Wendy K. Mages

  • Professor, Early Childhood and Childhood Education
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Wendy K. Mages, a Pushcart Prize nominee and award-winning poet and author, is an educator, scholar, and storyteller who earned a doctorate in Human Development and Psychology at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a master鈥檚 in Theatre at Northwestern University. Prior to joining the faculty at Mercy, she taught graduate and undergraduate students at Boston University and at Harvard. In addition to her work with adults, she has designed and taught a preschool performing arts program, worked as a museum educator, and wrote and performed for children鈥檚 television. 

Her research, which focuses on the effect of educational strategies and contexts on language, cognitive, and social development, has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including the Review of Educational Research, Early Childhood Research Quarterly, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, Research in Drama Education, Youth Theatre Journal, Scenario, and Library and Information Science Research. She was also honored to be awarded a Fulbright Specialist Fellowship focusing on Drama and Theatre in an Austrian Teacher Education Program.

As a complement to her research and scholarly publications, she performs original stories at storytelling events and festivals in the US and abroad, and has subsequently published many of these stories. To learn more about her poetry, stories, and storytelling, or to see videos of her performances at The Moth, please visit .

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EdD and EdM, Human Development and Psychology, Harvard Graduate School of Education

MA, Theatre, Northwestern University

BA, Summa Cum Laude, Theatre Arts, Brandeis University

Peer Reviewed Research Publications

Mages, W. K.  (2021). Storytelling content, contexts, and controversies: A conscionable calculus. Scenario Journal, 15(2), 67-70. 

Mages, W. K.  (2021). Triptych: Ethical quandaries in personal storytelling for teaching and research. Scenario Journal, 15(2), 63-66. 

Mages, W. K.  (2020). Perseverance, performance, and pedagogy in the pandemic: The power of storytelling in face-to-face and virtual learning environments.  R & E Source: Open Online Journal for Research and Education. Retrieved from 

Mages, W. K.  (2020). Educational drama and theatre pedagogy: An integral part of training English-as-a-foreign-language teachers. Scenario Journal, 14(1), 12-24. 

Mages, W. K.  (2018). Does theatre-in-education promote early childhood development?: The effect of drama on language, perspective-taking, and imagination. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 45, 224鈥237. 

Mages, W. K., Nitecki, E., & Ohseki, A.  (2018).  A college-community collaboration: Fostering developmentally appropriate practices in the early childhood classroom. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 18(3), 174鈥188. 

Mages, W. K. (2017). Practice makes perfectible: The impact of training and rehearsal on intervention fidelity. Youth Theatre Journal, 31(1), 7鈥22. 

Mages, W. K. (2016). Educational drama and theatre: Paradigms for understanding and engagement. R & E Source: Open Online Journal for Research and Education. Retrieved from 

Mages, W. K. (2016).  Taking inspiration from Reggio Emilia: An analysis of a professional development workshop on fostering authentic art in the early childhood classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 37(2), 175鈥185. 

Mages, W. K. (2015). Drama in early childhood: Promoting language development and supporting academic transitions. R & E Source: Open Online Journal for Research and Education. Retrieved from 

Mages, W. K.  (2013). Building a strong ensemble of teaching artists: Characteristics, contexts, and strategies for success and sustainability. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 14(8). Retrieved from 

Mages, W. K.  (2012). Preschool characteristics influence the success of professional development: Is your preschool ready, willing, and able? NHSA Dialog: A Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field 15(2), 195鈥200. 

Mages, W. K.  (2012). Professional development in the context of a Head Start theatre-in-education program. NHSA Dialog: A Research-to-Practice Journal for the Early Childhood Field 15(2), 159鈥186. 

Mages, W. K. (2010). Creating a culture of collaboration: The conception, design, and evolution of a Head Start theatre-in-education program. Youth Theatre Journal 24(1), 45鈥61. 

Mages, W. K., & Garson, D. S. (2010). Get the cite right: Design and evaluation of a high-quality online citation tutorial. Library & Information Science Research Journal 32(2), 

Mages, W. K. (2008). Does creative drama promote language development in early childhood?  A review of the methods and measures employed in the empirical literature. Review of Educational Research 78(1), 124-152. 

