Dr. Dave Riley

Dave Riley, Ph.D.
Professor
Human Development & Family Studies
Associate Dean for Outreach & Extension, School of Human Ecology

Ph.D. 1985, Cornell University

Dr. Riley joined the UW-Madison faculty in 1985. He is Professor and Associate Dean in the School of Human Ecology, with a joint appointment in Educational Psychology. He also serves as child development specialist for University of Wisconsin-Extension, Cooperative Extension Service. His work led to a statewide award from the Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect in 1993, and the American Psychological Association's award for distinguished contributions to psychology in the public interest in 1995. Reflecting his appointment with UW-Extension, most of his teaching is off campus (statewide outreach). On campus, he teaches courses in parent education, and lifespan social development. He serves on a Wisconsin state government advisory panel on child care policies. Dr. Riley is a Certified Family Life Educator, and a former Head Start teacher.

RESEARCH STATEMENT

"I am interested in finding better ways to "give away" the knowledge of our science to the public that funds us. In the area of child care and early childhood education, my research team has been working with state government to evaluate the impact of several public initiatives to improve the quality of care for low income families. We have also been producing a series of short, single-topic, research reports for state legislators and administrators on policy-related questions about early care and education. This study uses the first statewide, representative sample (of child care used by low income families) that has utilized observational data on quality of care. In the area of child rearing, the Extension Service delivers my age-paced, instructional newsletter to 90,000 Wisconsin families each year, and my research continues to chart the ways parents use this information, balancing it with the other influences on their beliefs and behaviors. I think of this program of research as extending my earlier studies of parents' social networks, reflecting my general interest in the social ecology of parent-child relations."

REPRESENTATIVE PUBLICATIONS

Riley, D., & Steinberg, J. (2004). Four popular myths about children in self-care: With
implications for family life educators. Family Relations, 53, 95-101.

Hamilton, M., Roach, M., & Riley, D. (2003). Moving toward family-centered early care and
education: Past, present, and a glimpse of the future. Early Childhood Education Journal, 30, 225-232.

Riley, D., & Bogenschneider, K. (2002). Do we know what good parenting is? And can public
policy promote it? Chapter in K. Bogenschneider, Family Policy Matters: How Policymaking affects families and what professionals can do about it (p. 51-66). Erlbaum.

Walker, S., & Riley, D. (2001). Involvement of the personal social network as a factor in parent
education effectiveness. Journal of Family Relations, 50, 186-193.

Riley, D. (1997). Using local research to change 100 communities for children and families.
American Psychologist, 52, 424-433.

PROJECT WEB SITES

Age-paced newsletters for parents <www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/parenting/ >
Child care policy-related research < www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/wccrp/ >
Wisconsin Early Childhood Excellence Initiative < www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/ece/index.html>

CONTACT DR. Riley:

Address: HDFS, SoHE, 1300 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706
Phone: 608-262-3314; Fax 608-265-1172

Email: dariley@wisc.edu