Group of students standing on risers on stage

Getting Involved

Opportunities for Graduate and Undergraduate Students

There is a range of research opportunities available to undergraduate and graduate students at West Chester University (WCU), the City University of New York (CUNY), as well as at WolfBrown, an arts and culture research firm in Cambridge, MA.

Here are just some of the things that distinguish REACH from other projects and labs in the psychology and arts education field. We are:

  1. Community Engaged: Most REACH research is conducted in community and school settings, rather than in a traditional lab. This provides excellent opportunities for hands-on work with children, families, and schools to help prepare students for work in clinical, counseling, developmental, educational, and school psychology. Students are trained to interface with community partners and often have the chance to be part of implementing psychology and arts-based interventions while conducting research to evaluate their impact.
  2. Social Justice Oriented: The REACH Lab is committed to using psychology tools to promote social justice and overcome perpetuated standards of oppressive systems. This focus is woven into our research, field work, and team meetings. Students and staff will engage with issues of racism, classism, and other forms of oppression. They will be asked to consider their own positionality and catalyze their educational and, potentially, other privileges toward ending disrupting and dismantling oppressive systems.
  3. Collaborative and Hands-on: The REACH Lab is comprised of a large and dynamic team of students and staff who works with community partners to promote scientific advances and children’s positive development. Students on the team typically have a great experience and love the opportunity to bond with one another as well as with the children and families we serve which is why interpersonal skills are a must! Unlike labs where students might spend most of their time entering data, REACH students can expect to build and negotiate interpersonal relationships with one another, research staff, and community partners.

    Graduate students often mentor undergraduate students, which is mutually beneficial for their growth as leaders and potential educators.
  4. Grant Funded: Most of our REACH research is funded by competitive grant awards from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and other federal governmental agencies, local nonprofits, and private foundations or corporations. The opportunity to work on grant-funded research projects provides students with important experience and can offer an advantage for their future grant applications.

About the Work:

Graduate and undergraduate students on the REACH team typically spend one day per week or two half days assisting with the implementation of arts and psychology interventions, research and data gathering, or with the analysis and evaluation of previously conducted research.

Those who assist with research often have the opportunity to administer clinical, developmental, and neuropsychological assessments of children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and physiological functioning. They also might conduct interviews with parents about their experiences with programs, their routines at home, and their interactions with friends and family.

Joining the REACH Lab as a student at West Chester University

REACH Experience

The REACH Experience at WCU is hosted through the Early Childhood Cognition and Emotions Lab (ECCEL) [link to ECCEL page]. In the core REACH experience, students and staff receive training in implementing arts and psychology interventions or conducting research to evaluate their impact. Those who assist with research often have the opportunity to conduct clinical interviews with parents about home and family functioning, as well as administer clinical, developmental, and neuropsychological assessments of children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and physiological functioning.

Students typically spend approximately one day per week at our community partner sites in Philadelphia and Coatesville. Access to a car is helpful, although carpools from WCU often can be arranged. Team members also support our research behind-the-scenes in our lab, where we organize, code, enter, and analyze data, review literature related to our work, and conduct telephone interviews with parents.

REACH Undergrad Students

Undergraduate students typically work with our lab for course credit. The PSY441/442 or 448/449 Field Experience in Psychology courses with ECCEL may be taken for 3 or 6 credits. Three credits requires two mornings until 1pm or one full day until 4pm free each week to travel to Head Start preschools and work with children and families. Six credits requires two full days. PSY410 Research is also available, for students most interested in research. These courses can fulfill the PSY applied experiences requirement or count as general or PSY electives.

REACH Grad Students

MA students can take PSY510 Research in Psychology as well as consider PSY600 Research Report and PSY610 Thesis. PSY510 Research can be taken for 6 credits and is a prerequisite in our lab for Research Report, which includes writing an intro and method section for a potential thesis project. PsyD students often have the opportunity for paid graduate assistantships (GAs) as well as dissertation projects with ECCEL. The PSY740 Research Practicum (6 credits) and PSY800 Dissertation (9 credits) courses support development of the dissertation projects.

REACH Involvement

There are no pre-requisites eligibility to work at the REACH lab, but priority is given to students who have:

  • interest and experience working with children,
  • interest in the arts and mindfulness, and
  • Interest in working to end poverty and racism.

In addition to the time in the field, there is a Monday evening team meeting on campus. Students who have another required course that conflicts can potentially complete alternate assignments in place of the team meetings. Students interested in REACH involvement are encouraged to contact Dr. Brown at ebrown@wcupa.edu.

REACH Presentations and Publications

Students who make substantive and sustained contributions to REACH research often have the opportunity to be part of our research presentations and publications. Typically, these opportunities are offered to students who have worked with REACH for at least one day per week across multiple semesters.

Examples of Recent Publications (WCU students/alums italicized):

Brown, E.D., Holochwost, S.J., Laurenceau, J.P., Garnett, M.L., Anderson, K.E.  (2021).

