Projects

MAIN PROJECTS AND CONSULTATIVE WORK

1. Value of Children Project, supported by International Development Research Centre (IDRC), duration: 1975 – 1979. Publications include several articles and two books (in English and in Turkish). (Nation-wide study carried out in Turkey as a part of a 9-country cross-national comparative project).

2. Early Childhood Development and Education Project, undertaken for the Turkish Ministry of Education, duration: 1978 – 1980 (two phases). Co-director in the first phase: Dr. Selçuk Özgediz. Five books and eleven reports prepared for publication, distribution and utilization, by the Ministry of Education for preschool education in Turkey.

3. Comprehensive Preschool Education Project, (The Turkish Early Enrichment Project), (with Diane Sunar & Sevda Bekman) supported by IDRC, duration: 1982 – 1986. Longitudinal study. The impact of different types of preschool care and mother-training was studied, on the overall development of children in the urban lower socio-economic setting in Turkey.

4. 1978 – Present: Consultative work with the Turkish Ministry of Education, focusing on early child care and education and adult education (parent education) programs.

5. 1977 – 1991: Consultative work with the Turkish Radio and Television. Prepared an 11-sessionParent Education Program which was broadcast in 1985. Chief Academic Advisor for the Turkish Sesame Street program (1988 – 1989)

6. Follow-up Study of the Turkish Early Enrichment Project (item 3 above) (supported by MEAwards), (with Diane Sunar & Sevda Bekman). Long-term effects on the mother and children of an empowerment and early enrichment program (respectively) (1991 – 1992).

7. Based on the above work (items 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) a Mother-Child Education Program (MOCEP) is developed (with Sevda Bekman and a team of specialists) including cognitive materials and books as well as child rearing content in group discussion format. Since 1993, it is run by the Mother-Child Education Foundation (MOCEF). It is in wide application in Turkey (at the Ministry of Education Adult Education Centers and other community centers) and in some centers in Europe (Belgium, Germany, France and Switzerland).It has been translated into Arabic and is being implemented in Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon. It has been adapted to television and has been aired on the public TV in Turkey and internationally.

I am a founding member, Vice-President, and advisor of MOCEF and its MOCEP, Functional Adult Literacy Program (FALP) and Father Support Program (By 2010 more than 500.000 people have participated in the programs all over Turkey).

8. Development of a screening instrument for assessing the child’s environment, designed for use in developing countries.

9. Review of instruments on child development and environmental indicators in Turkey and developing countries (India, Kenya, the Philippines, Sri-Lanka) and preparation (with Cassie Landers) of a report on Measuring the Development of Young Children. (Supported by the Consultative Group on Early Childhood Care and Development, UNICEF)

10. 1993 – 1994: Director of Study Group on “The Interaction between the Providers of Family Services” of the Council of Europe.

11. Member of the Perception and Assessment of Environmental Change Study Group of the International Social Science Council.

12. Project Director, Effects of two different empowerment programs on women in low income low education areas of Istanbul (1997 – 1998)

13. Project to develop better thinking skills (verbal, mathematical, spatial) among socioeconomically disadvantaged young adolescents, for use in community centers and schools (with Sami Gülgöz) (1998 -….)

14. “Measurement of Cognitive Skills Associated with Adult Literacy” (with Fatoş Gökşen & Sami Gülgöz).

15. Academic advisor of Project to adapt MOCEP (see Item 7 above) to public Television.

16. Evaluation Study of FALP (with Fatoş Gökşen & Sami Gülgöz) (see Item 7 above)

17. The effect of a TV Program about Child and Family Education of MOCEP (see Item 7 above). Project Director (with Nazlı Baydar, Fatoş Gökşen & Aylin Küntay)

18. Value of Children Revisited: A 30-year comparative project (with Bilge Ataca) sponsored by the German Research Council.

19. Advisor, Ministry of Education, Adult Education Department, Family Education Project, 2009 – 2010

20. Jacobs Foundation Research Project: Universal and Culture-Specific Antecedents of Civic Engagement – Who Grows Up to be a Volunteer, 2010 – 2013 (with F. van de Vijver, Z. Cemalcilar, and M. Bentler).

21. Ongoing work on intervention programs with pre-adolescents to promote overall well-being, positive youth development, more optimal social-emotional development and better inter-group relations.

22. Turkish partner of research project on the cultural dynamics of emotion in relationship contexts (Principal Investigator: Batja Mesquita).

23. Advisor of research project on cultural and religious diversity and its acceptance. (Principal Investigator: Rudolf Kerschreiter).

24. Consultant on “Team 1000+ Saving Brains: Economic Impacts of Poverty-Related Risk Factors During the First 1000 Days for Cognitive Development and Human Capital.”, funded by Grand Challenges Canada.

25. Member of the Scientific Committee of the IACCP Conference, Los Angeles, USA, June 20 – 22, 2013.

26. Member of International Scientific Advisory Board, 14th European Congress of Psychology, Milano, July 7 – 10, 2015.