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CUE's ASHE Institutes Reshape Policy Analysis with a Focus on Equity
Members of the 2009 Principles and Methods of Participatory Critical Action Research Workshop | The creation of the Journal of African American Males in Education; an equity component added to the Illinois Community College Board's Pathways to Results project; a program to show teachers and administrators in two Boston public schools how to use data to improve college-going rates among African American, Latina and Latino students (story below) - these are just a few examples of how participants in USC's Center for Urban Education (CUE) ASHE Institutes for Equity and Critical Policy Analysis are reshaping the world of policy with an emphasis on equity.
Efforts like these are countering the persistent complaint that academics all too often produce research that is not relevant to policy.
The Institutes, which kicked off in Boulder today, are funded by the Ford Foundation and hosted by CUE in collaboration with researchers at Teachers College, Columbia University; Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles; The Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance (IHELG) at the University of Houston Law Center; and The Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, as well as with higher education policy leaders at the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE) and the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).
During this second year of the Institutes, collaboration between academic researchers and policy makers is now more critical than ever, as the nation strives to graduate more students and to close racial-ethnic equity gaps in college completion. Fifty-two researchers, from emerging to well established scholars, put their heads together with 25 policy analysts and college administrators during the 2009 Institutes.
"What's unique about the Institutes is the way that scholars and policy analysts have the chance to tackle the tough problems of equity in higher education together," said Dr. Sandra Luca, Institutes Project Coordinator and CUE Research Associate. "This is essential because higher education researchers are bringing forward new ideas about how to make higher education policies more inclusive and equitable for groups that have traditionally been underserved in higher education."
The Institutes also serve as a training ground for up and coming researchers to network and get advice from senior scholars about how to pursue academic careers while engaging in critical policy analysis.
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CUE's Research Tools to Assist Two Boston High Schools This Summer
Professor Estela Mara Bensimon consults with Tia McNair at the 2009 Participatory Critical Action Research Institute.  |
Tia McNair, assistant director for the National College Access Network and a 2009 ASHE Institutes participant, recently received a major grant from the Kresge Foundation.
The funding will provide NCAN the resources to develop a process to manage school-based outreach and intervention programs. It will provide growth capital for operations and member services such as diversity and equity seminars, dissemination of a "Research to Practice" newsletter and support of student success and college completion.
The Center for Urban Education (CUE) will lend its expertise in this project by examining the success of two Boston public high schools' college-access programs in producing equitable outcomes.
Click here to read the announcement regarding NCAN's $980,000 college access and success grant from the Kresge Foundation. |
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The USC Rossier School of Education is one of the world's premier centers for the study of urban education, preparing teachers and educational leaders who are committed to strengthening urban education locally, nationally and globally. Established at USC in 1999 as part of the University's urban initiative, the Center for Urban Education (CUE) leads socially conscious research and develops tools needed for institutions of higher education to produce equity in student outcomes. |