Deconstructing cumulative risk: Poverty and aspects of instability relate uniquely to young children’s basal cortisol. Child Development.https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/cdev.13512

Brown, E.D., Anderson, K., Garnett, M.L., & Hill, E. (2019). Economic instability and household

chaos relate to cortisol for children in poverty. Journal of Family Psychology 33(6), 629–639. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31169392/

Brown, E.D., Garnett, M., Velazquez-Martin, B., & Mellor, T. (2018). The art of Head Start: Intensive arts integration associated with advantage in school readiness for economically disadvantaged children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 45, 204-214. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0885200617300443

Brown, E.D., Garnett, M., Anderson, K., & Laurenceau, J.P. (2017). Can the arts get under the skin? Arts and cortisol for economically disadvantaged children. Child Development, 88, 1368-1381.

Joining the REACH Lab as a student at Lehman College or the City University of New York

REACH Experience

In the core REACH experience, students and staff receive training in implementing arts and psychology interventions or conducting research to evaluate their impact. Those who assist with research often conduct clinical interviews with parents about home and family functioning, as well as administer clinical, developmental, and neuropsychological assessments of children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and physiological functioning.

Students typically spend approximately one day per week at our community partner sites in Philadelphia and Coatesville. Access to a car is helpful, although carpools from WCU often can be arranged. Team members also support our research behind-the-scenes in our lab, where we organize, code, enter, and analyze data, review literature related to our work, and conduct telephone interviews with parents. 

REACH Undergraduate Students

Undergraduate students may join the REACH Lab as a paid Research Assistant, or they may complete an independent study (Psychology 485). Completing Psychology 485 as an independent study can count as an elective course towards completion of the Psychology major at Lehman College. If you are interested in joining the REACH Lab as an Undergraduate Research Assistant, please email Dr. Holochwost at steven.holochwost@lehman.cuny.edu

REACH Graduate Students

Prospective graduate students who have an interest in psychology and the arts may wish to join the REACH Lab. If so, you should contact Dr. Holochwost at steven.holochwost@lehman.cuny.edu to inquire about admissions into the graduate program in educational psychology.

REACH Presentations and Publications

Students who make substantive and sustained contributions to REACH research often have the opportunity to be part of our research presentations and publications. Typically, these opportunities are offered to students who have worked with REACH for at least one day per week across multiple semesters.

Examples of REACH Presentations in 2021 (WCU students/alums italicized):

Brown, E.D., Holochwost, S.J., Wolf, D.P., Malatesta, J.L., Allen, A.A., Garnett, M.L., & Velazquez-Martin, B. (2021, April). Creative Arts and Child Stress Regulation: Should Teachers Guide or Get out of the Way? Society for Research in Child Development Special Topic Meeting: Learning through Play and Imagination. St Louis, MO.

Holochwost, S.J., Volpe, V.V., Propper, C.B., Mills-Koonce, W.R., Brown, E.D., & Jaffee, S.R. (2021, November). A Developmental Perspective on Allostatic oad. International Society for Developmental Psychobiology, Virtual due to COVID-19.

Brown, E.D., Varnell, S., Velazquez-Martin, B., & Garnett, M.L. (April, 2021). Music Education Program Relates to Social-Emotional Growth for Children Facing Economic Hardship. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Virtual due to COVID-19.

Brown, E.D., Ippolito, P., Garnett, M.L., & Chang, J. (April, 2021). Does Skin Color our Judgments? Experimental Study of Implicit Bias and Ratings of Child Behavior. Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Virtual due to COVID-19.

Brown, E.D., Shokunbi, F., & Garnett, M.L. (April, 2021). Playtime and Bedtime Relate to Cortisol Levels for Young Children Facing Poverty-Related Stress. Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Virtual due to COVID-19.

Brown, E.D., Varnell, S., Velazquez-Martin, B., & Garnett, M.L. (April, 2021). Music Education Program Relates to Social-Emotional Growth for Children Facing Economic Hardship. Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Virtual due to COVID-19.

Brown, E.D., Weaver, Z., Garnett, M.L., Streich, M., and Shivde, G. (April, 2021). Cortisol Levels Relate to Executive Functioning in the Classroom for Children Attending Head Start Preschool. Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Virtual due to COVID-19.

Brown, E.D., Wolfe, B., Valdez, K., Miller, S., & Mosley, K., (March, 2021). Want to Change Perspectives on Social Justice? Academic Courses Matter, but Social Movements may Matter More. Association for Women in Psychology Annual Meeting, Virtual due to COVID-19.

Joining the REACH Lab as a student-researcher at the Massachusetts offices of WolfBrown

REACH Experience

Students from West Chester, Lehman, and other institutions may also apply for research positions at WolfBrown, an international arts and culture consulting firm. Students will be working with senior researchers in the working group focused on Creative Opportunities where projects focus on addressing inequities in who gets to create, author, and imagine.

Student researchers will receive training in implementing arts and psychology interventions and conducting research to evaluate their impact. They will be working on projects examining the impact of play, movement, and early music-making on the lives of young families. Students will be conduct clinical interviews with parents about home and family functioning and administer clinical, developmental, and neuropsychological assessments of children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and physiological functioning as well as the ways in which families interact and support early creative development. Students also learn to code and analyze the data they help to collect.

Students typically spend approximately 5 – 10 hours per week on their projects. For the fall and spring of 2022, work with families and research collaboration will all be on-line. There is a regular team meeting and individual conferences, as well as on-line sessions with families (Tuesday am and pm; Saturday am). All positions are compensated at undergraduate and graduate rates set by West Chester.

If you are interested in joining the REACH Lab through WolfBrown, you should contact Dr. Dennie Palmer Wolf at dennie@wolfbrown.com.