Dr. Aileen Garcia obtained her Ph.D. in Child, Youth and Family Studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2018. Her research interests include cultural influences on parenting and caregiving, early childhood education and care, and quality of life among ethnic minorities and immigrants in the United States. Dr. Garcia’s overarching research agenda is to extend current knowledge on supporting parents and early childhood professionals, especially those from underrepresented groups. She has published qualitative and quantitative studies on alleviating parenting stress and parental involvement in education among low-income families, best practices in childcare centers and family childcare homes in urban and rural areas, and childrearing practices of immigrants in the United States from different ethnic groups (e.g., Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Korean, and Mexican). Dr. Garcia also engages in multidisciplinary research projects, working with scholars and practitioners from the fields of human development, early childhood education, leisure science, nursing, and nutrition.

Affiliations

• Society for Research in Child Development
• Society for Cross-Cultural Research
• National Council on Family Relations

Areas of Expertise

• Protective factors against parenting and caregiving stress
• Children’s socio-emotional development and school readiness
• Quality of life among immigrants and ethnic minorities in the US
• Parental involvement in education
• Research at HDFS