The Drury University School of Education and Child Development
and the
Yale Child Study Center
School Development Program
will sponsor the 7th Annual
Developing Successful Youth Conference!

Keynote speaker:
Dr. Carol Gilligan

Afternoon Workshop:
Hurford and Lasater
Overcoming Reading Disabilities/Dyslexia

About Carol Gilligan

Dr. Carol Gilligan was, early on, an assistant for Lawrence Kohlberg (known for his research on moral development and his stage theory of moral development, justice and rights). Gilligan's primary focus came to be moral development in girls . Her interest in these dilemmas grew as she interviewed young men thinking about enlisting for the Vietnam War and women who were contemplating abortions.

She later went on to criticize Kohlberg's work. This was based on two things. First, he only studied privileged, white men and boys . She felt that this caused a biased opinion against women . Secondly, in his stage theory of moral development, the male view of individual rights and rules was considered a higher stage than women's point of view of development in terms of its caring effect on human relationships. She said women were taught to care for other people and expect others to care for them. She helped to form a new psychology for women by listening to them and rethinking the meaning of self and selfishness. She asked four questions about women's voices: who is speaking, in what body, telling what story, and in what cultural framework is the story presented?

She has since broadened her focus (possibly b/c she raised three sons) to include boys, focusing on how to raise healthy boys. This has become a very important topic, one which most people are probably not paying enough attention to. Her research on Boy's Development and the Culture of Manhood suggests that we need to help boys develop the ability to read the human emotional world more accurately. They also need to learn to be empathic and self-reflective because as they try to adapt to the culture of manhood, these abilities may be at risk. She raises the question as to whether the extraordinary rise in the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the increasingly serious violence among young boys may reflect a cultural crisis over the norms and values that have traditionally been associated with masculinity.

Raising Healthy Boys

The subject of boys and school has come to the forefront of national attention, as evidenced by a 2006 report on the cover of Newsweek to which Gilligan contributed. New research suggests that long-standing stereotypes about boys may be blinding us to a problem that has less to do with how boys seem to be and more with how they really are, but are afraid to show. Discernable changes often occur in boys' lives around the ages of 5, 6, and 7. An understanding of these changes offers guidelines for preventing impasses between boys and school, and hopefully averting future troubles. Gilligan's lecture will focus on boys' educational and emotional development and also on constructive responses on the part of parents, teachers, and community leaders.

Awards & Accolades

Audiences describe Gilligan's lectures as “magical, informative, moving and provocative.”

One of TIME magazine's 25 most influential Americans, Gilligan was the first holder of the Graham Professorship of Gender Studies at Harvard. In 1998 she received the prestigious Heinz Award for her contributions to understanding the human condition.

What others have said ...

"We were enchanted. Dr. Gilligan has a way of pulling people in as if you were in her private parlor. It was a huge success. We had about 800 people. That is fantastic for this university, which has so many students who are commuters. People just fell in love with her." ~ California State University, San Bernadino

"She captivated a standing room audience of students, faculty and lay people with her gifted ability to get a strong and powerful message across in a personal manner." ~ Kent State University

"She was wonderful... easy going... accessible... great speech... had 1000 people in the audience." ~ Eastern Michigan University

Afternoon Workshop:
Hurford and Lasater
Overcoming Reading Disabilities/Dyslexia

The afternoon workshop will feature Dr. David Hurford, Developmental psychologist, Professor in the Psychology, and Director of the Center for the Assessment and Remediation of Reading Difficulties (CAARD) and Kara Lasater, Director of Operations. Their workshop entitled, “Overcoming Reading Disabilities/Dyslexia” will focus on:

(1) Reading problems in terms of characteristics, etiology and effect on society

(2) Assessment and intervention strategies to help children become competent readers.

Special attention will be given to the description of intervention modules that are currently used at the Center (CARRD).

Related Links:
Call for Proposals
What is Developing Successful Youth?