Expertise
Sociology of Childhood, Ethnography, Sociology of Education. Social Psychology
Sociology of Childhood
Sociolinguistics
Qualitative Methods
Comaprative Early Education Practices and Policies

Bill’s research and teaching interests are in the areas of sociology of childhood, children’s peer cultures and early life transitions from a cross cultural perspective, early childhood education processes and policy, and ethnographic research methods.

  • Social Psychology: Theory, Socialization, Communicative Processes, and Social Structure and Personality
  • Socialization: Interpretive Reproduction, Children's Worlds and Peer Culture in Cross Cultural Perspective, Acquisition of Interactive Skills and Social Knowledge, Adult-Child and Peer Interaction in Family and Educational Institutions, Early Education Policy and Processes
  • Qualitative Methods: Ethnographic Methods, Participant Observation, Audiovisual Recording of Naturally Occurring Events, Discourse Analysis, Cross Cultural Comparative Methods
  • Sociolinguistics: Language Development, Language Development and Early Childhood Education, Micro-Sociolinguistic Analysis of Adult-Child and Peer Interaction in Natural Settings
Anthropology, Cultural/Social, Child Psychology/Development, Children and Youth, Child Welfare, Cross-Cultural Studies, Day Care, Educational Planning/Policy, Europe, Western, Inner-City, Italy, Minorities and Disadvantaged, Poverty and the Poor
Past Affiliations

Professor Emeritus, Department of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, Social & Historical Sciences (past)

Robert H. Shaffer Professor, Department of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, Social & Historical Sciences (past)

Robert H. Shafer Class of 1967 Endowed Professor, Department of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, Social & Historical Sciences (past)

Degrees
PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Sociology, 1974
BA, Indiana University Bloomington, Sociology, 1970
Keywords
europe, western italy cultural anthropology adolescents child welfare cross cultural studies inner city minorities and disadvantaged child psychology day care poverty and the poor sociolinguistics educational planning or policy cognitive development or processes social psychology sociology human development
Languages
English, Italian
Honors

Fulbright Senior Specialist Grant, Trondheim, Norway, 2002-2003

Teaching Excellence Recognition Award, Indiana University, 2000

Elected Chair, Section on Sociology of Children, American Sociological, Association, 1999

Invited Scholar Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Siegen, Germany, June, 1998, 1998

Elected to Sociological Research Association, 1995

Associations
American Sociological Association