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Donna Koller

Donna Koller

Professor
DepartmentEarly Childhood Studies
EducationPhD
OfficeKHS 363-I, Kerr Hall South
Phone416-979-5000, ext. 552513
Areas of ExpertiseChildren’s health and well-being; Children’s rights in health care; Pediatric psychosocial care and the role of the child life specialist; Research methods with young children.
https://www.allkidsincluded.ca/ (external link) 

Donna Koller is a professor within the School of Early Childhood Studies at Toronto Metropolitan University. She completed graduate studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a doctorate degree in child development and applied psychology from the University of Toronto. Clinical positions in three children’s hospitals (Canada and US) contributed to an expertise in pediatric psychosocial care and children’s rights in health care. Her program of research consistently examines children’s own experiences and perceptions. As an adjunct scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), she has addressed children’s rights and perspectives on decision-making, social inclusion for children with disabilities and chronic medical conditions, the disclosure of medical errors, and children’s rights in a pandemic. As a member of the International Society for Social Pediatrics and Child Health (ISSOP), her work is guided by contemporary views of childhood and the ethical and moral imperatives set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989). Internationally, she has consulted on pediatric psychosocial care and research methods with children.

Featured Video

Who, Me? Promoting Social Inclusion for Children (external link, opens in new window) 

Exploring how self-reflective skills can help foster social inclusion. This video is produced by All Kids Included, a group of caring Canadian academics advocating for children's right to belong. We are grateful for the funding provided by SSHRC.

Teaching

  • CLD 205: Social and Emotional Well-being
  • CLD 446: Children and Chronic Illness
  • CS 8942: Children’s Health
  • CS 8930: Social Research with Children

Research interests:

  • Children’s participation rights in pediatrics
  • Children's perspectives on health care experiences
  • Social inclusion for children with disabilities and chronic medical conditions
  • Research methods with young children

Current research projects:

Project: Children's Rights in the Pediatric Operating Room: Implications for Teamwork

  • Funded by: SSHRC Insight Development Grant
    (Co-PI with Dr. Sherry Espin, Nursing)

Project: Dancing-bodies-moving-spaces: A radical approach to fostering movement in children with diverse physical abilities

  • Funded by: SSHRC Insight Development Grant
    (Co-investigator with PI Dr. Coralee McLaren, Nursing)

Project: Reconciling the social model of childhood disability with pedagogy: The effects of teacher training to facilitate friendship-building.

  • Funded by: SSHRC, Insight grant.

Project: Words matter: Discussing childhood disability and special health care needs with parents

  • Funded by: Faculty of Community Services, SEED.

Selected papers from refereed journals:

