December 2018 Newsletter

School of Education Shakespeare Partnership Has a New Name and Expanded Mission

Since 2005, more than 300 teaching credential students and practicing teachers in the community have received professional development through School of Education programs provided in partnership with Globe Education, Shakespeare’s Globe, London. We are excited to announce that we have expanded our long-established partnership with Globe Education and re-named it the Center for Shakespeare in Diverse Classrooms. 

The Center’s team, led by Research Director Dr. Steven Athanases, is partnering with teachers to develop, document and disseminate engaging and equitable K–12 classroom practices for the study of Shakespeare and other complex texts. This combination of scholarly inquiry and teacher professional development programs is grounded in the School’s mission of educational equity, and will continue to benefit K–12 language arts and social sciences students in our region and beyond. Learn more about the Center for Shakespeare in Diverse Classrooms on our website. 

New Report from UC Davis and CDE Provides Crucial Foundation for College and Career Readiness Research

As our global community continues to shift the labor market and rapidly redefine what is needed for a successful career, a college degree seems more important than ever before. High school students across the nation are well aware of this, and enrollment in postsecondary institutions continues to rise. According to newly published data, 63 percent of California’s high school graduates are enrolling in college, and in some California counties that statistic jumps as high as 75 percent. 

Statewide postsecondary data is becoming increasingly essential as educators and policymakers across the state continue to emphasize and invest in college and career readiness reform efforts. And yet it has been nearly a decade since information about college enrollment has been available at the state level. Now, thanks to an ongoing collaboration between researchers at UC Davis and the California Department of Education, education leaders have access to these metrics, allowing them to make more informed decisions and better prepare K–12 students.

School of Education researchers Michal Kurlaender, Sherrie Reed and Paco Martorell, alongside researchers from the UC Davis Department of Economics, recently released “Where California High School Students Attend College,” a new report published through Policy Analysis for California Education. The report sheds light on students’ postsecondary trajectories, lays the groundwork for future research on college and career readiness, and highlights a variety of statewide trends among different student subgroups. Read more about the report on our website. 

New Research Finds Just One Same-Race Teacher Can Impact Students’ Lives

Having an elementary teacher who looks like you can make a big impact. According to new research conducted by School of Education Associate Professor Cassandra Hart, with researchers at American University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Connecticut, we can now measure that impact more precisely. In a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), these researchers found that black students who had a black teacher in grades K–3 are 7 percent more likely to graduate from high school and 13 percent more likely to enroll in college than their same-school, same-cohort peers who did not have a black teacher. Having two black teachers increased black students’ likelihood to go to college by 32 percent.

The NBER working paper is one of the first in the field to document the long-term outcomes of the “role model effect” that occurs when students have at least one same-race teacher. By demonstrating positive outcomes and modeling the power of education, same-race teachers can help students achieve more during their time in the K–12 system and after high school. The paper also highlights the importance of increasing the number of teachers of color. While black students make up 15.4 percent of the K–12 population nationwide, black teachers only account for 6.7 percent of the teacher workforce. Read more about Hart’s research on our website.

PhD Candidate Minahil Asim Awarded Prestigious UC Davis Dissertation Year Fellowship

Congratulations to Graduate Group in Education PhD candidate Minahil Asim on being one of six graduate students campus-wide to receive the prestigious UC Davis Dissertation Year Fellowship!

Asim’s dissertation focuses on education in developing countries, looking at decentralized public school management and the challenges and benefits of education programs aimed at strengthening local governance in schools. She specifically studies a program in Pakistan that provided information and mobilized local committees in schools to develop school improvement plans and spend the school budget. Asim’s work sheds light on how engagement with local school committees affects outcomes for schools and for students. We are excited to see the future global impact of her work. 

Alumni Spotlight: Joe Radding (EdD ‘10)

 Joe Radding (EdD ’10) hasn’t always worked in the field of education, but once he made the switch, he knew it was the right choice. “About halfway through my 35-year career in state government, I moved to the California Department of Education (CDE) from a non-education entity,” he said. “I had always had an interest in education, and this was a pivotal move for me because I found a home.” 

During his career at the CDE, Radding led the implementation of and managed statewide college and career readiness programs designed to help students gain wider access to post-secondary education. “My dissertation was ultimately about my passion,” said Radding, “I knew I needed to have a greater understanding of how education reforms are born, grow and develop—that’s why I chose CANDEL.” Read more about Radding in our latest alumni spotlight.

Support Education with Your Year-End Gift

Gifts to the School of Education’s Annual Fund support our mission of providing quality, equitable education for all through our teaching, research and outreach activities. Here are a few ways our Annual Fund is making an impact this year:

Scholarship support to future educators like PhD student Erin Bridges Bird, who studies how young people can use scientific research to advocate for community change. Scholarships help our students pursue their dreams of improving education through innovative research and inspirational teaching.

Programmatic funding for the Transformative Justice in Education (TJE) Center’s Education Speaker Series, which brings together leading national scholars and community members to tackle social justice inequities in education.

Support for Words Take Wing, an annual event that brings regional schoolchildren to campus to experience live storytelling from award-winning authors, learn about cultural diversity, and develop a love of writing and children’s literature. 

By making a gift to the School of Education Annual Fund, you help the School support our faculty and students, continue programs that have far-reaching impact throughout our community and provide high-quality education to the next generation of teachers. Help us continue to create new opportunities for our students and faculty by giving back today. Thank you!