Alison Hooper
Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education, Curriculum & Instruction
EDUCATION
| Degree | Area of Study | University |
|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Human Development and Family Studies | University of Delaware |
| M.S. | Human Development and Family Studies | University of Delaware |
| B.S. | Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education | Grove City College |
AWARDS AND HONORS
| Year | Award |
|---|---|
| 2021 | The University of Alabama Council on Community-Based Partnerships Excellence in Community-Engaged Scholarship Award for Engaged Scholarship |
| 2021 | NAECTE Early Career Research Award, National Association for Early Childhood Teacher Educators |
| 2021 | Early Education and Child Development SIG Early Career Research Award, American Educational Research Association |
| 2023 | The University of Alabama College of Education Nellie Rose McCrory Faculty Excellence Award in Research |
AREAS OF EXPERTISE
Early Childhood Education
Child Care Access and Quality
Home-Based Child Care
Early Education Policy
Educator Well-Being
CURRENT RESEARCH AND GRANT PROJECTS
- Everyday Quality: Building a Practical Toolkit for Continuous Quality Improvement in Family Child Care
- Understanding Provider, Community, and Policy-Level Influences on Subsidy Program Participation among Home-Based Child Care Providers
- A Pilot Effectiveness Trial of an Adapted App-Based Mindfulness Intervention for Pre-Service Teachers
- Project CHAOS (Cardiovascular Health and Occupational Stressors): Expanding the Study of Teacher Well-Being to Physiological Health
HIGHLIGHTED PUBLICATIONS
“Everyday Quality (EDQ): Building a Practical Toolkit for Continuous Quality Improvement in Family Child Care.” Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation. ($1,600,000) 2022-2026
AERA Open
Hooper, A., Lee, J., & Schweiker, C. (2023). Family child care program closure in Alabama during the COVID-19 pandemic. AERA Open, 9. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584231213083
Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education
Hooper, A., Potts, C., & Walton, M. (2023). Novice early childhood teachers’ perceptions of their professional development experiences: An interpretive phenomenological approach. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 44(3), 310-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2022.2043495
Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood
Hooper, A., Hallam, R., & Skrobot, C. (2021). “Our quality is a little bit different”: How family child care providers who participate in a QRIS and receive child care subsidy define quality. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 22(1), 76-94. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949119858985
Infant Mental Health Journal
Hooper, A., & Schweiker, C. (2020). Prevalence and predictors of expulsion in home-based child care settings. Infant Mental Health Journal, 41(3), 411-425. https://doi.org/10.1002/imhj.21845
Child Care Disruption Due to COVID-19 is Disproportionately Affecting Lower- Income Families in Alabama
Alabama Families’ Experience with Child Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Brief #1. (August 2020)
Prevalence and Characteristics of Home-Based Child Care Providers Serving Children With Provider-Reported Disabilities
Alison Hooper and Rena Hallam. Journal of Early Intervention
“I’m a Teacher Unofficially: How Home-Based Provider Perceive and Navigate Their Roles
Alison Hooper. Journal of Research in Childhood Education
Using the Area Deprivation Index to Understand Family Stress in an Early Head Start Population
Alison Hooper, Jason T. Hustedt, Gerilyn Slicker, Rena A. Hallam, and Juana Gaviria-Loaiza. Children and Youth Services Review
An In-Depth Examination of Family Child Care Providers and Their Engagement with Outside Systems Using a Mixed Methods Case Study Approach
Alison Hooper and Rena Hallam. Children and Youth Services Review
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Alison Hooper is an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education. She received her Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Delaware. Alison previously worked as a research project coordinator with the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood and as a kindergarten and preschool classroom teacher. She conducts research and evaluation related to child care quality and access and educator well-being.