Jennifer Marcella-Burdett

Overview

Jennifer Marcella-Burdett (she/her) is a Research Director in WestEd’s Early Childhood Learning and Development area with over 15 years of experience working in the field of early care and education as a teacher, creator of professional development resources, and researcher/evaluator. Marcella-Burdett’s work strives to create equitable learning opportunities for young children from diverse backgrounds; much of her work has applied a strengths-based approach to build the capacity of the educators caring for and teaching young children.  

Currently, Marcella-Burdett leads a range of evaluation projects in the early childhood field. These evaluations span various contexts, such as a county-level Quality Rating Improvement System (San Diego Quality Preschool Initiative and a statewide early math initiative (Count Play Explore). She typically relies on the integration of quantitative and qualitative methodologies to conduct complex, mixed-methods evaluation projects that meet our clients’ needs and center the voices of our evaluation participants. Additionally, Marcella-Burdett contributes leadership to the overall planning and content development for the Count Play Explore early math and science initiative. 

Before joining WestEd, Marcella-Burdett began working in the field of ECE as a teacher caring for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. As a former early childhood educator, Marcella-Burdett is committed to providing supports for the highly diverse ECE workforce, to help them create caring and learning environments where historically marginalized children and families can thrive. 

Education

• PhD in human development and psychology, University of California at Los Angeles 
• MA in human development and psychology, University of California at Los Angeles 
• BA in psychology, applied developmental psychology (minor), and Spanish (minor), University of California at Los Angeles 

Select Publications

Marcella-Burdett, J., Odean, R., & Yanchik, A. (2024). Preschool Development Grant – Renewal (PDG-R) modules and module series: Course evaluation databook. Final report, WestEd. 

Mangione, P. L. & Marcella-Burdett, J. (Eds.). (2023). Infant/toddler caregiving: A guide to social-emotional growth and socialization (3rd ed.). Sacramento, CA: California Department of Social Services: Sacramento, CA. 

Marcella-Burdett, J. & Tsao, C. (2023). From early empathy to acts of kindness. In P. L. Mangione & J. Marcella-Burdett (Eds.), Infant/toddler caregiving: A guide to social-emotional growth and socialization (3rd ed.). Sacramento, CA: California Department of Social Services. 

Marcella-Burdett, J., Frechette, L., Pinales, M., Roth, A., García, M., & Zur, O. (2023). San Diego Quality Preschool Initiative (SDQPI): Year 3 summative evaluation report. Final Report, WestEd.  

Solis, L., Hill, T., Roth, A., Marcella-Burdett, J., & Zur, O. (2023). Providing quality early care and education for dual language learners: Evaluation of the Fresno County Early Stars QRIS requirements to support dual language learners. Final report, WestEd. 

Zur, O., Marcella-Burdett, J., García, M., Roth, A., & Savelkouls, S. (2021). California statewide early math initiative: Evaluation report of the professional learning and coaching model. Final Report, WestEd. 

Marcella-Burdett, J., Roth, A., Savelkouls, S., & Zur, O. (2020). California statewide early math initiative in local communities: Building educator math capacity. Case study report, WestEd. 

Mangione, P. L., Kriener-Althen, K., & Marcella, J. (2016). Measuring the multifaceted nature of infant and toddler care quality. Early Education and Development, 27(2), 149–169. 

Hong, S. S., Howes, C., Marcella, J., Zucker, E., & Huang, Y. D. (2015). Quality rating and improvement systems: Validation of a local implementation and children’s school readiness. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 30(A), 227–240. 

Marcella, J., Howes, C., & Sidle Fuligni, A. (2014). Exploring cumulative risk and family literacy practices in low-income Latino families. Early Education and Development, 25(1), 36–55. 

Marcella, J. & Howes, C. (2014). Using naturalistic observation to study children’s engagement within early childhood classrooms. In O. Saracho & B. Spodek (Eds.), Handbook of Research Methods in Early Childhood Education (pp. 25–54). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.