If you have come to this site, you are, no doubt, searching for information on language development, multiple types of literacy, or the possible cognitive and linguistic benefits of participation in the arts. Or you may be interested in community organizations and informal learning environments, such as studios, rehearsals, and laboratories, in which arts and sciences work together when young people take part in sustained projects.


You will find here information generated by the research of Shirley Brice Heath, and you will also find biographical, publication, and conference information. For students interested in both the background and consequences of some of Heath's research, the FAQ section may offer useful answers.

Shirley Brice Heath

Brown University
Professor at Large, Research Professor, and Professor of Education and Anthropology Watson Institute for International Studies
and
Stanford University
Margery Bailey Professor of English and Comparative Literature
and Professor of Linguistics, Emerita
and
Kings College, University of London
Visiting Research Professor 2003-2008
Brown University
Stanford University King's College London
SHIRLEY BRICE HEATH is a linguistic anthropologist whose research has examined how young children are socialized through and into language use. Her early publications focus on very young children and the ways in which their language socialization differs across cultures. More recent research examines later language development in learning environments that draw older children and adolescents into collaborative project work in which peers become essential socializing influences. Community organizations and voluntary activities and associations beyond school and family receive special attention as sites in which the young play meaningful roles and carry real responsibilities for the learning of others.

Special topics related to learning appear as recurrent themes in Heath's recent research: learning through observation and action immersion, the cognitive benefits of role-shifting, and features of high-risk learning environments that help learners retain information and transform skill acquisition. The research topics included on this website reflect Heath's social-science identity as linguistic anthropologist, and her contributions to applied linguistics, community development, education, and social entrepreneurship. Her identity as humanist comes through her research on 18th century children's literature, the history of the essay in English, and her social historical work on language policy in Mexico, Peru, and the United States.


Additional sections of this website provide current information on courses that Heath teaches, as well as recent and upcoming lectures and conferences.