March is Women’s History Month. It also happens to be the month I received the book, Equity for Women in Science, coauthored by one of my personal favorite women in science, my cousin, Dr. Cassidy Sugimoto.
Inspired by some of the vignettes in the book, I thought I’d close out the month by sharing some of my favorite women in science who have influenced the world of child development.
Maria Montessori (1870-1952)
You can’t really start a list like this without Maria Montessori.
Maria was strongly discouraged from studying medicine (and often harassed once she did) because she was a woman. The course of study was challenging on its own, but made more challenging by the customs and assumptions of the day. As just one example, it was viewed as unacceptable for Maria to be in the presence of men and a naked body, even a dead one. So, Maria had to do all her cadaver dissections alone and outside of normal hours.
Maria merged her medical knowledge with further pursuits in the fields of psychiatry and education. She became intrigued by children with developmental delays. As she opened schools for special education teachers as well as underserved children, she approached her methods with the precision of a scientist. She was not only able to serve many who society had cast aside, but she was able to scientifically show why and how their lives had been improved.
Thanks in large part to the pioneering efforts of Maria Montessori, the early childhood field recognizes the importance of centering the child and the developmental process in making decisions about the environment and experiences of young children.
Dr. Margaret MacFarland (1905-1988)
With a doctorate in childhood development from Columbia University, Margaret taught as a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She also co-founded (and then directed for nearly two decades) the Arsenal Family and Children’s Center in Pittsburgh, along with famed pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock and psychologist Erik Erikson.
Margaret seemed to prefer a “quiet fame”. As Fred Rogers’ mentor, she is perhaps simultaneously the most influential and least well-known child development mind of our time. Beginning as a mentor in his graduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh, Fred and Margaret continued to meet almost weekly for 22 years as Fred wrote songs and scripts for Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. Those meetings created the solid developmental foundation for the show’s content. Together they translated deep concepts, theories, and principles into seemingly simple songs, storylines, and practices that shaped not only television but the perception of childhood.
Erik Erikson reportedly said that Margaret “knew more than anyone in this world about families with young children.” Much of what she studied and taught has been woven into our best responsive practices today.
Mamie Phipps Clark (1917-1983)
Mamie and her husband, Kenneth, were the first African American scholars to receive Ph.D.s in psychology from Columbia University. They collaborated on work that was later used in Brown v Board of Education, a landmark Supreme Court ruling that declared educational segregation “inherently unequal.”
Their “Dolls Test” exposed the devastating impact of segregation and discrimination on the sense of self in young Black children.
I first encountered Mamie’s story on a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, but learned more from Cassidy’s book. In past generations, it wasn’t uncommon for the work of female scientists to be hidden behind a male team member’s face and name. Even, or sometimes particularly, when that team member was a spouse. Breaking from old patterns, both doctors were cited equally in their shared publications. To Kenneth’s credit, he openly admitted that the Dolls Test and related work was primarily Mamie’s (as it began with her research as a graduate student) and that he merely “piggy-backed” onto it. When expert testimony was required at the landmark hearing, however, Kenneth was called to appear rather than Mamie. Similarly, Kenneth was able to find a teaching position at City College of New York after his doctoral graduation. Mamie, however, was not offered a teaching position after graduating with the same degree from the same institution.
To their great credit, she and her husband chose to forge their own path, founding what is today known as the Northside Center for Child Development. What began in a renovated basement in Harlem, the center provided testing and support for mental health, learning, and development to a population that was severely underserved. Additionally, the egregious practice of misdiagnosing young Black children was being used as a back door to continue educational discrimination. That’s why Cassidy and her coauthor state, “this was about not only child development but also civil rights.”
Marian Diamond (1926-2017)
Marian Diamond was a pioneer in neuroscience, not just because she challenged preconceived notions about women in science, but also many long-held fundamental beliefs about the brain. Marian and her colleagues introduced the concept that the brain is not fixed and unchangeable – predestined by genetics. Instead, the brain is influenced by its environment and experiences.
Marian recalled an elderly scientist rising after she presented some of her first results at a meeting, shouting: “Young lady, the brain cannot change!”
But Marian continued to change minds and brains.
Her work (with her colleagues) introduced the concept of an “enriched environment” that could intentionally improve the brain. Some unfortunately took this finding to mean that we needed to “enrich” children’s experiences with flashcards, drills, or overstimulation. In reality, the “enrichment” used in these experiments, looked much more like social interaction and play.
A remarkable researcher (who studied Einstein’s brain) and phenomenal teacher (famous for carrying an actual human brain in a fancy floral hatbox), Marian retired at age 87, three years before her passing.
I love these women for their resilience, tenacity, brilliance, and ability to make science matter in decisions about young children.
I hope they and others continue to inspire you in the work you do for young children today.
Leave a Reply