Sarah N. Lang, Ph.D.

Dr. Sarah N. Lang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Sciences, Program Director for the Virtual Lab School project at The Ohio State University and a Faculty Affiliate for the Center for Education and Training for Employment and the Crane Center for Early Childhood Research and Policy.

Dr. Lang’s is interested in strengthening children’s experiences in early care and education (ECE) by examining and enhancing the network of relationships and contexts in which children develop. Her goal is to ensure the early childhood workforce is well trained and supported so they can provide high-quality, evidence-informed education and care. Her experience as a practitioner and researcher in the field of ECE informs her work. Dr. Lang has utilized qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the experiences of families and ECE teachers, and to identify factors that support ECE teachers’ use of quality practices. Measures Dr. Lang developed (i.e., the Cocaring Relationship Questionnaire – Parent and Teacher Versions) are currently being used in large national data projects in the U.S. (e.g., the BabyFaces 2018-2022 project) and internationally (e.g., in Finland). 

Connected to her passion and research interests, she is the Principal Investigator for the Virtual Lab School (VLS) – an online professional development system for child and youth educators. In 2024, she was awarded the latest VLS grant funded by the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The VLS system integrates evidence-based information on developmentally appropriate and family-centered practices, with adult learning principles, including an emphasis on practice-based coaching, to empower professionals as they build their knowledge and skills around educating children and youth. The VLS is the professional development system for the more than 30,000 professionals that work in military-affiliated child care programs, though it has a broad impact on the wider ECE field with over 3.9 million visitors and 23.2 million page views in FY2024 alone. Some of Dr. Lang’s research focuses on scholarship that enhances the VLS.