Associate ProfessorCara Swit

“Human beings are wired to connect – and we have the most complex and interesting social behavior out of all animals” Dr Michael Platt

As a leader in early childhood social development in Aotearoa, I specialize in researching the critical developmental period of early childhood (0-8 years). I am particularly interested in how children's reciprocal interactions with peers and adults during this period profoundly influence their lifelong success. Supportive parent-child interactions are a key driver of wellbeing and resilience. For school age children, parental interactions and experiences set the foundation for their relationships with peers and teachers. Understanding the various factors that strengthen and weaken supportive parent-child interactions is therefore central to the development, growth, and advancement of young children’s social, emotional, and psychological wellbeing.

A core contribution of my research is the development of novel, developmentally-appropriate measures for young children, enabling children’s participation in research, including incorporating emerging technologies (e.g., animations and video stimulated interviews) to gain insight into children’s perspectives of their social interactions with peers. To date, all of my research has involved working with young people, including a funded (Oakley Mental Health, InternetNZ, Vision Mātauranga Development Fund) co-participatory project partnering with underserved rangatahi (Māori, Pacific Peoples, rainbow community, and disabilities). My research has strong community and practitioner engagement, resulting in meaningful impact on professional practice and personal education.

I am currently conducting leading a Marsden funded project examining children's perspectives of technoference.