, D., & Le, V. (2018). Using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised in high stakes contexts: Does evidence warrant the practice? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 42, 152- 169.
- Schaack, D., Le, V., & Setodji, C.M. (2017). Family child care provider education and specialized training: Associations with caregiving quality and toddler social-emotional and cognitive outcomes. Early Education and Development, 28(6), 655-668.
- Le, V., Schaack, D., & Setodji, C.M. (2015). Examining the associations between children’s daily caregiving discontinuity experiences and their social and emotional outcomes. Developmental Psychology, 51(5), 635-648.
- Le, V., Schaack, D., & Setodji, C.M. (2015). Identifying baseline and ceiling thresholds within the Qualistar Early Learning Quality Rating and Improvement System. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 30(B), 215-226.
- Sakai, L., Kipnis, F., Whitebook, M., & Schaack, D. (2014). Yes they can: Supporting bachelor degree attainment for early childhood practitioners. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 16(1), 1-12.
- Schaack, D., Le, V., & Setodji, C.M. (2013). Examining the factor structure of the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale- Revised. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28(4), 936-946.
- Setodji, C.M., Le, V. & Schaack, D. (2013). Identifying and validating cut scores on the ITERS-R: Can they discriminate among different levels of toddler cognitive development? Developmental Psychology, 49(4), 632-645.
- Setodji, C.M., Le, V., & Schaack, D. (2012). Accounting for movement between child care classrooms: Does it change teacher effects interpretations? Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 33(1), 1-12.
- Bisceglia, R., Perlman, M., Schaack, D., & Jenkins, J. (2009) Examining the psychometric properties of the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale-Revised in high stakes contexts. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 24(2), 121-132.
