Carolyn Barber

Carolyn Barber serves as Professor and Associate Dean at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) in the School of Education, Social Work and Psychological Sciences (SESWPS), where she oversees curriculum, assessment/accreditation, and graduate programs while coordinating the Ph.D. in Education. Previously Interim Dean (2020-2023), she joined UMKC as Assistant Professor in 2007.

Her educational background includes:

• Ph.D. in Human Development (Educational Psychology specialization), University of Maryland-College Park
• M.A. in Measurement, Statistics, and Evaluation, University of Maryland-College Park
• B.A. in Psychology and Sociology (Music minor), Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Barber's research examines how social and cultural contexts shape adolescent development, with primary focus on civic attitudes/behaviors and secondary exploration of giftedness/creativity conceptualization. She employs quantitative methodologies specializing in complex-sample and multilevel analysis of large-scale survey data, often through international comparative frameworks.

Her recent publications reveal consistent emphasis on civic education across diverse national contexts, classroom climate influences on civic engagement, and longitudinal analysis of adolescent civic development. These works frequently leverage IEA datasets and address intersections between educational environments and identity formation.

Scientific awards: None documented in source material.

Research funding has been secured from the Spencer Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, AERA Grants Program, and National Science Foundation. She advises doctoral candidates in Education Ph.D. and Ed.D. programs, and previously mentored Counseling Psychology Ph.D. students.