UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In the past century, the Penn State College of Education has established itself not only as a training ground for future teachers but as a research powerhouse on the cutting edge of issues such as diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). Additionally, researchers in the college have successfully bridged theory and practice by forging ties with policymakers, journalists and educators.
“Certainly, 100 years ago there was very little research that was systematically organized around education,” said Greg Kelly, distinguished professor of science education and senior associate dean for research in the College of Education. “If you look at our history, there’s been a gradual increase in research but most prominently within the last 30 to 40 years.”
According to “The College of Education: An Illustrated History” (a publication celebrating the college’s 75th anniversary), a turning point in the college’s trajectory occurred in 1929-30, when, under the direction of the first dean, Will Chambers, the college developed both master of education (M.Ed.) and doctor of education (D.Ed.) programs, and Chambers appointed a director of research.
By the early 1980s, research, development and training dollars garnered by the college reached the $2 million mark. The American Educational Research Journal ranked the College of Education ninth in the nation in educational research productivity.
In 1994, the first-ever Office of Research Support was established to assist and support faculty in their searches for grants and contracts. A year later, in a national study, the College of Education was named among the top 10 colleges of education in the nation and U.S. News & World Report ranked the college in the top 25 among its competitors that year.
In the past few decades, the College of Education has continued to ascend in rankings of educational graduate programs at an international level. According to the 2024 U.S. News & World Report rankings of global universities for education and educational research, the College of Education is ranked No. 20. Among the U.S. News national rankings for residential graduate programs, the college’s higher education program is ranked third; student counseling/personnel services is ranked sixth; and the educational administration program is ranked No. 10. In the online graduate programs category, the master’s in educational program is ranked third; and the master’s in education for veterans and the master’s in instructional media programs are both ranked fourth.
In the two decades since Kelly joined the College of Education, he said, there has been an increase in grant-funded research as well as a wider range of research topics being explored. In recent years, there has been a more intense focus on research that reflects the college’s commitment to social change that is at the core of its strategic plan.
“Since I joined the college, the research has become more interdisciplinary,” Kelly said. “In addition, there is a stronger focus on recognizing educational inequalities and systemic racism in education.”
Francesca Lopez, Waterbury Chair in Equity Pedagogy and Professor of Education, is pioneering a path of research in educational equity and also helping to bridge gaps between academia and policymakers/citizens.
“Over the past decade, I have cultivated collaborative, cross-sector research teams and developed research-practice partnerships that reflect jointly-identified research needs in ways that directly address inequities,” Lopez said. “Many of the research-practice partnerships that I am involved in began with collaborations with superintendents who were in need of research evidence to address various issues.”
Lopez’s current focus of research is examining ways to support equity approaches in K-12 contexts. In addition to co-authoring the Teachers College Press book, “Critical Race Theory and Its Critics,” which provides contemporary and historical account of efforts to thwart fair and unbiased education opportunities; research on why these efforts have been successful; and ways for teachers, school leaders and researchers to address this pushback in their own work, Lopez was invited to present her work to the Spencer Foundation’s Board during their 2023 annual retreat. She received the American Psychological Association, Division 15 2023 Best Article Award for her related article, “Can educational psychology be harnessed to make changes for the greater good?” in Educational Psychologist.
“With funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Student Experience Research Network, I have led the creation of policy fact sheets and infographics designed to support K-12 leaders in navigating the increasingly contentious context of equity-focused education,” Lopez said. “This has involved working with the Pennsylvania House of Representatives House Education Committee, the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the Research-to-Policy Collaborative to engage leaders and policymakers in the use of evidence that can guide practice and policy.”
Lopez is currently collaborating on various projects and proposals with Aspen Institute, one of which involves the Education Writer’s Association, “where we are developing a network alliance to share interdisciplinary evidence-based practices that counter the misinformation about education equity.”
Amid the racial tension in the U.S. surrounding current events such as the Black Lives Matter movement, the Center for Education and Civil Rights (CECR) has been front and center in the national dialogue on educational equity. CECR’s mission is “to be a hub for the generation of knowledge and coalition-building among the education and civil rights communities to promote research-based actions that address the complicated nature of racial and ethnic inequality in the 21st century.”
“Following the murder of George Floyd and a broader awakening among the public of how structural inequities harm people of color — and our efforts to attain a more just, multiracial democracy — the center’s work is more salient than ever,” said Erica Frankenberg, professor of educational leadership and demography and director of CECR. “Documenting racial inequities in education and the policies and practices that create and sustain them; fostering partnerships between researchers and practitioners that advance equity within and between schools; making research publications free and publicly available; offering an undergraduate internship program; and frequently engaging with popular media are all ways the center contributes to society’s understanding of how racism functions and how it can be disrupted.”
CECR has been a major player in the national dialogue on school segregation, Frankenberg said. The center hosted a conference in 2019 on the 65th anniversary of the "Brown v. Board of Education" decision with Nikole Hannah-Jones, an investigative journalist who won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 2020 for her work on The 1619 Project (which focused on subjects of slavery and the founding of the U.S.) as keynote speaker. The conference also included a release of a report that Frankenberg co-authored on school segregation cited in Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent in a U.S. Supreme Court decision in June that ended most race-conscious admission programs at colleges and universities across the country.
One of the College of Education’s first forays into building partnerships with Pennsylvania schools and bridging theory and practice occurred in 1947, when the Pennsylvania School Study Council (PSSC) was founded. PSSC is a partnership between Penn State and member school districts, intermediate units and career and technology centers. The council is dedicated to improving public education in Pennsylvania by providing up-to-date research information, professional development activities and technical assistance that will enable its members to provide top-quality educational services to students.
According to Peggy Schooling, professor of practice in educational leadership and executive director of PSSC, the study council movement across the country emerged after World War II in response to the need by school districts to have access to educational research and to support superintendents with decisions regarding policy and practice.
“With the assistance of the Study Council, Penn State became one of three universities in Pennsylvania to certify principals and superintendents in the state,” Schooling said. “To this day, Penn State and the Educational Leadership program continue to be national leaders in research, instruction and publications regarding educational administration.