Mages, W. K. (2007). Motivation, classroom management, and pedagogical vision: An investigation of the psychosocial development of two actor-educators. Youth Theatre Journal 21, 94鈥112.&苍产蝉辫;

Mages, W. K. (2006). Drama and imagination: A cognitive theory of drama鈥檚 effect on narrative comprehension and narrative production. Research in Drama Education 11(3), 329鈥340. 

Mages, W. K. (2006). How many words is a picture worth? The importance of comprehensive reporting in drama research. Youth Theatre Journal 20, 1鈥11. 

Mages, W. K. (2004). Urban Improv: A portrait of an educational drama organization.  Youth Theatre Journal, 18,&苍产蝉辫;30鈥44.&苍产蝉辫;

Book Chapter

Mages, W. K.  (2017). Drama-based interventions and narrative.  In N. Kucirkova, C. E. Snow, V. Grover, & C. McBride (Eds). The Routledge international handbook of early literacy education: A contemporary guide to literacy teaching and interventions in a global context. (pp. 296鈥307).  New York, NY: Routledge.

Literary Publications

Mages, W. K. (2024). After the storm. WestWord.

Mages, W. K. (2024). At the stroke of midnight on the set of Swan Lake. Bright Flash Literary Review.

Mages, W. K. (2024) Embracing strangers. Grief Dialogues.

Mages, W. K. (2024). How to become a catastrophist in 6 easy steps. WestWord.

Mages, W. K. (2024). Our morning ritual. Quibble.

Mages, W. K. (2024). Our morning ritual. Quibble Quarterly, 2, 69.

Mages, W. K. (2024). Parkway promenade. Bright Flash Literary Review.

Mages, W. K. (2024). Pitch (not) perfect: My quixotic journey in the world of music. The AutoEthnographer, 4(2).

Mages, W. K. (2024). The question remains. Dreamers Creative Writing, 16.

Mages, W. K. (2024). So sings the washing machine. Prime Number Magazine, 251.

Mages, W. K. (2024). A triptych of acrostic email messages to an aspiring poet on the submission of a single poem entitled 鈥淚nvaluable.鈥 Witcraft.  

Mages, W. K. (2024). A 21st century fairy tale for city girls. In B. A. Mullin (Ed.), 42 stories anthology presents: Book of 42虏 (p. 23).

Mages, W. K. (2024). Wise words. Kelp Journal: The Wave.

Mages, W. K. (2023). Before the last snow melts. 3cents Magazine, (5). 

Mages, W. K. (2023). City girls. In J. Howard & C. Mayer (Eds.), Potato Soup Journal: Best of 2022 (pp. 262-264). Potato Soup Press. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). A dozen potatoes. On the Premises: Mini-Contest #57 (Honorable Mention). 

Mages, W. K. (2023). Geneses: Traces and tribulations. 50-Word Stories. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). The guitar player. Bright Flash Literary Review. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). Hair and social standards: Is beauty truly in the eye of the beholder? The AutoEthnographer, 3(2)  

Mages, W. K. (2023). Heart troubles. Caustic Frolic.

Mages, W. K. (2023). The high diving board. Paper Dragon. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). Hornets鈥 treat & trick. 50-Word Stories.

Mages, W. K. (2023). Intuit. Young Ravens Literary Review. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). No pedal boats. Dorothy Parker鈥檚 Ashes.

Mages, W. K. (2023). Morning blooms. San Antonio Review.

My mother鈥檚 hands. In T. Campbell (Ed.) Jarnal Volume 3: Transitions, pp. 30-34. Mason Jar Press. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). Nimbus hidden. San Antonio Review.

Mages, W. K. (2023). Of love & longing. Bright Flash Literary Review.

Mages, W. K. (2023). Pennies from heaven. Jenny. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). Portrait of a family: Swans carry on. Sea to Sky Review. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). Pristine. San Antonio Review.

