Contact information
Mailing Address: Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Department Psychology/Demography
1113 Sofia, BULGARIA, “Acad. G.Bonchev” Str., Block 6
E-mail: maria.trifonova@iphs.bas.bg
Research Interests
Developmental change in early childhood, the developmental cascades approach, motor development, categorization, and conceptual change.
Education
2004-2005 – Post doc, Central and East European Center For Cognitive Science, New Bulgarian University
1998 – Specialization in New Educational Technologies – Jerusalem, Israel
1984-1989 – PhD in Psychology, Institute of General and Pedagogical Psychology, Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, Moscow; Dissertation topic: “Psychosemantic Study of Problem finding”
1976-1981 – Master Degree, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Major in Psychology and Bulgarian Philology
Academic Positions
2024 – Professor, IPHS, BAS
2014 – 2024 – Associate Professor, IPHS, BAS
1999 – 2014 – Assistant Professor, IPHS, BAS, Institute for Population and Human Studies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
2022 – present – Head of Department Psychology, IPHS, BAS
2015 – present – Head of Research Unit “Social, Work and Counseling Psychology“
Research Projects (last 5 Years)
Project Leader for Activity 1 – “Enhancing the Qualifications of Educational Specialists” of project “Active Inclusion in the Preschool Education System” -2019 Contract ДО3-39/ 12.08.2019
Project “Interrelationship Between Different Aspects of Child Development and Determinants of Developmental Change in Various Periods Between 0-36 Months” – Budget Subsidy, IPHS, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Teaching and PhD Supervision
Lecturer at New Bulgarian University; courses COGM 204 Cognitive development (2004-2019); DEVM 2002 Theories of the world and conceptual change; DEVM 200- The dynamic system approach and its application in developmental psychology (2010-2013);
Tutor of PhD thesis- R. Stoyanova-Shiryaev (2021-2024), Anna Petrova (since 2024)
Selected Publications (10 in the last 10 Years)
Atanassova-Trifonova, М. Development of motor skills and discovery of the world during infancy, Sofia, Prof. Marin Drinov Publishing House, 2024, 212 с., ISBN 978-619-245-450-0.
Atanassova-Trifonova, М., L.Peneva, J. Stoyanova (2023). Early Screening Assessment and Guidelines for Stimulating the Development of Three-Year-Old Children, Sofia, Мinistry of Education, RCSF-Sofia, 196 p. ISBN 978-619-7743-02-9.
Trifonova, M.P. (2022). Quality of education and care in kindergartens and their readiness for inclusive education in Bulgaria, European Journal of Special Needs Education, p.260-275, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2154896X.2022.2062905 (on line).
Trifonova, M., Peneva, L. (2021). Exploring the quality of early childhood education and care environment in Bulgarian kindergartens. International Journal of Early Years Education, p. 941-955, https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2021.1960801.
Trifonova, M. (2021). Evaluation of the quality of educationalvand care environment in early childhood – challenges and prospects of current practice. Pedagogy, Vol. 93(7), p. 925-934, https://doi.org/10.53656/ped2021-7.05 web of sciences, ISSN 0861–3982.
Atanassova-Trifonova, М., Аlexandrova- Karamanova, А., Peneva, L. (2018). Teachers ’ professional experience and qualification for successful inclusion in the kindergartens. Pedagogy, Vol. 90(8), p.1122-1133, ISSN 0861–3982.
Trifonova, M. (2024). Children’s reproduction of observed actions as a mediator between motor achievements and language acquisition. Bulgarian Journal of Psychology, Reports from the IX International Congress of Psychology, 2020, SECTION 2 in press, ISSN 0861-7813.
Petkov, G., Atanassova-Trifonova, М., Stoyanova-Shyrayev, R. (2022). Approaches to the study of cognitive mechanisms for categoriza-tion in early childhood. Psychology – tradition and modernity, Proceedings of the Jubilee International Conference commemorating 50 years of education in psychology at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski 1-3 June 2022. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, p.845-856. ISBN 978-954-07-5611-0 (Online).
Atanassova-Trifonova, М. (2021). Explorative study of psychometric properties -external validity, sensitivity, specificity, and reliability of the screening test for three-year-old children – concise form 2018. Bulgarian Journal of Psychology, 2 (4), p.124-133, ISSN 0861-7813. Print.
Atanassova-Trifonova, М., Bogdanova, Е. (2019). “Learning progression” – the new educational technologies and their application in the preschool education. Psychological Research, Том 22(1), p.103-116, ISSN: 1311-4700.