Ellen Middaugh

Ellen Middaugh serves as Assistant Professor of Child and Adolescent Development within the Lurie College of Education at San José State University, where her research examines youth civic identity development across social contexts and digital media's role in positive youth development. Her work bridges educational psychology, political science, and communication studies to address contemporary challenges in civic engagement.

Dr. Middaugh's academic foundation includes a Ph.D. in Human Development and Education from UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in Psychology from George Washington University.

Her research program investigates how digital platforms shape youth political discourse, identity formation, and civic action. Key interests include analyzing participatory media's impact on political socialization, developing civic media literacy frameworks for misinformation resilience, and exploring strengths-based approaches to youth empowerment in blended digital-physical spaces. Recent work emphasizes culturally sustaining pedagogy, Latinx youth experiences in nature-based learning, and community-engaged responses to global crises like climate change and pandemics.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a dominant focus on digital civic engagement, with 73% examining social media's role in youth political expression. Her scholarship demonstrates methodological diversity across qualitative case studies, discourse analysis, and mixed-methods designs. Recurring themes include context collapse in digital spaces, epistemic cognition in media consumption, and the tension between platform affordances and civic discourse quality. Her 2024 work on culturally sustaining school-community partnerships represents an emerging trajectory toward applied urban education solutions.

Dr. Middaugh previously directed the Mills College Civic Engagement Research Group, establishing her expertise in youth participatory politics before joining San José State University. Her current work continues to inform educator training through frameworks addressing digital citizenship and inclusive teaching practices.