Biography

Tamar Jacobson was born in Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe, and traveled to Israel where she became a preschool teacher with the Israeli Ministry of Education. In 1988, Dr. Jacobson immigrated to the United States and by 1997 had completed a BA, masters and doctorate in early childhood education at the University at Buffalo (UB). For eleven years, she worked as Program Coordinator and Director of the University at Buffalo Child Care Center (UBCCC). During her tenure, UBCCC expanded to include the Amherst Campus, and created a training site for early childhood students from Erie Community College, Buffalo State College and UB. Jacobson is Associate Professor, Chair of the Department of Teacher Education, and Director of the Early Childhood Program at Rider University, New Jersey.

Dr, Jacobson has also served as early childhood consultant, and counselor for parents of young children. She was Chair of the Advisory Committee for Accreditation Mentors for Success By 6 in Western New York, and Vice-President of the New York State Association for the Education of Young Children. She has served on the Western New York AEYC Board in many different capacities including president for four years. A recipient of the Director of the Year Award 2003 from the National Coalition for Campus Children’s Centers (NCCCC), she has also served as a member of the NCCCC Board, and on the Professional Development Panel of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Currently, Jacobson serves on the Advocacy Committee of the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators (NAECTE), Conference Committee for the Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC), was selected to participate on the Consulting Editors Panel for NAEYC, and is a Fellow in the Child Trauma Academy.

Tamar Jacobson has made presentations at National, State and Regional levels, including keynote speeches, panel presentations, video conference and conference workshops. Her first book: Confronting Our Discomfort: Clearing the Way for Anti-Bias in Early Childhood, was published by Heinemann in 2003.

Jacobson’s second book: Don’t Get So Upset! Help Young Children Manage Their Feelings by Understanding Your Own, was published by Redleaf Press in August 2008. While the profession has learned much about emotional development, and the importance of brain development in the early years, Dr. Jacobson believes little is being done to support teacher self-reflection, especially in relation to how teachers feel about children’s challenging behaviors. Tamar’s dream is that one day she might organize or facilitate support-supervision groups for teachers to confront their emotions or biases head on.

In March, 2010, Redleaf Press will publish Jacobson’s edited volume: Perspectives on Gender in Early Childhood, a collection of academic essays from a leading and diverse group of early childhood scholars from around the United States and Europe.