Dr. Sandra Della Porta

Associate Professor (PhD, RECE)
Program Director, Bachelor of Early Childhood Education

sdellaporta@brocku.ca

Website

Dr. Della Porta has a multidisciplinary background in Psychology and Education, specializing in early childhood. In combination with her experience working with children from infancy to school-age, she has built a research program studying children’s learning during formal and informal interactions in unstructured contexts (e.g., play, conflict, routine exchanges). Her central focus is on the study of social power and how children understand and use it in everyday experiences. Studying the concept of social power has many implications, including building knowledge concerning children’s agency and assertiveness, interpreting how children learn concepts of equity and fairness, understanding the role that social power plays in the learning process, and gaining insight into children’s social and cultural knowledge. 

Research Interests and Activities

  • Power relations and dynamics in early childhood  
  •  Informal learning contexts (e.g., family exchanges, teacher-child interactions, social play) 
  • Social-cognition in early childhood  
  • The teaching and learning process 
  • Social relationships and family dynamics 

 

Recent Publications

Della Porta, S. L., & Ingrao, D. B. (2022). The intersection of motherhood and academia during a pandemic: A storytelling approach to narrative oral history. INYI Journal. Retrieved from https://inyi.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/default/article/view/96

Della Porta, S., Sukmantari, P., Howe, N., Farhat, F., & Ross, H. (2022). Parent teaching in the home environment during early childhood. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.810400

Scirocco, A., Persram, R. J., Della Porta, S., & Howe, N. (2022). Fairness, rights, and harm in early childhood: A 2-year investigation of moral family conflict. Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02201-0

Della Porta, S., Persram, R., Howe, N., & Ross, H. (2021). Young children’s differential use of social power in family conflict: A longitudinal study. Social Development, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12527

Farhat, F., Howe, N., Della Porta, S., & Ross, H. (2021). Maternal and paternal teaching in a naturalistic home environment. Journal of Cognition and Development, 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2021.1956929

Della Porta, S., Howe, N., & Persram, R. J. (2019). Parents’ and children’s power effectiveness during polyadic family conflict: Process and outcome. Social Development, 28, 152-167. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12333

Abuhatoum, S., Della Porta, S., Howe, N., & DeHart, G. (2019). A longitudinal examination of power
in sibling and friend conflict. Social Development, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12433

Persram, R., Della Porta, S., Scirocco, A., Howe, N., & Ross, H. (2019). A 2-year
longitudinal study of naturalistic parent-child- and sibling-originated polyadic conflicts. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 65, 377-401. https://doi.org/10.13110/merrpalmquar1982.65.4.0377

Persram, R., Scirocco, A., Della Porta, S., & Howe, N. (2019). Moving beyond the dyad: Broadening our understanding of family conflict. Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1159/000501880

Research and Project Funding

  • 2023 Brock Research Initiative Award ($7,000)
  • 2023-2026 Brock Chancellor’s Chair for Teaching Excellence (in collaboration with Stanley “Bobby” Henry) ($5,000/year)
  • 2023 Social Justice Research Institute (SRJI) Community Engagement Grant (in collaboration with Stanley “Bobby” Henry) ($7,000)
  • 2023 Match of Minds Award, Office of Research Services, Brock University ($5,000)
  • 2022 Brock University Explore Grant ($6,789.46)
  • 2022 Match of Minds Award , Office of Research Services, Brock University ($5,000)
  • 2020 MITACS & Brock University Research Training Award ($6,000) 
  • 2020 Match of Minds Program Award, Office of Research Services, Brock University ($5,000) 
  • 2019 Research & Development Funding, Faculty of Education, Brock University ($1,000) 
  • 2019 Match of Minds Program Award, Office of Research Services, Brock University ($5,000) 
  • 2019-2020 Graduate Research Assistant Development Fund, Faculty of Education, Brock University ($1,500) 
  • 2018-2019 Graduate Research Assistant Development Fund, Faculty of Education, Brock University ($1,500) 
  • 2015 Match of Minds Program Award, Office of Research Services, Brock University ($4,500) 

Courses Taught

  • EDUC 5Q97 Culminating Seminar in Education 
  • EDUC 5P31 Families, Schools and Learning  
  • EDUC 5P85 Reflective Practice  
  • EDUC 3P40 Family, Schools and Literacy  
  • EDUC 3P52 Early Childhood Education II  
  • ECEC 3P51 Ethics, Policy and Care in Early Childhood Education
  • ECEC 3P85 Internship I
 
  • EDUC 3P95 Advanced School-Based Internship 
  • ECEC 4D50 Early Childhood Education Honours Thesis
 
  • ECEC 4P24 Literacy in the Early Years  
  • EDUC 4P35 Global Education: A Cross-Curricular Approach
  • ECEC 3P50 Early Childhood Education 
  • ECEC 4P81 Research Methods in Early Childhood Education
  • ECEC 4P85 Internship II