Craig Ramey, PhD
Professor and Distinguished Research Scholar, VTC Research Institute
Professor, Psychology, Virginia Tech
Professor, Pediatrics, VTC School of Medicine
Research Program Summary
My program of research centers on the role of experience – across the human lifespan - in the development of competence. My research relies largely on experimental interventions in education, psychology, and pediatrics that provide rigorous tests of plausible developmental mechanism of change. In addition, I engage both epidemiological and longitudinal datasets to provide a broad contextual framework for identifying the multiple, inter-related conditions that influence biopsychosocial risk, protective, and facilitating factors. My research findings are highly relevant to many national and international policy issues. Accordingly, I have extended my research into topics that address “going-to-scale” and rapid application of scientific findings that can prevent disabilities, promote children’s education and health outcomes, and improve family and community well-being. This new field of “implementation science” represents a new frontier for the neurosciences and for educating health practitioners ands policymakers. The Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute affords me a unique opportunity to pursue my research interests in collaboration with scientists, scholars, and practitioners who themselves are challenging old paradigms and forging a new frontier in human developmental science.
Education and Training
- West Virginia University: Ph.D., Life Span Developmental Psychology
- University of California Berkeley: Postdoctoral fellowship, Human Development
Previous Positions
- Georgetown University
Director, Georgetown University Center on Health and Education
Distinguished Professor, Health Studies and Psychiatry
Selected Publications
- Campbell, F.A., Pungello, E., Kainz, K., Burchinal, M., Yi, P, Wasik, B.H., Barbarin, O., Sparling, J.J., & Ramey, C.T. (2012). Adult outcomes as a function of an early childhood educational program: An Abecedarian project follow-up. Developmental Psychology.
- Ramey, C.T., & Ramey, S.L. (2010). Head Start: Strategies to improve outcomes for children living in poverty. In R. Haskins and W.S. Barnett(Eds.). Investing in Young Children: New Directions in Federal and Early Childhood Policy. (pp. 59-67)Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press.
- Pungello, E.P., Kainz, K., Burchinal, M., Wasik, B.H., Sparling, J.J. Ramey, C.T., & Campbell, F.A. (2010). Early educational intervention, early cumulative risk, and the early home environment as predictors of young adult outcomes within a high-risk sample. Child Development, 81:410-426.
- Ramey, C.T., Ramey, S.L., & Stokes, B.R. (2009). Research evidence about program dosage and student achievement: Effective public prekindergarten programs in Maryland and Louisiana. In R. Pianta & C. Howes (Eds.). The Promise of Pre-K. (pp. 79-105)Baltimore: Brookes Publishing.
- Campbell, F.A., Wasik, B.H., Pungello, E., Burchinal, M., Barbarin, O., Kainz, K., Sparling, J.J., & Ramey, C.T. (2008). Young adult outcomes from the Abecedarian and CARE early childhood educational interventions. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23:452-466.
- Ramey, C.T. & Ramey, S.L. (2006). Early learning and school readiness: Can early intervention make a difference?. In N.F. Watt, C.C. Ayoub, R.H. Bradley, J.E. Puma, & W.A. Lebeouf(Eds.). The crisis in youth mental health: Critical issues and effective programs. Early intervention programs and policies. Vol. 4(pp. 291-317)Westport: Praeger Press.
- Ramey, C.T., Ramey, S.L., & Lanzi, R.G. (2006). Children’s health and education. In I. Sigel & A. Renninger(Eds.). The handbook of child psychology. Vol. 4(pp. 864–892)Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley & Sons.
- Ramey, C.T., & Ramey, S.L. (2004). Early learning and school readiness: Can early intervention make a difference?. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 50:471-491.
- Ramey, C.T., Campbell, F.A., Burchinal, M., Skinner, M.L., Gardner, D.M., & Ramey, S.L. (2000). Persistent effects of early childhood education on high-risk children and their mothers. Applied Developmental Science, 4:2-14.
- Ramey, C.T., & Ramey, S.L. (1998). Early intervention and early experience. American Psychologist, 53:109-120.