Serra Acar

Serra Acar is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her work focuses on culturally responsive early childhood education, particularly for linguistically diverse and marginalized populations. She holds expertise in early intervention, bilingual/dual language learning, and executive function development in young children. Dr. Acar has contributed to international research on autism education in low-resource settings and refugee child development programs.

Her research emphasizes family-centered approaches, including parental involvement in special education and assessment practices for diverse populations. She has investigated pandemic impacts on families of children with disabilities and innovative teaching strategies in remote learning environments. Dr. Acar’s work bridges theory and practice through collaborative solutions for infants with substance exposure, migrant Head Start programs, and urban early intervention training.

Notable areas include translanguaging pedagogy in inclusive classrooms, longitudinal studies on preterm birth impacts, and global perspectives on early childhood intervention systems. Her publications address policy gaps in refugee education, linguistic assessment validity, and cross-cultural autism interventions.