Paige Wernick, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies in the College of Education and Human Sciences, was one of three individuals selected for a one-year fellowship through the Buffett Early Childhood Institute’s Graduate Scholars program.
The program provides funding of up to $25,000 for the early childhood research of up to four doctoral students from the University of Nebraska each year. Wernick joins Rebecca Jack, also from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Marisol Loza Hernandez of the University of Nebraska Medical Center as 2026-27 Buffett Early Childhood Institute Graduate Scholars.
“I am deeply honored to be selected as a Buffett Early Childhood Institute Graduate Scholar,” Wernick said. “This award will allow me to fairly compensate toddler teachers for the time, expertise and experience they contribute to my research. Additionally, it will support opportunities to share the findings with audiences locally, regionally and nationally. I am proud to conduct research that makes the critical – and too often undervalued – work of toddler teachers more visible.”
Wernick's research project is titled, “The Work of Teaching Toddlers: Pedagogical Reasoning in Classroom Practice.” She is studying how toddler teachers make in-the-moment decisions during classroom interactions, and how their knowledge and experience guide those decisions. Wernick’s faculty mentor is Amy Napoli, associate professor and early childhood Extension specialist in child, youth and family studies.
College of Education and Human Sciences
Child, Youth and Family Studies
Thriving Young Children
CEHS Research News
