Can the Arts Get Under the Skin?

Dr. Ellie Brown

Dr. Ellie Brown is a Professor of Psychology in the College of the Sciences and Mathematics at West Chester University, where she directs the Early Childhood Cognition and Emotions Lab (ECCEL). For approximately 10 years, Dr. Brown has partnered with Settlement Music School’s Kaleidoscope Arts Enrichment Preschool to study arts’ impact. She is internationally recognized for her scholarship on children in poverty, as well as her research on arts programming. The leading journal Early Childhood Research Quarterly published her 2010 paper on “Arts Enrichment and School Readiness”, her 2013 paper on “Arts Enrichment and Preschool Emotions.”, and her 2017 paper on "The Art of Head Start." The leading journal Child Development published her 2017 paper, "Can the Arts Get Under the Skin."

Dr. Brown served as the Early Childhood Research Expert for the NEA/HHS Joint Convening on the Arts and Human Development and her work was highlighted as model research in the associated NEA/HHS white paper that framed a research agenda for the arts. Her scholarship on arts programming is also featured in the books Learning from Head Start: A Teachers Guide to School Readiness (Guilford, 2013) and Learning Across the Early Childhood Curriculum (Cohen & Waite-Stupiansky, 2013).

Dr. Brown and her team of researchers at the Early Childhood Cognition and Emotions Lab (ECCEL) are dedicated to making sure all children grow up in cognitive and emotional environments that promote their flourishing. Dr. Brown and her son, Max enjoy engaging in music and other arts activities together.