Research in Educational Settings

My interest in what happens in diverse urban schools began when I became involved in a study of school desegregation while in graduate school. Those interests have led me to study a range of issues in schools, including school schedules and structures, teaching approaches such as cooperative learning and conflict resolution, social influence processes, and student background characteristics including poverty, type of housing, language, ability, and race/ethnicity. This work has been facilitated by time I spent in the Saint Paul Public Schools as their director of research, evaluation and assessment. Recently, my work has moved beyond schools to look more broadly at how universities engage urban communities to build partnerships addressing key social issues. I have complemented my substantive interests with methodology interests in structural equation methods and program evaluation. Finally, I have held administrative roles that have enriched and informed my research interests, including director of the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), assistant/associate vice president for multicultural and academic affairs, and now vice president for system academic administration . I am a past-president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), and currently edit one of their journals, Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy.

Educational Research What an Interesting Idea Getting Started Accessing School Populations Establishing Credibility, Increasing Understanding, and Gaining Commitment Dreaming an Impossible Dream? Issues of Design, Sampling, and Analysis School Personnel Committed, Indifferent, or Resistant Selecting Measures Comprehensiveness and Depth of Assessment Versus Brevity and Efficiency How Long Does My Study Need To Be? Implementing the Research Hoping for the Best and Coping With the Worst Data Analysis and Interpretation What Does It All Mean?