Science Does Not Speak for Itself: Translating Child Development Research for the Public and Its Policymakers
- 1 January 2011
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Child Development
- Vol. 82 (1), 17-32
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01538.x
Abstract
Science has an important role to play in advising policymakers on crafting effective responses to social problems that affect the development of children. This article describes lessons learned from a multiyear, working collaboration among neuroscientists, developmental psychologists, pediatricians, economists, and communications researchers who are engaged in the iterative construction of a core story of development, using simplifying models (i.e., metaphors) such as "brain architecture,""toxic stress," and "serve and return" to explain complex scientific concepts to nonscientists. The aim of this article is to stimulate more systematic, empirical approaches to the task of knowledge transfer and to underscore the need to view the translation of science into policy and practice as an important academic endeavor in its own right.Keywords
This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
- Different Bodies, Different MindsCurrent Directions in Psychological Science, 2011
- Neuroscience, Molecular Biology, and the Childhood Roots of Health DisparitiesJAMA, 2009
- From Research to Policy and BackChild Development, 2008
- Framing Bias: Media in the Distribution of PowerJournal of Communication, 2007
- Economic, neurobiological, and behavioral perspectives on building America’s future workforceProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2006
- Sensitive Periods in the Development of the Brain and BehaviorJournal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2004
- The Mozart effectJournal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2002
- Entering the Century of the Environment: A New Social Contract for ScienceScience, 1998
- Scientists and CongressScience, 1984
- The Visible ScientistsThe Sciences, 1977