Carolyn Barber joined UMKC as an Assistant Professor in 2007 and is currently a Professor in the School of Education, Social Work and Psychological Sciences (SESWPS)' Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Foundations. As a faculty member specializing in educational research and psychology, she teaches coursework in developmental psychology, educational psychology, research methodology, and statistics to students across SESWPS and the UMKC campus. She advises students in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. and PK-12 Educational Administration Ed.D. programs, and previously advised students in the Counseling Psychology Ph.D. program. She was previously Associate Dean (2017-2020) and Interim Dean (2020-2022) in the School of Education and was Interim Dean of SESWPS from 2022-23. She is currently Associate Dean of SESWPS, with responsibilities in graduate programming, curriculum, assessment, and accreditation. As part of her Associate Dean duties, she is the degree coordinator for the new Ph.D. in Education, which will launch in August 2024.
Dr. Barber’s research explores the way that schools support positive development in adolescents and young adults, and how those supports vary across a variety of social and cultural contexts. She has particular interests in role that such contexts play in the development of civic attitudes and behaviors. She is trained in quantitative methodologies and specializes in the use of complex-sample and multilevel techniques to address these questions using large-scale survey data. Prior research has been funded by the Spencer Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the AERA Grants Program, and the National Science Foundation.
Ph.D., Human Development, Specialization in Educational Psychology, University of Maryland-College Park
M.A., Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation, University of Maryland-College Park
Dr. Barber advises doctoral students with interests in youth development, impacts of educational contexts on youth outcomes, and applications of measurement and statistical methodology to address substantive research questions. She serves on dissertation committees as an expert in quantitative methodology, human development, civic engagement, gifted education, and/or educational psychology.
Recent publications
Barber, C., & Torney-Purta, J. (2023). International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA): Civic Education Study of 1999. In F. Maggino (Ed.), Encyclopedia of quality of life and well-being research (2nd ed., pp. 3591-3597). Springer, Cham. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_393-2
Barber, C. (2021). Joining an international community of practice: Reflections on the IEA Civic Education Studies. In B. Malak-Minkiewicz & J. Torney-Purta (Eds.), The influence of IEA Civic and Citizenship Education Studies: Practice, policy and research across countries and regions (pp. 195-203). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71102-3_17
Barber, C., Clark, C., & Torney-Purta, J. (2021). Learning environments and school/classroom climate as supports for civic reasoning, discourse, and engagement. In C. Lee, G. White and D. Dong (Eds.). Educating for civic reasoning and discourse (pp. 273-318). National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.31094/2021/2
Barber, C., & Ross, J. (2020). Profiles of adolescents’ civic attitudes in sixteen countries: Examining cross-cohort changes from 1999 to 2009. Research in Comparative and International Education, 15(2), 79-96. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745499920910583
Maurissen, L., Barber, C., & Claes, E. (2020). Classroom discussions and political tolerance towards immigrants: The importance of mutual respect and responsiveness. Acta Politica, 55(3), 242-266. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41269-018-0114-0
Recent presentations
Langrehr, K., Greenwalt, S., & Barber, C. (2024, August). The link between colorblind racial attitudes and racial-ethnic socialization among Black-White interracial couples: Preliminary results [Virtual poster presentation]. American Psychological Association annual conference, Seattle, WA.
Barber, C., Strekalova-Hughes, E., Minahan, L., & Colado, M. (2024, May). Who gets to be creative? A critical content analysis of creativity research in early childhood. [Poster presentation]. Society for Research in Child Development’s Anti-Racist Developmental Science Summit, Panama City, Panama.
Ross, J., & Barber, C. (2024, April). Academic and community antecedents of civic participation of Black youth in Chicago neighborhoods, 1997-2001. [Paper presentation]. American Educational Research Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Bellino, M., Ortiz Guerrero, M., Paulson, J., Barber, C., & Cruz Moreno, C. (2024, March). Navigating the risks of retraumatization: Addressing Colombia’s armed conflict, peace, and justice in Bogotá schools. [Paper presentation]. Comparative and International Education Society, Miami, FL.
Sianko, N., Kunkel, D., Barber, C., Gran, B., & Beinenson, D. (2023, March). Profiles of children’s views on decision-making in everyday life: A comparative analysis of 29 countries. [Poster presentation]. Society for Research in Child Development biennial conference, Salt Lake City, UT.
Available by appointment
