Erin Seaton

Erin Seaton

(617) 627-3926
Paige Hall
Research/Areas of Interest:

Special Education, human development, teaching and learning, adolescence, gender, equity in education, qualitative research methods, child and adolescent literature and literacy, writing

Education

  • EdD, Human Development and Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States, 2006
  • MEd, Human Development and Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, United States, 1999
  • BA, English, Earlham College, Richmond, United States, 1996

Biography

It was Erin E. Seaton's studies at Earlham College that first inspired her interest in psychological health and development. At Earlham, Erin explored adolescent coming of age stories. Throughout her scholarship she has held fast to her interest in the nature and meaning of narratives with a particular emphasis on the ways in which stories about race, class, gender, sexuality, and education shape identity formation. Erin earned an Ed.M. and Ed.D. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, where she studied adolescents' narratives of identity and development. For her thesis research with rural youth she was awarded the Wellesley Centers for Women Stone Primary Prevention Grant and AERA Rural Education Dissertation Award. Her subsequent research and scholarship has focused on rural and urban education, gender and development, literacy, inequalities in education, and violence prevention in schools. Along with her university teaching, Erin has taught in pre-K through 8th grade settings and served as a social worker for rural youth and families. Erin's courses in human growth and learning for the School Psychology program draw on educational and narrative studies to help students explore the diversity of children's experiences and design creative interventions strengthening collaboration between individuals, families, schools, and communities. Erin is a parent, an avid outdoor enthusiast and runner, a writer, an advocate for local agriculture, a zealous chef, and (following the tutelage of her graduate advisor) a certified chocoholic. She serves as a volunteer for organizations committed to supporting the health and well-being of youth and families in her local community.