McConnell, Finestack awarded Grand Challenges Research grant

Scott McConnell, professor in the Department of Educational Psychology’s special education program and program coordinator for counseling and student personnel psychology is partnering with Liza Finestack, professor in the Department of Speech, Hearing, and Language Sciences on a research project called “Reducing Early Language Disparities: A Key to Lifelong Academic, Socioeconomic, and Health Success.”

One of a select number of Grand Challenges Research projects funded by the University of Minnesota’s Provost’s Office, the grant will be used to expand existing research around the “word gap”—specifically the disparity that exists in the vocabulary of children born into low-income families and their more affluent peers by the age of three.

The intent is to develop at least three promising interdisciplinary research projects— each addressing unmet needs in early language development research— and to support new research teams exploring these frontiers.

This work will include the ongoing implementation and evaluation of LENA StartTM, a parent education program being offered by area Early Childhood Family Education programs and colleagues at Think Small. The Grand Challenge effort will build on and extend this work to other aspects of early language development and intervention.