Maria Morales
Maria Morales is a third-year graduate student in the Clinical Science Ph.D. program at Florida International University. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Nova Southeastern University, where she worked with Mercedes Fernández, Ph.D. on projects examining bilingualism and executive functions. In 2022, she completed her Master of Arts in Psychological Science at the Catholic University of America under the mentorship of Sandra Barrueco, Ph.D. During her time there, Maria worked with data from the Migrant and Seasonal Head start (MSHS) study examining the linguistic and behavioral functioning of migrant infants and toddlers.
Maria’s research is rooted in supporting the emotional, behavioral, and academic development of emergent bilingual, newcomer, and migrant youth. She is committed to better understanding the roles of culture and context in child development. Her most recent projects focus on the literacy development of dual language learning children in Miami-Dade County.
Selected Publications, Presentations, & Posters:
Barrueco, S., Morales, M. C. & Truesdale, L. M. (2022). Assessment of young emergent bilingual children. International Encyclopedia of Education 4th Edition.
Fernandez, M., Banks, J., Gestido, S., & Morales, M. (2022). Bilingualism and the executive function trade-off: A latent variable examination of behavioral and event-related brain potentials. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition.
Morales, M. & Barrueco, S. (2022 June 24-26). Behavioral functioning among migrant infants and toddlers [Poster Presentation]. Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues: Reenergizing Ourselves and Our Communities: Connections Across Borders & Barriers, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Morales, M., Cadet, G., Obee, A., Lane, T., Waguespack, A., Hart., K. (2023, October 26-28). Examining social determinants of health on literacy outcomes among rising kindergarteners and first graders in a culturally and linguistically diverse county [Poster Presentation]. National Latinx Psychological Association: Walking With our Ancestors: Honoring Indigenous Wisdom & Decolonizing our Psychology Toward our Collective Liberation, Chicago, Illinois.
Morales, M. C., Bravo, E., Lane, T., Obee, A., Cadet-Miller, G., Waguespack, A., Hart, K. C. (2024, October 17 – 19). Dual Language Learner’s Early Literacy Skills and The Home Literacy Environment: Exploring Contextual Factors. In Scaling the Public Health Pyramid: The Role of Culture and Context in Supporting Youth Wellbeing. Symposia accepted for presentation at the National Latinx Psychological Association Annual Conference: Weaving a Community-Engaged Psychological Science, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Obee, A. F, Cadet G., Morales, M., Bravo, E. I., Hart, K. C. (2024). Recruiting, Training, Supervising and Supporting Summer Treatment Program Staff: Staff and Supervisor Perspectives on Essential Ingredients. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health.