Kate Norwalk

Bio

Dr. Norwalk received her doctorate in School Psychology from Penn State in 2013 after completing a year-long internship in Loudoun County Public Schools, VA. She went on to complete a two year postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Developmental Science at UNC-Chapel Hill under the advisement of Dr. Jill Hamm. Dr. Norwalk joined the Psychology Department at NC State University in 2015 as an Assistant Professor, and is currently working toward tenure.

Teaching and Research Interests

Dr. Norwalk is currently engaged in two primary lines of research. The first is an extension of her graduate and postdoctoral work, and focuses on the social dynamics of elementary and middle school students, the impact of students’ classroom social dynamics on their social, behavioral, and academic functioning, and ways in which teachers can leverage these naturally occurring dynamics to improve classroom functioning and student outcomes. The goals of this research are to understand the dynamic and reciprocal influences of individual-level characteristics, peer relations, and the classroom context in shaping students’ behavioral and academic adjustment, and ways in which this knowledge can help inform teaching practices and school-based intervention efforts.

Dr. Norwalk’s second line of research examines ways to improve educational outcomes for children and youth in the foster care system, particularly those with disabilities. Through this work she has become actively engaged in child welfare advocacy throughout the state of North Carolina. She also serves on the board of the Foster Family Alliance of NC, a non-profit organization that supports children and youth in foster care and the families and professionals that serve them.

Extension and Community Engagement

Dr. Norwalk currently serves on the board of the Foster Family Alliance of NC (FFA-NC), a non-profit organization that supports children and youth in foster care and the families and professionals that serve them. More info about FFA-NC can be found at ffa-nc.org

Research Publications

Begeny, J., Levy, R., Hida, R., & Norwalk, K. E. (in press). An examination of internationalization in school and educational psychology: Is published scholarship geographically representative and are some journals more inclusive? Journal of School Psychology.

Begeny, J.C., Levy, R.A., Hida, R., & Norwalk, K. E. (in press). International experimental research in school psychology: An assessment of journal articles and implications for internationalization. Psychology in the Schools.

Farmer, T. W., Sutherland, K. S., Talbott, E., Brooks, D. S., Norwalk, K. E., & Huneke, M.  (2016). Special educators as intervention specialists: Dynamic systems and the complexity of intensifying intervention for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, doi:            10.1177/1063426616650166.

Milovich, H. M., Norwalk, K. E., & Sheridan, M. A. (In press). Deprivation and threat, coping, and psychopathology: Concurrent and longitudinal associations. Development and  Psychopathology.

Norwalk, K. E., & Hamm, J. V. (2015). Improving the school context of early adolescence through teacher attunement to victimization: Effects on school belonging. Journal of Early Adolescence,

Norwalk, K. E., DiPerna, J. C., & Lei, P. (2014). Confirmatory factor analysis of the Early Arithmetic, Reading, and Learning Indicators (EARLI). Journal of School Psychology, 52, 83-96.

Norwalk, K. E., DiPerna, J. C., Lei. P., & Wu, Q. (2012). Identifying early literacy skill  differences among children in Head Start using latent class analysis (LCA). School Psychology Quarterly, 27, 170-183.

Norwalk, K. E., Norvilitis, J. D., & MacLean, M. G. (2009). ADHD symptomatology and its relationship to factors associated with college adjustment. Journal of Attention Disorders, 13, 251-258.

Vess, S. F., Begeny, J., Norwalk, K. E., & Ankney, R. N. (in press). Tier-2 reading fluency intervention with middle school students: A comparison of the HELPS-SG program and a teacher-directed evidence-based intervention. Journal of Applied School Psychology.

Funded  Research

2014-2016  Spencer Foundation ($50,000), Promoting Positive Peer Cultures and Student Adjustment during the Middle School Transition through Teacher Management  of Social Status, PI with Jill V. Hamm, Co-PI

2016-2017 North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services ($253,478), Supporting Family Centered Practice, Co-Investigator with Joan Pennell, PI.