The Child Development Challenge:
Translating Science for Public Understanding

Susan Nall Bales, President, FrameWorks Institute

Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr., Senior Fellow, FrameWorks Institute; Professor of Political Science and Associate Vice Chancellor, UCLA

The FrameWorks website -- www.frameworksinstitute.org -- provides a wealth of information about Strategic Frame Analysis^™ as a perspective on framing social issues. It also contains specific research reports that emerge from our work on topical issues, from adolescent development to health care reform. The speakers suggest below a selection of publications that may prove of interest.

On the scholarly roots of the FrameWorks perspective and the potential of reframing research as a tool for social change:

• "Framing Public Issues" is a toolkit that breaks down various elements of the frame – from messengers to simplifying models – and explains recent research about the effects of various frame options on public thinking. This is a central document for understanding the application of the government research to the daily work of advocates. Find it at http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/strategicanalysis/FramingPublicIssuesfinal.pdf.
• "Communications for Social Good" is a monograph-length piece that situates framing within a broader view of communications approaches, and draws from dozens of actual campaigns to explain what works and what doesn’t. Find it at http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/pdf/practicematters_08_paper.pdf or follow the link from the Highlights Box on the FrameWorks’ website.

Other FrameWorks resources:

• CDs -- Explore the research by accessing FrameWorks CDs from the Highlights Box on the FrameWorks website; a passcode will be sent to you for each CD. These CDs include complete sets of the research reports as well as a summary MessageMemo and reframing examples.
• MessageMemos -- Two recent memos may be of particular interest: Frank Gilliam’s MessageMemo on How Americans Think About Race (http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/clients/gilliam_memo1106.pdf)
  or Susan Bales’ MessageMemo on How to Talk About Early Child Development (http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/products/frameworksmemo_1.pdf).
• E-Zines -- Quick exposures to framing can be had by perusing the E-Zine series, where more than 40 quick explorations of framing are posted. Includes everything from A Five Minute Refresher Course on Framing to a review of the literature on exemplification. Find these at http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/products/kids.shtml.
• E-Workshops -- expose policy experts to the framing research in an animated format. Try this one on how Americans view rural issues at: http://www.hollyworks.com/frameworks/course/frameworksedu.html.

Additional Reading:
"Strategic Frame Analysis: Reframing America’s Youth," F. Gilliam and S. N. Bales, Social Policy Report Volume XV, Number 3, Society for Research on Child Development, 2001.

Can’t find it? Email FrameWorks