Growing Opportunities Lab - Our Four Guiding Principles
Opportunities matter
There are gross, far-reaching inequities in children’s opportunities to thrive due to poverty and income inequality, racism and discrimination, and a host of other systemic forces of marginalization and oppression. While the harm and scope of these inequities is well known, strategies for increasing and improving opportunities in lasting, cost-effective, and scalable ways remain one of the most pressing challenges for today’s research and practice.
The whole child matters
Holistic perspectives in theory, research, and practice recognize growth and thriving as “whole child” processes in which cognitive, behavioral, emotional, social, physical, and psychological domains of development are deeply interdependent, influencing and being influenced by one another. The work of GO Lab rests on the empirically-informed principle that promoting positive changes for children in any one of these domains requires strategies that ensure children are supported in all of these domains.
The whole system matters
Opportunities and obstacles to child growth and thriving unfold within and through complex developmental-contextual systems (e.g., family, school, community, government). Systems-level thinking and intervention are needed to improve the lives of children, families, schools, and communities in equitable, far-reaching, and lasting ways.
Knowledge built in partnership matters
An enduring obstacle to improving children’s chances of thriving has been a lack of connection, communication, and collaboration between researchers and practitioners. With research-practice partnerships, (a) the quality, ecological validity, relevance, and usability of research is improved and (b) the quality, empirical grounding, and outcomes of practice are improved. Families, schools, communities, and policymakers need knowledge that is directly applicable to children’s lives. GO Lab supports intellectual endeavors that build and use this cumulative knowledge. We seek out the perspectives of those with expertise, including lived expertise, in the practices and contexts where these applications take place, including school and district leaders, teachers, school counselors, community agency leaders, families, and youth. Recognizing the dynamic trajectories of development, we pay attention to ways that applications can be sustained over time.