Sharon K. Ryan

Sharon Ryan, Ed.D., Professor of Early Childhood Education, is interested in the education of young children birth through age 8 years. Before undertaking graduate studies in the United States, Dr. Ryan worked in the early childhood field in Australia as a preschool teacher, program leader, curriculum advisor, and special educator. Nearly all of Dr. Ryan’s research foregrounds teaching and teachers and she has published a number of papers and chapters in relation to early childhood curriculum and policy, teacher education and professional development.

Dr. Ryan’s work brings research, policy and practice together to inform the improvement of early childhood programs across the state of New Jersey. In collaboration with colleagues at NIEER, she has led a series of leadership academies and professional development opportunities for teachers and leaders to implement developmentally appropriate and academically rigorous instruction in the early elementary grades in accordance with the state’s 1^st through 3^rd grade implementation guidelines.  As a member of New York City’s early childhood research network, she is examining coaching in NYC public preschool programs.

Ryan currently works on several grants in addition to mentoring doctoral students and working with her program group to improve elementary and early childhood programs at the GSE. As an energetic researcher, Ryan considers her flexibility and her impact in improving key practices with children and their families and in shaping policy to be one of her greatest achievements.

• Expertise & Research Interest

  Early Childhood Education specifically curriculum

  Teacher education

  Professional development and policy.

• Recent & Selected Publications

  Graue, M. E., Ryan, S., Gadsen, V., & Levine, F. (Eds.). (in progress). Advancing knowledge and building capacity for early childhood research. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

  Casper, V., & Ryan, S.  (2019). Infant toddler care and education: Speaking up for young children and their caregivers. Occasional Paper Series 42. Retrieved from https//educate.bankstreet.edu/occasional-paper-series/vol2019/iss42/1.

  Blaise, M., & Ryan, S. (2018). Engaging with critical theories and the early childhood curriculum. In J.Mueller & N. File, (Eds.). Curriculum in early childhood education: Reexamined, reclaimed, renewed (2^nd Ed.). New York: Taylor and Francis.

  Graue, M. E., Ryan, S., Wilinski, B., Northey, K., & Nocera, A. (in press). What guides preK programs? Teachers College Record, 120(8), 1-36.

  McCardle, F., & Ryan, S. (2017). Reflections on practice. Special themed issue of Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education. 38(4), 275- 354

  Grieshaber, S., & Ryan, S. (2018). The place of learning in the systematization and standardization of early childhood education. In G. Hall, & D. Gollnick (Eds.), Handbook of teaching and learning (pp. 257-276). New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

  Graue, M. E., & Ryan, S. (Eds.). (2015). The future of early childhood teacher education in a time of changing policy, standards, and programming. Special themed issue of Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 36.

  Graue, M. E., Ryan, S., Nocera, A., Northey, K., & Wilinski, B. (2017). Pulling preK into a K-12 orbit: The evolution of preK in the age of standards. Early Years, 37, 108-122.

  Riley-Ayers, S., Ryan, S., Figueras-Daniel, A., Costanza, V. & Northey, K. (2018). Building capacity to enact change for classroom quality improvement in New Jersey. New Brunswick: Center for Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes, National Institute for Early Education Research.

• Honors & Awards

  Visiting Professor, LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Australia.

  Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award, Graduate School of Education Alumni Association.

  Outstanding Teacher Educator, National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.

  Visiting Professor, Early Childhood Collaborative Research Network, Charles Sturt University, Australia.

  Outstanding Faculty Service Award, Graduate School of Education Alumni Association.

  Teachers College Early Career Award, Teachers College Alumni Council.

  Outstanding Research Award, New Jersey Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.

  Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award, Graduate School of Education Alumni Association.

  Honored Faculty Member Kappa Delta Pi.

• Files

  Download Sharon Ryan CV