My research agenda centers on early academic and social development, family and classroom processes, and policy-relevant research with low-income children and families. I have been funded by the NICHD, the NSF, the Spencer Foundation, the National Center for Family and Marriage Research, and the Learning, Research, and Development Center to examine key contextual factors in the home, classroom, and public policies that promote low-income children’s well-being.
My research is informed by multidisciplinary perspectives including developmental psychology, education, sociology, and economics. My work involves longitudinal secondary data analysis of large datasets (NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development and the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 1998 & 2010 Cohorts) to examine national trends, as well as mixed methods, research-practice partnerships with community organizations to unpack mechanisms and processes. .
In my regional work, for three years (2007-2010), I was funded by the Spencer Foundation to collect time-sampled classroom observations, parent interviews, and math, reading, and socioemotional child assessments from 289 families from 30 child care centers in low-income communities (the Pitt School Readiness Study). The project team launched two federally funded projects in 2019 with families of 4 year-olds (NICHD) and 2 year-olds (NSF) to examine home environment influences on early math development across SES: Parents Promoting Early Learning (PPEL) project (https://lrdc.pitt.edu/ppel/). In fall 2024, we are launching a new NSF-funded project to follow the toddler sample into 1st and 2nd grades.
Teaching Interests
- The home environment as a central developmental context for young children
- Family processes, strengths, and structures across diverse families (e.g., SES, race/ethnicity, LGBTQ)
- Quantitative research methods for deriving causal inference
Department of Health and Human Development
- Doctoral seminars: Research Methods (PSYED 3910) and Family Influences on Children’s Development (PSYED 3539).
- Undergraduate Courses: Child Development from 0-7 years of age (PSYED 1002)
- I also teach EDUC 2000, Master’s (MEd) program course on students’ learning and motivation in school for the Dept. of Teaching, Learning, and Leading.
Increasing young children’s access to opportunities to learn math, particularly at home and in preschool
Poverty influences on children’s development and family well-being
Anti-poverty and early childhood education policies
Elliott, L., & Bachman, H. J. (2023). Mothers’ strategies to support children’s early learning in low-income homes: A qualitative investigation. Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-023-02652-7
Bachman, H. J., Miller, P., Elliott, L., Duong, S., Libertus, M., & Votruba-Drzal, E. (2022). Associations among socioeconomic status and preschool-aged children’s approximate number system acuity, number skills, and spatial skills: The role of executive function. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 221, 105453. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022096522000820?via%3Dihub
Bachman, H. J., Elliott, L., Duong, S., Betancur, L., Navarro, M., Votruba-Drzal, E., & Libertus, M. (2020). Triangulating multi-method assessments of parental support for early math development. Frontiers in Education, 5:589514. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.589514
Elliott, L., Bachman, H. J., & Henry, D. (2020). Why and how do parents promote math learning with their young children? Parenting: Science and Practice, 20(2), 108-140. https://doi.org/10.1080/15295192.2019.1694830
Bachman, H. J., Elliott, L., Scott, P., & Navarro, M. G. (2020). Latino children’s academic and behavioral trajectories in early elementary school: Examining home language differences within preschool types. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 52, 138-153. In ECRQ special issue, “Early Care and Education among Latino Families; Access, Utilization, and Impacts”. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.04.005
Elliott, L. & Bachman, H. J. (2018). How do parents foster young children’s math skills? Child Development Perspectives, 12(1), 16-21.
Bachman, H. J., Degol, J. L., Elliott, L., Scharphorn, L., El Nokali, N. E., & Palmer, K. M. (2017). Preschool math exposure in private center-based care and low-SES children’s math development. Early Education and Development, 29, 417-434. DOI: 10.1080/10409289.2017.1406245
Bachman, H. J., Votruba-Drzal, E., El Nokali, N. & Heatly, M. C. (2015). Opportunities for learning math in elementary school: Implications for SES disparities in procedural and conceptual math skills. American Educational Research Journal, 52, 894-923.
8/15/24 – 8/14/29 | Heather J. Bachman (PI). Number and spatial skill development from 2 years to 2nd grade: Examining associations with the home math environment in early and middle childhood. EHR Core grant from the National Science Foundation ($3,679,974).
8/1/23 – 7/31/25 | Erin Starzynski (PI). Improving Pre-K Math Literacy. Richard King Mellon Foundation. ($196,213). Role: Co-PI.
Awards and Honors:
- 2020 – Joined the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) as a Research Associate
- 2008 – Faculty Research Award, School of Education, University of Pittsburgh
2018-present Editorial Board, Early Childhood Research Quarterly
2014-2020 Evaluator for DOE Ready to Learn projects for community partner, WQED (Pittsburgh PBS affiliate)
2019 Invited member of Preschool Parent Survey Content Review Panel (CRP) for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2022-23 (ECLS-K:2023).