I am passionate about supporting children’s success and the foundational skills they need to be successful. I grew up in Maui, Hawaii, which was an important influence on my perspective and research interests. I am a Professor and Director of the Hallie Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families at Oregon State University, which promotes the development and well-being of children, youth, and families.
Description of her work
My research focuses on optimizing children’s development, especially as it relates to self-regulation, executive function, and school success. My recent work has examined links between self-regulation and long-term outcomes from early childhood to adulthood, advances in measuring self-regulation, and intervention efforts to improve these skills. I work with colleagues and collaborators worldwide to develop self-regulation measures and improve school success in young children. I am also leading a center to better support early childhood educators in Oregon and co-leading an NIH-funded center to promote children’s environmental health.
Key Findings
I am really interested in developing and sharing evidence-based measures and interventions that are practical, low-cost, and scalable. We have developed a measure of self-regulation in 31 languages and used around the world (called the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task) and an intervention called Red Light, Purple Light, that has been shown to improve children’s school readiness and success.
Useful Links
Professor Megan McClelland Profile: https://health.oregonstate.edu/directory/megan-mcclelland
The Kindergarten Readiness Research Program: https://health.oregonstate.edu/research/kreadiness
Hallie E. Ford Center for Healthy Children and Families: https://health.oregonstate.edu/hallie-ford
English 
Spanish 
French