FCCS Home | Faculty |

Baton Rouge, Louisiana |

Home >Faculty>Jennifer J. Baumgartner

Jennifer J. Baumgartner, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Family, Child and Consumer Sciences Division
School of Human Ecology
Louisiana State University
Baton Rouge , LA 70803
Phone: 225-578-1729
Fax: 225-578-2697
Email: jbaumgartner@agcenter.lsu.edu

Research Interests

Continuity between developmental contexts in early development, relationships between families and teachers, professional development of early care teachers, burnout among child care providers

Recent and Notable Publications:

Baumgartner, J. & McBride, B.A. (in press). Exploring parental philosophies regarding child care: Overlap
orientations and the influence of child care programs on families. Early Child Development and Care.

McBride, B.A. & Baumgartner, J. (2003). The Changing profile of teaching, research,
and outreach activities in child development laboratory programs [Book Chapter]. In McBride, B.A. & Barbour, N. (Eds.). Bridging the Gap Between Theory, Research, and Practice: The Role of Child Development Laboratory Program in Early Childhood Education.

Teaching:
Assistant Professor/Instructor
Practice and Reflection in PK/K (HUEC 4381)-Spring 2008

Assistant Professor/Instructor
Critical Issues in ECE (HUEC 4382)- Fall 2007

Assistant Professor/Instructor
Practice and Reflection in PK/K (HUEC 4381) - Spring 2007

Assistant Professor/Instructor
Critical Issues in ECE (HUEC 4382) - Fall 2006

Professional and Notable Activities:
2007-current Reviewer, Early Child Research Quarterly

2007 Reviewer, American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting Conference Proposals

Presentations:
Buchanan, *** (2007, November). Practicing what we preach: A Developmentally Appropriate

Teacher Education Program. Session presented at the National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.

Baumgartner, J. (2007, March). Partnering with families: establishing continuity between philosophy and practice in family involvement. Session presented at the Childcare Association of Louisiana Spring Conference. West Baton Rouge, LA.

Baumgartner, J. (2006, November). Working with parent organizations. Session presented at the National Association for the Education of Young Children Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA.

Baumgartner, J. (2005, December). We encourage family involvement”: An honest look at the conflicts and barriers to true family involvement. Session presented at the National Association for the Education of Young Children
Annual Conference, Washington, D.C.

Baumgartner, J. (2005, April). Handle with Care: Exploring methods for developing strong parent- childcare partnerships. Session presented at the Rivers Bend Association for the Education of Young Children Spring Curriculum Conference,St. Charles, Missouri.

McDaniel, K. & Baumgartner, J. (2005, April). Teaching Children about Nutrition.
Session presented at the Rivers Bend Association for the Education of Young
Children Spring Curriculum Conference, St. Charles, Missouri.

Grants and Contracts:

Co-Primary Investigator with Dr. Russell Carson (College of Education, Department of Kinesiology) Council on Research, Louisiana State University, Small Research Grant. July 2007. $10,000. Fully Funded
Abstract of Project:
Childcare attrition and burnout remain to be persistent problems today.Understanding how teachers can successfully replenish their day-to-day emotions over time is a vital step for the future design of practical and effective teacher burnout interventions. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify daily strategies, and the

conditions therein, that successfully relieve childcare providers’ feelings of burnout while enhancing performance behaviors. This study will examine the day-to-day emotional experiences of childcare providers through the use of qualitative and quantitative techniques over a semester long study during the Fall ‘07. Using the frameworks of Affective Events Theory (Weiss & Cropanzano, 1996) and Conservation of Resources (Hobfoll, 1988) theory, we will explore the burnout rejuvenation strategies of a random sample of 15-20 local childcare providers of different races, years of experience, and childcare centers through the use of in-depth focus group interviews. Subsequently, daily work events, self-designed rejuvenation strategies, burnout, and quality of care performance outcomes of a larger childcare provider sample (n = 60) will be examined through psychometric inventories and Ecological Momentary Assessment procedures. We believe this study will provide practical approaches for relieving childcare burnout, and in doing so, recognize that burnout is a more immediate issue that can be alleviated with daily, self-help tactics of emotional rejuvenation.

Primary Investigator. Council on Research, Louisiana State University, Summer Stipend Program. July 2007. $5000.00. Fully Funded

Abstract of Project: The Overlap Questionnaire (Baumgartner, 2004) is a promising measure with relatively high reliability. Utilizing existing data, the measure will be revised to make it more viable and attractive to grant reviewers. The proposed work will generate a measure to advance the study of parent-provider relationships in large and diverse populations.