Soo-Young Hong

Soo-Young Hong portrait picture

Soo-Young Hong Associate Professor

Ph.D., Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University
M.S., Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University
B.S., Child and Family Studies, Yonsei University, South Korea
B.A., Education, Sung-Shin Women’s University, South Korea

Soo-Young Hong’s research focuses on empowering early childhood educators to positively impact the development and learning of young children for which they provide care and education. Soo-Young’s research topics encompass areas in which early childhood educators express greater needs for more research-based knowledge, skills, and professional development opportunities: enhancing early childhood educators’ capacity to (a) teach young children science concepts and practices and (b) work with young children with diverse backgrounds and varying levels of abilities. In all her research projects, Soo-Young attempts to examine how early childhood educators reflect on their observations and experiences in ways that impact their practices and children’s learning and development.

News articles featuring Dr. Hong:

Current Research Projects:
      • Preschool Science Talk in Action and Reflection (PreSTAR)
      • Infant Care Decision Making (ICDM)
      • Early Childhood Learning and Inclusive Practices and Strategies (ECLIPS) 
Courses Taught:
      • CYAF 160 Human Development and the Family (ACE 6 course)
      • CYAF 832 ECFP: Using Policy Framework to Examine Early Childhood Services and Issues
      • CYAF 920 College Teaching Practicum and Seminar
      • CYAF 972 Theories of Human Development and Family Relations 

Dr. Hong currently supervises student research in the following program areas:

LAB: Leveraging Early Education: Advancing Research in Nebraska (LEARN) 

Areas of Expertise:

    Early childhood professional development in the areas of science education and preschool inclusion
    Early childhood interventions and their effects on children's learning

Professional Highlights


Honors and Recognition
2024-2026, Member, Big Ten Early Learning Alliance (https://btela.osu.edu)2022, CEHS Faculty Student Mentoring Award2021, CEHS Donald R. and Mary Lee Swanson Award for Teaching Excellence2020, Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (GP IDEA) Faculty Excellence Award 2019-2021 Alan T. Seagren Associate Professorship in Education, College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln2015, CEHS Distinguished Teaching Award, College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln2011, Program Fellow, Research Development Fellows Program (RDFP), Office of Research and Economic Development, University of Nebraska-Lincoln2009, Outstanding Ph.D. student, Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University
Experience
2015 to present, Associate Professor of Child Development/Early Childhood Education, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln2023-2024, Faculty Lead for Program Assessment, College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln2020-2023, Associate Dean for Academic Programs, College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln2009 to 2015, Assistant Professor of Child Development/Early Childhood Education, Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln2008, Limited-term Lecturer, Early Childhood Education and Exceptional Needs, Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University2004–2008, Research Project Assessment Coordinator, Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University2002–2004, Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University2001-2002, Graduate Assistant Teacher, Child Development Laboratory, Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University
Memberships
Faculty Affiliate, Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and SchoolsSociety for Research in Child Development (SRCD)National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)Council for Exceptional Children: Division for Early Childhood (CEC/DEC)National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)