Stephanie M. Jones

After receiving her bachelor's degree, Jones worked as a research assistant and later as a research coordinator at the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development from 1990 to 1994.^[1] From 1994 to 1998, she was a research associate for the Adolescent Pathways Project at New York University.^[1] She also worked at National Center for Children in Poverty, first as a staff associate and coordinator of developmental research and previously as a research associate.^[2][1]

Following her doctorate, Jones was a postdoctoral fellow at the Yale Child Study Center for the 2002 to 2003 academic year.^[1] During this time, she was also a Connecticut Child Health Policy Fellow.^[1] Jones began her faculty career as an assistant professor in applied developmental psychology at Fordham University, where she taught from 2004 to 2008.^[1]

In 2008, Jones joined the faculty of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) as an assistant professor.^[4][1] That same year, she was a recipient of the Grawemeyer Award in Education for the book A Vision for Universal Preschool Education, co-authored with Edward Zigler and Walter Gilliam.^[2][4][3] She was promoted to associate professor in 2012, holding the title of Marie and Max Kargman Associate Professor in Human Development and Urban Education Advancement.^[4][1] In 2013, she received the Joseph E. Zins Early-Career Distinguished Contribution Award for Action Research in Social and Emotional Learning from the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).^[2][4][3] Jones was promoted to full professor in 2017 and named the Gerald S. Lesser Professor of Child Development and Education.^[4][1]

Jones's research is anchored in prevention science and examines the impact of poverty and exposure to violence on the social, emotional, and behavioral development of children and youth.^[2][3] Her work involves evaluating social–emotional learning (SEL) interventions in preschool and elementary schools and developing new curricula.^[2][3] She emphasizes conducting rigorous scientific research that produces accessible content for practitioners and policymakers.^[2][3]

At Harvard, Jones is the founding director of the EASEL (Ecological Approaches to Social Emotional Learning) Lab.^[2][1] Since 2016, she has also served as the faculty co-director, with Nonie K. Lesaux, of the Saul Zaentz Early Education Initiative at HGSE.^[4][1] This initiative received a $35.5 million gift in 2016 to address challenges in early childhood education.^[4] As part of the initiative, Jones and Lesaux lead the Early Learning Study at Harvard University, a large-scale study of three-year-olds in Massachusetts.^[4][1]

Jones has conducted evaluations of programs, including Reading, Writing, Respect and Resolution; Resolving Conflict Creatively; SECURE; and the Head Start CARES initiative.^[2][3] She contributed to the Making Caring Common project at Harvard University.^[4]

• Zigler, Edward; Gilliam, Walter S.; Jones, Stephanie M. (2006). A Vision for Universal Preschool Education. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-84854-1.
• Lesaux, Nonie K.; Jones, Stephanie M., eds. (2016). The Leading Edge of Early Childhood Education: Linking Science to Policy for a New Generation. Harvard Education Press. ISBN 978-1-61250-918-1.
• Lesaux, Nonie K.; Jones, Stephanie M.; Connors, Annie; Kane, Robin (2018). Early Education Leader's Guide. Guilford Publications. ISBN 978-1-4625-3752-5.
• Jones, Stephanie M.; Lesaux, Nonie K.; Barnes, Sophie P., eds. (2022). Measuring Noncognitive Skills in School Settings: Assessments of Executive Function and Social-Emotional Competencies. Guilford Publications. ISBN 978-1-4625-4867-5.