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Melissa Burnham, Ph.D.

Department Chair and Professor of Human Development, Family Science and Counseling; and Executive Coordinator of the Child & Family Research Center
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Summary

Dr. Melissa Burnham is the Department Chair of Human Development, Family Science and Counseling; and Professor of Human Development and Family Science and Early Childhood Education. She obtained her Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of California, Davis in 2002, her Master's degree in HDFS from the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno in 1996, and her Bachelor's degree in HDFS from the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno in 1994. She has been a faculty member with the HDFS program since the fall of 2001. She also served as Associate Dean for the College of Education from 2015-2019.

Dr. Burnham's research interests focus on the examination of infant and child development in context, with specific expertise in infant and child sleep development. She is also interested in and has studied the impact of quality early care and education on development and PreK-Third Grade educational reform efforts. Dr. Burnham has taught courses in the HDFS undergraduate and master's degree programs as well as in the Early Childhood Education track of the Integrated Elementary Teaching Program (IETP).

Dr. Burnham has served the College of Education & Human Development as Division Director for Teacher Education and Human Development, the chair of the IETP Steering Committee, and program coordinator for the HDFS program. She serves the Reno/Sparks community as the chair of the local Washoe County Early Childhood Advisory Council and as a member of the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Registry Advisory Committee. She serves the state of ÁùºÏ±¦µä as the President of the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Commission on Professional Standards in Education and is the current President of the ÁùºÏ±¦µä Association for Colleges of Teacher Education.

Curriculum Vitae

Selected Publications

  • Clucas Walter, M., Batz, R., Burnham, M. M., & Fiore, L. (accepted). Confronting bias in early childhood teacher preparation: A journey of reflection and transformation. In A. Friesen (Ed.), Advancing equity and inclusion in early childhood education. IGI Global.

  • Mortensen, J. A., DeFlorio, L., & Burnham, M. M. (2024). The burden of pandemic life for families with young children. In M. Miller (Ed.), The social science of the COVID-19 pandemic: A call to action for researchers (pp. xx-xx). Oxford University Press.

  • Russell, K., Burnham, M. M., Trescher, S., & Knoch, V. (2022). School district policies regarding appropriate teacher-student relationships: What’s missing and what matters? Current Issues in Education, 23(1), 1-26.

  • Mortensen, J. Burnham, M. M., Russell, K. N., & Skaar, T. (2021). Integrating early childhood pedagogy into elementary teachers’ beliefs and practices. The Constructivist, summer 2021 issue.

  • Vallottan, C. D., Mortensen, J., Burnham, M., Decker, K., Beeghly, M., and the Collaborative for Understanding the Pedagogy of Infant/Toddler Development (2021). Becoming a better behavior detective: Applying a developmental and contextual lens on behavior to promote social and emotional development. Young Children, 76(1), 20-29. 

  • Walsh, B. A., Woodliff, T. A., Lucero, J., Harvey, S., Burnham, M. M., Bowser, T. L., Aguirre, M., & Zeh, D. W. (2021). Historically underrepresented graduate students’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Family Relations. DOI:10.1111/fare.12574.

  • Sanchez, J., Burnham, M. M., & Zaki, S. (2019). The dynamic transformation of a principal preparation program: A university-district collaborative. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 14(1), 1-12. 

  • Jeon, H-J., Kwon, K-A., Walsh, B. A., Burnham, M. M., & Choi, Y-J. (2019). Relations of early childhood education teachers’ depressive symptoms, job-related stress, professional motivation, and beliefs about children and teaching practices. Early Education and Development, 30(1), 131-144.

  • Owens, J. & Burnham, M. M. (2018). Sleep disorders. In C. Zeanah (Ed.), Handbook of infant mental health (4th ed.). New York: Guilford.

  • Burnham, M. M., Gaylor, E. E., & Anders, T. F. (Oct, 2017). Sleep disorders. In J. Luby (Ed.), Handbook of preschool mental health (2nd ed). New York: Guilford.

Education

  • Ph.D., University of California, Davis
  • M.S., University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno
  • B.S., University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno