Erika Nygard

Erika Nygard

Dr. Erika Nygard has several years of experience in early childhood education, both as a teacher and director. She has a passion for experiential learning and inquiry-based play, both components that she feels drive a truly remarkable early childhood program. She holds a B.S. in Education from Liberty University, a M.Ed. in Elementary Education (Emphasis: Early Childhood Education) from Texas State University, and a Ph.D. in Education and Social Change from Bellarmine University. Her dissertation research was a mixed methods approach, focused on pre- and in-service teachers' perceptions of play and how those perceptions changed as a result of practicum experience in a play-based environment. She is interested in coming to understand why children play the way that they play and what that means for the future.

She loves getting lost in the woods, folk music, and spending time with her own little subjects Willa, Tex, and Maggie.

Dr. Nygard leads the online Child Development Associate Program at the University of Louisville.