Ruth Guirguis
Associate Professor
Teacher Education
EMAIL: rguirguis@bmcc.cuny.edu
Office: S616D
Office Hours:
Phone: +1 (212) 220-1215
Dr. Ruth Guirguis is an associate professor of the Teacher Education Department at BMCC/CUNY and President of The Association for the Study of Play (TASP). Her research and authored articles and books are primarily focused on dual language learner’s association between self-regulation and play, as well as pedagogical practices that support students in higher education.
Expertise
Early Childhood, Childhood Special Education and Bilingual Education
Degrees
- UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS: Behavior Intervention in Autism Advance Certification/BCBA
- LONG ISLAND UNIVERSITy: Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies in Education
- BROOKLYN COLLEGE: M.S. Ed. in Mathematics Elementary Education.
- BERNARD M. BARUCH COLLEGE: B.B.A in Marketing Management
Courses Taught
- This course provides an overview of the social context of early care and education. It focuses on the historical, philosophical, sociological, and political foundations of programs for young children, birth to eight years. The following topics will be explored in depth: Historical and contemporary theories of early childhood education, multicultural and social ecological factors in early care and schooling, particularly for diverse urban settings; early childhood programming; family and community involvement; advocacy, trends and current issues in early childhood practice. This course requires 30 hours of fieldwork. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 110
- This is a fieldwork course focusing on the observation and assessment of young children. It requires supervised participation in an assigned early childhood education setting (preschool to second grade) and attendance at a weekly seminar. Students will learn the appropriate use of assessment and observation strategies to document the development, growth, play and learning of young children; and how authentic assessment methods can be used to tailor curriculum to promote children?s success. Recording strategies, rating systems, child studies/portfolios, and various assessment tools are explored. Students spend a minimum of 60 hours in the field. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 210 and ECE 211
- This course is a continuation of ECE 211, focusing on the theories, methods and materials of curriculum planning in early childhood education (preschool to 2nd grade). The emphasis in this course is on providing developmentally and culturally appropriate learning environments and experiences that encourage foundational social scientific, mathematic and scientific thinking and skills in young children. The following topics are explored in-depth: social studies as a lens by which young children can explore our diverse ethno-cultural society and their place in it; the use of materials and play-based techniques to facilitate ways of constructing everyday mathematical ideas; the creation of environments and experiences that stimulate children?s scientific curiosity and playful exploration of our natural and human-made world; the use of block/construction and cooking experiences for the integration of social studies, mathematics, science, literacy and the arts. Course work includes workshops in planning and implementing inquiry/play-based experiences for young children. Prerequisite: Grade of C or better in ECE 210 and ECE 211
- 3 CRS.4 HRS.NULL LAB HRS.ECE 110 (Psychological Foundations of Early Development and Education)
- This course examines the psychological and psychosocial foundations of early childhood and relates these foundations to educational practice with your children, birth to eight years. It focuses on historical and contemporary theories of childhood development. Early learning is considered in relation to biological factors, child and family factors, program factors and social factors, particularly in diverse urban settings. Young children?s physical, cognitive, communicative, social and emotional development is explored as contributors to and as consequences of early learning experiences. This course requires 15 hours of fieldwork.
- This course focuses on children's physical, cognitive, linguistic and socio-emotional development, and the related implications for learning. Within the context of race, class and culture, the following topics are explored in depth: the nature of intelligence, gender identity, attachment and other psychosocial attributes (typical and atypical). Students participate in a minimum of 15 hours of course-related fieldwork.
