Elaine Clanton Harpine, Ph.D., is a motivational psychologist specializing in group-centered prevention.  She has many years experience designing and conducting motivational prevention programs for children and youth.  She has taught many children to read. Dr. Clanton Harpine earned her doctorate in Educational Psychology, Counseling from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.   

Dr. Clanton Harpine has published 19 books, most recently Why Can't We Teach Children to Read? Oh, but Wait, We Can. Previous books include After-School Programming and Intrinsic Motivation: Teaching At-Risk Students to Read (2019), Teaching at-Risk Students to Read: The Camp Sharigan Method (2017), Group-Centered Prevention in Mental Health: Theory, Training, and Practice ​(2015), After-School Prevention Programs for At-Risk Students:  Promoting Engagement and Academic Success (2013), Prevention Groups (2013), Group-Centered Prevention Programs for At-Risk Students (2011), Group Interventions in Schools:  Promoting Mental Health for At-Risk Children and Youth (2008).  And No Experience Necessary! which received an Award of Excellence in 1995 and was selected as one of the top five children’s books in its class. Her book After-School Programming and Intrinsic Motivation was selected as a top publication in quality education in 2020 by Springer. For a complete list of Elaine's publications, see the list of her books.

Elaine has served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Akron, Kent State University, and the University of South Carolina Aiken. She directs the Camp Sharigan Project. 
Elaine's Research

Elaine's research has focused on using group-centered interventions with at-risk readers.  Dr. Clanton Harpine designed the motivational reading program called Camp Sharigan, the year-long Reading Orienteering Club after-school program, and the 4-Step Method that uses vowel clustering to teach at-risk children to read.  Her research with these programs has been published in psychological journals and reported in presentations at the American Psychological Association's annual conventions.

Elaine served for three years on the Board of the Society of Group Psychology and Group Psychotherapy (Division 49) of the American Psychological Association. Elaine is past editor of the Prevention Corner in the Group Psychologist. 

E-mail: c[email protected]


Copyright 2015-2022, Elaine Clanton Harpine