IES Partnership Taps Educator Perspectives to Help Inform National Research Agenda
Jefferson Education Exchange partners with the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences on event series designed to gather insights directly from educators; holds forum for feedback on IES priorities from educator associations
WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IES, in partnership with the Jefferson Education Exchange (JEX), a nonprofit organization committed to helping educators make better informed decisions about education technology, today announced the launch of an initiative designed to expand the role of educators in helping shape the national education research agenda.
"When it comes to understanding the needs of students, and developing research-driven solutions to practical classroom challenges, teacher voices are critically important," said Maddie Fennell, NBCT, Executive Director of the Nebraska State Education Association and JEX Board Member. "We are excited to create new opportunities for educators around the country to engage with, and help shape, our national education research agenda."
Later this month, the Jefferson Education Exchange will begin to bring together more than 200 K-12 educators through two field research convenings, organized in partnership with the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the independent research arm of the U.S. Department of Education. The events will inform a research study of educator perspectives on the types of research most likely to support the improvement of educational outcomes. Participating educators will receive a $200 stipend from the Jefferson Education Exchange.
"All too often, decisions about which education programs, policies, technologies, and pedagogies are researched overlook the perspectives of teachers and school leaders that should be central to our national research priorities," said Bart Epstein, CEO of the Jefferson Education Exchange. "A key purpose of education research is to support educators, which means their voices must carry weight in determining which research to invest in and which questions to answer. This is an important first step in fostering more transparent, effective dialogue between the research community and educators around the country."
The first convening will take place in Omaha, NE on Saturday, October 27. The second convening will take place in Raleigh, NC on November 3. These field research convenings with individual teachers, principals, and administrators will be followed by a day-long meeting on Tuesday, November 27 in Washington, D.C. The November convening will bring together leaders from more than 40 professional educator associations whose members are expected to participate in a survey of educator perspectives, developed by JEX under the auspices of the University of Virginia's Institutional Review Board (IRB), to better understand educator perspectives and needs concerning education research.
"This initiative was born from the need to support and promote research that is informed by educators themselves," said Mark Schneider, Director of the Institute of Education Sciences. "Direct and frequent engagement is critical to ensure that our work reflects the challenges and priorities of students, teachers, and administrators across the country, as well as policymakers and others who rely on robust education research."
About JEX
The Jefferson Education Exchange is a nonprofit organization committed to bringing educator perspectives to bear on edtech procurement and research. Supported by the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education, JEX's work centers on research and development to guide the design of research protocols and tools that will enable educators to document and share their experiences with education technology products. For more, visit JEX on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About IES
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. IES is independent and non-partisan. Its mission is to provide scientific evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and to share this information in ways that are useful and accessible to educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public.
SOURCE Jefferson Education Exchange; IES
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