Prerequisites: PSY 100
Course Syllabus
Research and Projects
Publications
PEER-REVIEWED BOOKS
Guirguis, R. & Plotka, R. (2023) The Development of Self-Regulation in Latinx Preschool Students: Theory, Research, and Applications. Peter Lang Publications. https://www.peterlang.com/document/1329975
Plotka, R. & Guirguis, R. (2024). Covid-19 on Early Childhood Education: Research and Implications. Ethics Press. https://ethicspress.com/products/the-effects-of-covid-19-on-early-childhood-education
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
K., Deepti, R., Guirguis, J., Longley,T., Tucdemir, J., Sutterby, & M., Kamen (in Publication) Teacher Educators’ Perspectives, Beliefs, and Practices. Chapter for NAECTE. Edited by Melanie Felton
Plotka, R., & Guirguis, R. (2022). Distance Learning in Early Childhood During the COVID-19 Crisis: Family and Educators’ Experiences. In Early Childhood Education Journal. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10643-022-01384-5
Guirguis, R. (2022). The Effects of COVID-19 on Community College Students: Examining Non-Tuition Related Challenges. In New York Academy of Public Education Professional Journal. https://nyape.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/NYAPE-research-journal-2022.pdf
Kaplan, A., & Guirguis, R. (2022). Maria Montessori’s Life, Work, and Legacy Through the Lenses of Gender. In New York Academy of Public Education Professional Journal. https://nyape.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/NYAPE-research-journal-2022.pdf
Guirguis, R (2022) Play Anecdote: Socio-dramatic play after COVID-19. Play, Policy & Practice Connections NAEYC Forum, (Vol 2, No.1). https://pppconnections.files.wordpress.com/2022/06/pppc-spring-2022-6-9-2022.pdf
Guirguis, R. & Longley, M., J. (2022) Creating Pre-service Teachers’ Playful Mindset and their Disposition Towards teaching Through Play in the Early Years. Chapter for EECERA Praxeological Series published by Routledge. Edited by Jeffrey Trawick-Smith and Eleni Loizou
Guirguis, R. & Plotka, R. (2022) Strategies Supporting ECE Teachers’ Sense of Self-Efficacy. HS Dialogue: The Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field,(Vol. 25 No.1), 37-50
Guirguis, R. & Plotka, R. (2022) Self-Efficacy in Early Childhood Educators: The Impact of Online Teaching During the COVID-19 Pandemic. HS Dialogue: The Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field, (Vol. 25 No.1) 1-5
Guirguis, R. (2021) Tres Efectos del Juego en el Desarollo de niños preescolar, In Revista Internacional de Aprendizaje. (Vol. 8 No. 1), pp. 13-2. https://doi.org/10.18848/2575-5544/CGP/v08i01/13-21
Guirguis, R., & Longley, M., J. (2021) Play and Trauma in Young Children During a Pandemic. In Dimension of Early Childhood Journal (Vol. 47 No. 2), pp.14-20
Guirguis, R. (2021) Memories and Reflection of Play, In International Journal of Play. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2021.1878769
Gilken, J., Longley, J, & Guirguis, R. (2021). Preparing Preservice Teachers to Promote Mathematical Thinking in Infants, Toddlers, And Preschool-age Children. Journal of Mathematics Education, (Vol 13 No. 2) 50-63
Plotka, R. & Guirguis, R. (2020) Lessons Learned During the COVID-19 Health Crisis. In New York Academy of Public Education Professional Journal.
Guirguis, R., & Jaffe, E. (2020) Math Anxiety, Growth Mindset in Community College Students. In New York Academy of Public Education Professional Journal.
Guirguis, R. (2020) The State of Play, In International Journal of Play. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2020.1778268
Guirguis, R. & Plotka, R. (2019) Engaging Latino Families in Early Childhood Education Programs: Barriers, Misconceptions, and Recommendations. In Dimension of Early Childhood Journal (Vol. 47 No. 2), pp.14-20
Guirguis, R. & Dias-Lacy, S (2019) Teacher’s Attitude about Bilingual Education and Multimodal Implication, In New York Academy of Public Education
Professional Journal, (Vol. 8, No 1), pp 36-44
Guirguis, R. (2018) Should we let them play? Three key benefits to play in early childhood. International Journal of Education and Practice, (Vol. 6, No 1), pp 43-46
Guirguis, R (2017) Culture, Self-Regulation, and Academics in Preschool. Global Journal of Human Social Sciences (Vol. 17 No. 5)
Guirguis, R. & Antigua, K. (2017). DLLs and the Development of Self-regulation in Early Childhood. Cogent Education: Taylor and Francis Group (Vol. 4)
Guirguis, R. & Dias-Lacy, S. (2017). Challenges of New Teachers and Coping Mechanisms. In The Journal of Education and Learning (Vol. 6, No 3)
Guirguis, R. & Plotka, R. (2017). Preparing Early Childhood Educators to Work with Infants and Toddlers. In New York Academy of Public Education
Professional Journal (Vol. 6, No. 1)
Guirguis, R. & Pankowski, J. (2017). Meta-Analysis of the Potential Effects of Teaching Strategies on Students’ Academic Performance Under a Trump Administration. In The Journal of Education and Training Studies (Vol. 5, No. 4)
Guirguis, R. (2017). Developing Academics in Early Childhood Through Different Types of Play: Structured versus Elicit Play. New York Academy of Public Education Professional Journal (Vol. 6, No. 1)
Guirguis, R. (2016). Preschool Self-Regulation, Academics, and Ethnicity. In Sutterby, J. (Ed.) Advances in Early Education and Day Care (Vol. 18). United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishers.
Guirguis, R. (2016). Dual Language Learners and the Development of Self-Regulation. SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education.
Honors, Awards and Affiliations
- 2024 President of the Association for the Study of Play (TASP) https://studyofplay.org/
