Kathryn Hynes, Ph.D.
2005, Cornell University
Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies and Demography
118 South Henderson Building
(814) 863-6422
kbh13@psu.edu
Research
One research area focuses on understanding parents’ work-family decisions. A study with Marin Clarkberg described the employment trajectories of women during early parenthood and examined the characteristics of women following different trajectories. A qualitative project with Susan Singley examined the role of work-family policies and gender ideology in parents’ decisions about their work-family strategies during the transition to parenthood. Currently, I am studying couples’ division of caregiving duties, particularly examining the role of maternal employment in fathers’ time with children.
A related area focuses on social policies. Studies with Rachel Dunifon and Elizabeth Peters examined the effects of welfare reforms during the 1990s on family structure and child well-being. A related paper examined the stability of living arrangements for children in non-parental households, such as children living with grandparents or in foster care. Current research in this area includes working as part of a multi-institution collaborative headed by Elizabeth Peters at Cornell University that is studying the transition to fatherhood, including the individual, economic and social policy factors associated with becoming a father at various points in the life course. I am also particularly interested in international comparative research on systems of after-school care and other social policies.
I also currently involved in several projects focusing on child care and after-school programs. A recent study finds that individual children do not consistently receive low (or high) quality care across their early years, but that instead many children experience changes in their child care quality over time. I hope to extend this research by examining the circumstances in which children are at risk of moving into low quality care. My research on after-school programs focuses on understanding whether there have been changes in after-school program use over time and whether after-school programs influence children’s development.
Education
- University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, B.A., 1994, Psychology
- Rutgers - The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, M.A., 1997, Women's Studies
- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, Ph.D., 2005, Sociology
Research and Professional Experience
- 1997-1999: Research Administrator, National Institute on Out-of-School Time, Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, Wellesley, MA.
- 1999: Consultant, The Children's Museum and the Boston 2:00-6:00 Initiative, Boston, MA.
- 2000-2003: Predoctoral Fellow, Cornell Employment and Family Careers Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- 2002-2003: Assistant, Child Care Programs of Excellence Project, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- 2003-2005: Research Assistant, Welfare Reform, Family Structure and Child Well-Being Project, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
- 2005: Post Doctoral Fellow, Transition to Fatherhood Program Project, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Honors
- 2001-2002: Cornell Careers Institute Summer Fellowship
- 2002: Graduate College Travel Grant, Cornell University
- 2000-2003: Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, Cornell Careers Institute
- 2003: Best Poster Award for Session #3, Population Association of America, Minneapolis, MN
Selected Publications
- Hynes, K. & Davis, K. (Forthcoming). Gender in the workplace. Encyclopedia of Life Course and Human Development.
- Hynes, K. & Habasevich-Brooks, T. (Forthcoming). The ups and downs of child care: Variations in child care quality and exposure across the early years. Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
- Hynes, K., Joyner, K., Peters, H.E., & DeLeone, F. (2008). The transition to early fatherhood: National estimates based on multiple surveys. Demographic Research, 18, 337 – 376.
- Hynes, K., & Dunifon, R. (2007). Children in "no parent" households: The continuity of arrangements and the composition of households. Children and Youth Services Review, 29, 912-932.
- Dunifon, R., Hynes, K., & Peters, H.E. (2006). Welfare reform and child well-being. Children and Youth Services Review, 28, 1273-1292.
- Hynes, K. & Clarkberg, M. (2005). Women’s employment patterns during early parenthood: A group-based trajectory analysis. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67, 222 – 239.
- Singley, S., & Hynes, K. (2005). Transitions to parenthood: Work-family policies, gender and the couple context. Gender & Society, 19(3): 376-397.