Mary Quest

Assistant Professor, Early Childhood Education

Mary Quest earned her PhD in Child Development from Erikson Institute and Loyola University. She completed both her BA with teacher licensure and MA in Early Childhood Education at Concordia University Chicago. Mary has been a full time faculty member at Columbia College Chicago, Erikson Institute, and Chicago State University and an adjunct professor at Pacific Oaks College, Concordia University Chicago, and Triton College.

Mary was an early childhood classroom teacher for 12 years in a variety of settings prior to moving into teaching in higher education full time. She has facilitated numerous professional development workshops locally, nationally, and internationally.

Mary’s research focuses on engaging adult learners and technology mediated teaching and learning for young children and adults. She is especially interested in examining and understanding relationship-based educational approaches and the roles of individuals and groups in social learning processes. Her current research examines the concept of the parallel process in early childhood teacher education, in particular how experiences with equitable teaching practices and ethics of care in higher education coursework might translate into early childhood classroom teaching practices.