Jennifer Wallace Jacoby

Jennifer Wallace Jacoby is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Education at Mount Holyoke College, serving as Director of First-Year Seminars and Director of the Teaching and Learning Initiative. She specializes in K-12 education with a focus on early childhood education, bilingual education, and teacher workforce development. Her research explores topics such as Head Start program effectiveness, culturally competent teaching practices, and the intersection of media and preschool behavior.

Education includes an Ed.D. and Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education, an M.A. from University of California, Berkeley, and a B.A. from Amherst College. Her work has been recognized with the Taylor & Francis Award for an outstanding 2019 journal article on supporting dual language learners in Head Start.

Recent publications highlight investigations into teacher workforce diversity, media influence on preschoolers, and language strategies in linguistically diverse classrooms. Her research bridges policy analysis and classroom practice to address systemic challenges in early education.