  • Koller, D., & Matthiesen, A. (2025). “Keeping the Door Open”: The Lived Experiences of Developmental Pediatricians in Caring for Families. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 10, 1097.
  • Espin, S., Koller, D., Matthiesen, A., & Indar, A. (2025). Interprofessional pediatric provider perspectives on children’s rights: An exploratory study. Children’s Health Care, 1-19.
  • Matthiesen, A., Drumm, N., Gerlach, A., Koller, D., & Killackey, T. (2025). Relational Autonomy in Pediatric Healthcare: A Scoping Review., Nursing Ethics, 1.
  • Janiszewski, C.M., Friedel, E., Skvarc, D., Koller, D., & Grech, L.B. (2025). The relationship between disability identity and use of person-first and identity-first language. Rehabilitation Psychology.
  • Rashes, E., Weitzman, M., Koller, D., & Kraft, C. (2025). A World Without US Support: World Health Organization Funding Cuts and the Future of Childhood Health. BMJ Open Paediatrics.
  • Koller, D. & Matthiesen, A. (2025). “Run away from the crazy diaper boy”: Parental and professional perspectives on social inclusion for children with disabilities. Journal of Diversity and Inclusion Research.
  • Kraft, C., Weitzman, M., Koller, D., Goldhagen, J., & Ruston, F. (March 26, 2025). Children will suffer from changes to US research system. (external link)  BMJ 2025; 388, r572.
  • Koller, D., Matthiesen, A., Oulton, A., & Murphy, E. (2025). “It isn’t the same for everyone”: Early childhood educators’ lived experiences with cultivating social inclusion. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2025.2450794
  • Koller, D., Grech, L., & Oulton, A. (2024). Talking diagnoses with parents: a critical review of pediatricians’ perspectives. Children's Health Care, 1-31.
  • Grech, L. B., Koller, D., & Olley, A. (2024). Preference for person-first versus identity-first language: Informing client-centred care. Social Science & Medicine, 117444.
  • Koller, D., Espin, S., Indar, A., Oulton, A., & LeGrow, K. (2024). Children’s participation rights and the role of pediatric healthcare teams: A critical review. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 77, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2024.02.023
  • Matthiesen, A., Gerlach, A. J., Koller, D., & Moola, F. J. (2024). Complicating ‘Voice’ and ‘Choice’: The Role of Child Life Specialists in Shaping Children’s Health Care Participation Rights in the Netherlands. The Journal of Child Life: Psychosocial Theory and Practice. https://doi.org/10.55591/001c.91122
  • Metersky, K., Tan, V., Al‐Hamad, A., Catallo, C., Koller, D., & Patel, K. (2023). Exploration of the advanced preparation nurse‐mother role in care of children with chronic disease: A narrative inquiry. Journal of Clinical Nursing. (accepted manuscript – pending publication)
  • Grech, L.B., Koller, D., & Olley, A. (2023). Furthering the person-first versus identity-first language debate, Australian Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050067.2023.2192863
  • Şenkal, E., Kurt, Ö. M., Yalçın, S. S., Koller, D., & Boran, P. (2023). Seeing the pandemic through children’s eyes: exploring Turkish children’s views on COVID‐19 pandemic by focus‐group discussions. Child: Care, Health and Development
  • Koller, D., & Murphy, E. (2022). Dolls as a Rights-Affirming Early Childhood Research Method: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Children’s Rights
  • Koller, D., Grossi, M., van den Heuvel, M., & Wong, P. (2022). Hiding and seeking: Children's lived experiences during COVID-19. Children and Society, 00, 1– 18. https://doi.org/10.1111/chso.12590
  • Jörgensen, E., Koller, D., Raman, S., Olatunya, O., Asemota, O., Ekpenyong, BN., Gunnlaugsson, G., Okolo, A. (2022). The voices of children and young people during COVID-19: A critical review of methods. Acta Paediatr. 2022 May 24. https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.16422
  • Schoeppich, A., Koller, D., McLaren, C. (2021). Children’s Right to Participate in Playground Development: A Critical Review. Children, Youth and Environments, Vol. 31 (3).
  • Koller, D. (2021). Right of children to be heard. BMJ Paediatrics Open, 5(1) http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjpo-2021-001161
  • Koller, D., & Stoddart, K. (2021). Approaches that address social inclusion for children with disabilities: A critical review. Child & Youth Care Forum. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10566-020-09589-8 
  • Koller, D., & Wheelwright, D. (2020). Disrupting the status quo: A new theoretical vision for the child life profession (external link) . Journal of Child Life: Psychosocial Theory and Practice, 1(2), 27-32. 

Chapters in books:

  • Koller, D., & Wheelwright, D. (2024). The future of child life assessment is now. In K. Cantrell, C. Sisk & B. Wittenberg (Eds). Child Life Assessment.
  • Koller, D. (2018). Anxiety and the hospitalized child: Best practices for guiding therapeutic play. In C. Schaefer & A. Drewes (Eds.), Play-based interventions for childhood anxieties, fears, and phobias (pp. 15-26). Guilford Press. 
  • Underwood, K., Chan, C., Koller, D., & Valeo, A. (2017). Understanding young children’s capabilities: Approaches to interviews with young children experiencing disability. In B. Kelly & B. Byrne (Eds.), Valuing disabled children and young people: Research, policy, and practice (pp. 220-237). Routledge.
  • Koller, D. (2014). Hospital play dolls. In V. Johnson, J. Colwell, & R. Hart (Eds.), Steps to engaging young children in research: The research toolkit (pp. 138-140). Education Research Centre, University of Brighton.

Major invited contributions or reports:

Working paper for the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children:

 (PDF file) Child Life Council Evidence Based Practice Statements (external link) :

  • Koller, D. (2008). Child life assessment: Variables associated with a child’s ability to cope with hospitalization. Child Life Council Evidence-Based Practice Statement, 61-65. 
  • Koller, D. (2008). Therapeutic play in pediatric health care: The essence of child life practice. Child Life Council Evidence-Based Practice Statement, 53-56. 
  • Koller, D. (2007). Preparing children and adolescents for medical procedures. Child Life Council Evidence-Based Practice Statement, 45-50. 

  • Blumenthal Fellowship, University of Missouri
  • Superior Graduate Student Award, University of Missouri

  • International Society for Social Pediatrics and Child Health (ISSOP)
  • Canadian Coalition on the Rights of Children (CCRC)
  • Child Rights Academic Network (CRAN)
  • Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP)