This article recites the research pathway traced by the professor Maria Clotilde Therezinha Rossetti-Ferreira all along her academic career. This pathway was divided in three fases that mark the conceptual movement the professor does, from a deep study of the attachment theory to a perspective that conceives the human development as a network of meanings. Using some of the most important reports developed by the professor, such as articles and books, as well as one interview made with her in 2006, we show how the professor 's history intertwines with the Brazilian developmental psychology 's history. It is evident the importance of Ms Maria Clotilde to this area, once her name is nationally and internationally known, when we talk about subjects like child 's education and, more recently, adoption, and fostering in residential care or family foster care.