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to Innovator Contents Innovator Vol. 35 No. 2 - Winter 04-05:
State of the School
The 2005 U.S. News and World Report rankings placed the University of Michigan School of Education in the top 10 for the 9th straight year. Its Higher Education Administration program was deemed the nation’s best, while its programs in Educational Psychology (3rd), Educational Policy (4th), Elementary Education (8th), Curriculum/Instruction (9th) and Administration/Supervision (10th) were also ranked in the top 10.
As satisfying as they are, rankings alone are not the measure of the School. What really matters is that, as Dean Karen Wixson wrote in her annual report to the University Provost, “this School addresses current educational problems in ways that really make a difference.” For instance, the School of Education’s Center for Learning Technologies in Urban Schools (LeTUS)
, in partnership with the Detroit Public Schools, recently received the Urban Impact Award (pictured below, right) at the annual fall conference of the Great City Schools. The project, which began in 1998 and eventually involved 47 teachers and 8,000 students, focused on science and social studies curriculum and the meaningful integration of technology. The result: steady gains in middle school science achievement, and a reduction of the gender gap between female students and their lower achieving male peers.
Growing synergy among research and teaching, professional service and social justice has led to significant progress, as measured by intellectual ferment and clarity of purpose.
Research
The School’s portfolio of externally funded research has grown tremendously over the past decade, with annual research expenditures totaling almost $19 million last year, and 38 of the 66 faculty involved in separately funded projects. A recent report from the Institute for Scientific Information ranks the School third among the nation’s schools and colleges of education for total number of publications in the years 1997-2000, but first—by a wide margin—in the rate of publication per faculty member. The same report ranked the School first in the nation for the impact of its research. And this impact continues to grow, as additional projects are funded. For example, Professor Pat King
“We are proud of the fact that our research informs the great national debate about how to overcome massive inequalities in educational opportunity at all levels,” says the Dean. “Of equal importance is the fact that we prepare researchers and practitioners to provide leadership in developing policies and practices that can overcome educational disparities in P-16 education. We work at the intersections of meaningful research and professional practice and build communities that include people working in roles ranging from classroom teachers to school principals to university administrators and researchers.”
The School’s research programs also reflect the inter- and multidisciplinary perspectives so essential for dealing with educational problems. For example, under the leadership of Professor Barry Fishman
Teaching
In addition to producing research of high quality and enduring relevance, education as a field within a premier public university must also excel in preparing future educators. In particular, “University-based teacher preparation has received increased scrutiny and criticism in political debates about education in this country,” says Dean Wixson. “Our preparation programs reflect the marriage of subject matter knowledge with pedagogical knowledge and skills. Although they are already among the best, we need to continue to innovate and improve.” Excellent faculty with a deep commitment to undergraduate education are key to this success. This year, Elizabeth Moje
A former Thurnau Professor, Professor Deborah Ball
The School is also enriching and rethinking important components of the post-graduate curriculum. Professor Roger Goddard
Inspired by its participation in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate, Professor Valerie Lee
Professional Service/Outreach
As part of a public university, the School’s impact must extend beyond its students, faculty and graduates. It is not enough to create knowledge and prepare professionals; dedicated practitioners already in the field need to share directly in the benefits the School provides, and students need to interact with those practitioners.
Current noteworthy outreach efforts include an ongoing collaboration with Michigan State University on an annual Superintendents’ Institute
At the undergraduate level, the Lives of Urban Children and Youth (LUCY)
Social Justice
The struggle for social justice is, in many ways, the river into which these streams eventually flow. All of the above would count for little if these goals were not addressed, in terms of the knowledge generated, the content of the curriculum, the makeup of the student body and faculty, and the direction of outreach and service efforts.
The Committee on Education for Equity and Social Justice
The School’s demographics demonstrate the interim success of the initiative. Of the School’s 509 graduate students, 67% are women and 23% are minorities. Of 285 undergraduates, 42% are women and 9% are minorities. Two of five faculty appointments for the current academic year are faculty of color, bringing the School’s total to seven, four tenured and three untenured.
Dean Wixson sums up the 2003-04 year when she says, “At a time when schools and colleges of education are under attack for trying to maintain the status quo rather than engaging in and facilitating educational improvement, the University of Michigan School of Education stands out for the progress it has made toward improving teaching and learning at all levels of education and in all settings, especially for underserved populations.”
By Jeff Mortimer
This article appears in the Winter 04-05 edition of the Innovator
