The Carnegie Corp. of New York has awarded $1 million for "Children's Studies at Harvard," a two-year, interdisciplinary effort in which students, faculty, and community members will forge new collaborations in support of children's well-being. Martha Minow, professor of law, and Stuart Hauser, professor of psychiatry at the Medical School and president of the Judge Baker Children's Center, will co-direct the program.

The award goes to the Harvard Project on Schooling and Children (HPSC), one of five Interfaculty Initiatives established by President Neil L. Rudenstine to address pressing social problems by drawing upon the resources of the different schools at the University. The other four initiatives are Mind/ Brain/Behavior, Ethics and the Professions, Health Policy, and the Environment.

"Children's Studies at Harvard is a major development for the Project on Schooling and Children," said Provost Albert Carnesale, who oversees the five Interfaculty Initiatives. "I know that many faculty have been actively engaged in its development, and their enthusiasm is infectious. This important grant shows the value of the entire University working together to improve the circumstances of children."

Children's Studies at Harvard (CSH) plans to leverage the capacities of Harvard University into a lively program of interdisciplinary research, new courses and training, and long-term collaborations with local community efforts on behalf of children. Activities will be organized around these themes: (1) what promotes resilience in children who face adverse circumstances; (2) how identities such as ethnicity, race, and gender influence children's behaviors and aspirations; and (3) how belief systems and public discourse affect America's commitment to children.

Minow, co-director of the Carnegie effort, says, "Currently, Harvard tends to mirror the treatment of children elsewhere in the nation: fragmented programs marked by disciplines and professionals who seldom connect with one another or with community members to work together on behalf of children. Our central goal is to elevate and integrate attention to children at this University in three ways: interdisciplinary courses and training; sustained partnerships between the University and the community to meet children's needs; and progress on three research themes that no one discipline can address well alone. Through each activity, we hope to increase the chances that children will be treated as valuable persons, not only as means for adult ends."

To accomplish this agenda, CSH brings together students and faculty from a full range of academic fields, including the humanities, social sciences, medicine, public health, law, business, government and public policy, education, religion, and journalism. "The diverse disciplinary training and perspectives of the faculty make every meeting an intellectual feast," observed HPSC Executive Director Katherine K. Merseth, who is also a member of the Faculty of the School of Education. "Out of the cacophony comes amazing coherence."

CSH will stimulate investigation, innovation, and instruction around its three themes in a number of ways. First, new interdisciplinary seminars, courses, and training will be developed for faculty and students at all levels. Faculty will be invited to submit proposals to support student mentorships, and funds will be available to develop interfaculty seminars and courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. The co-chairs of each theme and other interested faculty will meet in an interdisciplinary Children's Studies seminar to be led by Minow and Hauser.

Second, CSH will organize research projects, public events, lecture series, and conferences around each theme, and make available research funds to faculty on a competitive basis. Finally, CSH will build new partnerships with community institutions and practitioners. The goals here are to ensure that the work is tested by insights from practitioners in order to promote two-way benefits -- meeting community needs while advancing the research and teaching missions of the University.

CSH co-director Hauser said, "To better understand the extraordinary richness of child and adolescent development -- both from the perspective of the individual and also from the contexts of family, school, and community institutions -- we must draw upon knowledge from a broad spectrum of disciplines. Thanks to the Carnegie Corporation, we now have an unprecedented opportunity to bring multiple theoretical, empirical, and clinical approaches together with students of all levels -- from undergraduates to postdoctoral fellows and visiting scholars -- all focusing on how to better the lives of children."

Julius Richmond, John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy Emeritus (Kennedy School of Government, School of Public Health, Medical School), and Richard Weissbourd, lecturer (Kennedy School of Government, Graduate School of Education), will coordinate the resilience theme. Says Hauser, "At stake in this theme is the identification of paths of development taken by children at great risk for subsequent difficulties. Since some of these children express optimal functioning in later years, it behooves us to discover those aspects of the family and other key institutions that can protect our greatest national resource, our children."

Leaders of the second theme, children's identities, are Jerome Kagan, Daniel and Amy Starch Professor of Psychology, and Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, professor of education. Suárez-Orozco explains, "We'll explore such questions as 'How do children negotiate around potentially contrasting identities framed by family, peers, and the larger society?' and 'How do immigrant children manage their daily "migrations" from the world of home and neighborhood to the world of school?' "

Constance Buchanan, associate dean for program development at the Divinity School, and Paul Wise (formerly at Harvard Medical School, now associate professor of pediatrics, Boston University Medical School) will guide the inquiry into the third theme, the cultural and social origins of American views and treatment of children. Said Minow, "Initial questions might include 'Why are children sometimes seen as innocent and other times as evil?' 'How do distinctly American views of public and private affect children in this country?' "

Several projects related to children's studies have already been undertaken by HPSC. First, a new course called Children and their Social Worlds will be taught this spring by Professors Jerry Kagan (FAS, Psychology), Robert LeVine (FAS, Anthropology, and GSE), and Minow (Law School). Offered in the Social Analysis section of the undergraduate Core Curriculum, the course considers the social problems facing contemporary children in the context of cultural, historical, legal, and psychological knowledge. The intent is to enhance awareness and a deeper understanding of children's issues in Harvard students -- future policymakers, professionals, and parents.

Second, an event sponsored by HPSC at the Kennedy School's ARCO Forum on Oct. 17 drew a crowd of nearly 400 from around the University and the local community. "America's Children: Who Cares?" featured a videotape of children discussing what adults need to know about children. A panel with representatives from business, education, media, health and public services, and the University responded to the children's voices.

Henry Rosovsky, co-chair of the HPSC Executive Committee, remarked, "This grant is a real milestone. We've known for years that the challenges facing today's children demand the concentrated efforts of adults informed by the knowledge and insights from all academic disciplines. This is the first time during my 31 years at the University that Harvard has consciously directed the capacities of all its faculties for deep questioning and sophisticated analysis to the real-world issues of helping children grow to healthy, responsible adulthood."

The Harvard Project on Schooling and Children (HPSC)

The HPSC initiative, begun in the fall of 1993 under the leadership of President Rudenstine, seeks to marshal the interdisciplinary resources of the entire University to enhance the learning of children and to strengthen the institutions crucial to that goal through several focused activities.

To date, HPSC has launched a number of efforts to increase communication among scholars, students, and staff members interested in children. Children's Studies at Harvard: Student Guide and Course Listing outlines nearly 250 courses offered in all schools of the University. Over 4,000 copies of the Guide are distributed each fall. The Project also has published a Faculty Research Guide describing the work on children's issues pursued by 120 faculty members.

Besides Children's Studies at Harvard, other HPSC activities include a faculty research seminar on the Ecology of Schooling and a task force on Evaluating Programs for Children that involves faculty from the professional schools and Arts and Sciences. The Project also sponsors the Innovative Schools Initiative, which focuses on emerging innovations in school organization and management and which will host a conference on New England charter schools in December, as well as several local projects addressing the role of the community and the University in fostering children's health and well-being.