Sarah Garrity, Ed.D.

Bio

Dr. Garrity is the Senior Associate Dean and previously served as the Department Chair of the Department of Child and Family Development at San Diego State University. She was a practitioner in the field of early care and education for almost twenty years as a Head Start teacher and administrator, program director for a state funded program, and literacy coach. She teaches classes on language and literacy, social emotional development, and infant/toddler and preschool development. Her research involves the exploration of how best practices are implemented in the field, with a focus on behavior guidance policies, early childhood workforce development, and teacher beliefs in programs serving culturally and linguistically diverse students. Dr. Garrity’s research examines the socio-cultural and linguistic complexities of educational settings. She loves babies, books, and the beach. She is also a proud #Aztecforlife, having earned her M.S. in Child and Family Development from SDSU.

Visit Dr. Garrity's TAGPEC website.

Courses

Courses Taught

• CFD 353A: Parenting the Young Child
• CFD 353B: Parenting the School-Age Child
• CFD 353C: Parenting the Teen and Young Adult
• CFD 499: Special Study: Children's Library Project
• CFD 560: Theories in Socio-Emotional Development 
• CFD 275: Learning Environments and Developmentally Appropriate Practices
• CFD 370: Research, Assessment, and Evaluation of Children and Families 
• CFD 377: Leadership and Adult Supervision in Child and Family Development Programs 
• CFD 378A: Laboratory Experiences: Infants/Toddlers
• CFD 380: Early Language and Literacy Development in a Linguistically Diverse Society
• CFD 475: Promoting Behavior Support and Classroom Organization in Early Childhood Settings
• CFD 477: Administration of Child Development Programs
• CFD 565: Best Practices of Care for Infants/Toddlers  
• CFD 670: Seminar in Human Development Theroes: Intervention and Prevention
• CFD 671: Positive Behavioral Support (now Seminar in Supporting Early Childhood Mental Health)
• GEN STU 350: Global Cultural Experience Guatemala

Education

• Ed.D. Educational Leadership, University of California, San Diego/California State University, San Marcos
• M.S. Child and Family Development, San Diego State University
• B.A. English Literature and Economics, University of Pittsburgh

Interests

• Teacher Beliefs and Practices; ECE Workforce Development and Leadership; Effective Behavior Guidance Policies; Early Language and Literacy and Supporting Dual Language Learners; Cultural Communities; Cultural and Linguistic Contexts of Teaching and Learning; Head Start

Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

• Linder, L., Potter, N., Garrity, S. (2020). The moderating role of parental strain on the relationship between child media use and regulation. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

• Garrity, S.,& Longstreth, S. (2019). Using the Teaching and Guidance Policy Essentials Checklist to develop culturally and linguistically appropriate behavior guidance policies, toEarly Childhood Education Journal, 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-00978-w

• Garrity, S., Aquino-Sterling, C.R., Potter, N. (2019). Head Start educators' beliefs about bilingualism, dual language development, and bilingual education. Bilingual Research Journal.
• Garrity, S., Shapiro, A., Longstreth, S., & Garrison, J. (2019). The negotiation of Head Start teachers’ beliefs in a transborder community. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 47, 134-144.
• Garrity, S., Longstreth, S., Linder, L., & Potter, N. (2019). Early childhood education centre director perceptions of challenging behavior: Promising practices and implications for professional development. Children and Society. 33(2), 168-184.
• Garrity, S., Longstreth, S., & Linder, L. (2017). An examination of the quality of behavior guidance policies in NAEYC- accredited early care and education programs. Topics in Early Childhood Education, 37 (2), 94-106.
• Garrity, S., Aquino-Sterling, C. R., Van Liew, C., & Day, A*. (2016). Beliefs about bilingualism, bilingual education, and dual language development of early childhood preservice teachers raised in a Prop 227 environment. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 1-18.
• Garrity, S., Longstreth, S., Alwashmi, M. (2016). A qualitative examination of the implementation of continuity of care: An organizational learning perspective. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 64-78. DOI 10.1016/j.ecresq.2015.12.014.
• Garrity, S., Aquino-Sterling, C.R., & Day, A. (2015). Translanguaging in the third space: Using multiple languages to make meaning in an infant classroom, International Multilingual Research Journal, DOI=10.1080/19313152.2015.1048542.
• Garrity, S., Longstreth, S., Potter, N. (2015).  Using the Teaching and Guidance Policy Essentials Checklist to build and support effective early childhood systems, Early Childhood Education Journal, 1-8. DOI 10.1007/s10643-015-0713-6.
• Garrity, S. & Wishard Guerra, A. (2015). A cultural communities approach to understanding Head Start teachers’ beliefs about language use with dual language learners: Implications for practice, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 16 (3), 1-16. DOI: 10.1177/1463949115600027.
• Aquino-Sterling, C., Garrity, S., Day, A. (2015). “We are heritage speakers and we are all diverse”: Language mediating teachers’ identities in a multilingual infant classroom, International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2 (1), 1-14.
• Longstreth, S., Garrity, S., Ritblatt, S.N., Kelsey Olson, K., Virgilio, V., Hilary Dinh, H., & Padamada, S. (in press).  Teacher perspectives on the practice of continuity of care, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, Accepted on April 14, 2015.
• Ritblatt, S.N., Garrity, S., Longstreth, S., Hokoda, A., & Potter, N. (2013). Early care and education matters: A conceptual model for early childhood teacher preparation integrating the key constructs of knowledge, reflection, and practice, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 34 (1), 46-62. DOI: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080/10901027.2013.758537.
• Ritblatt, S. N., *Brassert, S., Johnson, R., & Gomez, F. (2001). Are two better than one? The impact of years in Head Start on child outcomes, family environment, and reading at home, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 16 (4), 525-537.

Books

• Longstreth, S., & Garrity, S. (2018). Effective Discipline Policies: How to Create a System that Supports Young Children’s Social-Emotional Competence.  Lewisville, NC: Gryphon House.
• Garrity, S., Aquino-Sterling, C.R., & Day, A. (2017).  Translanguaging in an Infant Classroom: Using Multiple Languages to Make Meaning (pp. 7-19). In Gort, M. (Ed.), The Complex and Dynamic Languaging Practices of Emergent Bilinguals. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis/Routledge.

• Wishard Guerra, A., & Garrity, S.  (2013). A Cultural Communities and Cultural Practices Approach to Understanding Infant and Toddler Care. (pp. 42-55). In Magione, P.L. (Ed.), Infant/toddler caregiving: A guide to culturally sensitive care (2^nd ed.). Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.

• *Garrity previously published under the maiden name of Brassert.