Mages, W. K. (2023). The question remains. Dreamers Creative Writing, (16), 6. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). Redheaded angel. Magpie Zine. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). Springtime in New England. San Antonio Review.

Mages, W. K. (2023). Sunward. San Antonio Review.

Mages, W. K. (2023). There鈥檚 no place like home. LIGHT: Leaders Igniting Generational Healing & Transformation, 1, 74-75. 

Mages, W. K. (2023). The tortoise. In Collected winning poems from The Poetry Society of Virginia: Prize winning poems 2023 celebrating a century of distinguished poets (p. 89). Poetry Society of Virginia. ISBN:鈥 978-1667897684

Mages, W. K. (2023). A unicorn in winter. 50-Word Stories.

Mages, W. K. (2023). Vivian. Quibble. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). City girls. Potato Soup Journal. 

W. K. Mages. (2022). Dirty words. Funny Pearls. 

Mages, W. K. (2022) Embracing strangers. Antithesis Journal Blog. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). Framily. Hearth & Coffin. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). Hatchling. Potato Soup Journal. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). Memory of treasured worlds. New Croton Review, Summer 2022, 34. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). Mirror, mirror. Quibble. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). Pollinators. Route 7 Review. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). Ridiculous rituals: Reasons, rules, and a rationale. Young Ravens Literary Review, 

Mages, W. K. (2022). Salad dazed. In T. Green (Ed.), Our pandemic: Personal experiences of COVID-19. (p. 11). The Writer鈥檚 Workout. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). The spitfire. Star 82 Review. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). The stray. Five Minutes. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). A toad of a man. Harpy Hybrid Review.    

Mages, W. K. (2022). Victor the Koala. Funny Pearls. 

Mages, W. K. (2022). With time. Potato Soup Journal. 

Mages, W. (2021). A tale of 2020. In Manfred Scewe (Ed). 81 Spr眉che zur enth盲rtung unserer welt: On the softening of our world 81 sayings. (p. 140).  Schibri-Verlag. 

Mages, W. K. (2019). Lima beans: An epiphany. Journal of Stories in Science. Retrieved from 

WestWord's Micro Fiction Prize 2024

  •  (including "shortlisted" micros)
  • was shortlisted!

WestWord's Hermit Crab Prize 2024

  • earned 2nd Place!

North American Review's 2024 Kurt Vonnegut Speculative Fiction Prize

  • "Song of the Gargoyles" selected as a semifinalist

2023 Prime Number Magazine Flash Fiction Contest

  • "So Sings the Washing Machine" awarded 3rd place

Dreamers Creative Writing 2023 Dreamers Flash Contest

  • 鈥淭he Question Remains鈥 received Honorable Mention

2023 Poetry Society of Virginia

  • "The Tortoise" awarded 2nd place in the Handy Andy Prize for a Limerick
  • "Meeting on Zoom (again)" received Honorable Mention in the Dr. Lucille E. Thompson Memorial Contest for poems celebrating technology

Pushcart Prize Nominee
Nominated in by Quibble for a Pushcart Prize for "Mirror, Mirror," which was published in 2022

On the Premises: Mini-Contest #57
Honorable Mention

2022 LIGHT Contest "Top 5"
"There's No Place Like Home" placed in the Top 5 in its category in the 2022 LIGHT (Leaders Igniting Generational Healing and Transformation) contest for works addressing a public health issue.

2020 Mercy Faculty Innovation Award 
This award recognizes the fundamental importance of faculty innovation

Fulbright Specialist Grant 
Fulbright Fellowship awarded to collaborate with colleagues at P盲dagogische Hochschule Nieder枚sterreich (University College of Teacher Education, Lower Austria)

American Educational Research Association Arts & Learning Special Interest Group
2011 Arts & Learning SIG Dissertation Award
This annual award recognizes excellence in an article based on a recently completed dissertation study.

American Alliance for Theatre and Education
2009 Distinguished Dissertation Award
This dissertation award recognizes excellence a recently completed dissertation study.