Education And Psychology

Research can help policymakers and educators make the best decisions on how to assist low-income children exceed in school from an early age. Read More

As schools nationwide prepare for the new academic year, education experts from Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and human development are available for back-to-school interviews on a variety of topics. Read More

Setting a solid routine and re-engaging in a child’s school are back-to-school essentials for parents, writes Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development. Read More

A new Peabody study found that early spatial ability – the skill required to mentally manipulate 2D and 3D objects – predicts the development of new knowledge, and especially innovation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) domains, above and beyond more traditional measures of mathematical and verbal ability. Read More

What exactly pushed Christopher Columbus to embark on a voyage across the Atlantic, or Edward Jenner to test his theory for an early smallpox vaccine on a child, or Henry Ford to bet that automobiles could replace horses? David Zald, professor of psychology, studies risk-taking and is quoted. Read More

Kindergarten teachers report spending much of their math instructional time teaching students basic counting skills and how to recognize geometric shapes—skills the students have already mastered before ever setting foot in the kindergarten classroom, new research finds. Read More

The latest research on the nation’s key education issues will be presented by Vanderbilt University Peabody College faculty April 27 - May 1 at the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference in San Francisco. Read More

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) will present its 2013 Outstanding Book Award to Vanderbilt University professor Christopher Loss for "Between Citizens and the State: The Politics of American Higher Education in the 20th Century." Read More

Velma McBride Murry is the recipient of the Society for Research in Child Development’s 2013 Distinguished Contributions to Cultural and Contextual Factors in Child Development Award presented April 18 at SRCD’s biennial meeting in Seattle. Read More

In the fall of 2012, Vanderbilt launched the nation’s first educational neuroscience doctoral program. This interdisciplinary program brings together Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of education and human development and the Vanderbilt Brain Institute to research educational issues within the context of brain science. Read More

Addressing demographic shifts, revamping school governance and improving public communication are among the recommendations made for Metro Nashville Public Schools by Claire Smrekar, associate professor of leadership, policy and organization, Vanderbilt senior Hilary Knudson and Candice McQueen, dean of education at David Lipscomb University, in a new report. Read More

Young children—even toddlers—are spending more and more time with digital technology. What will it mean for their development? Georgene Troseth, associate professor of psychology, has studied how toddlers interact with screens and is quoted. Read More

While critics of expanded preschool argue that their cognitive effects fade out after the first few years of schooling, they ignore a body of longer-term evidence that indicates impoverished students who experience a high-quality preschool program are less likely to repeat grades, to spend time in special education, to become teen parents or to get arrested, writes Camilla Benbow, Patricia and Rodes Hart Dean of Education and Human Development. Read More

Peabody Professor Christopher Loss addresses the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA) act, speculating what this new regulatory regime might look like. Read More

New research by Ron Zimmer may shed some light on the debate among state lawmakers over whether to create a state-level charter authorizer, which could open the door to more charter schools in Nashville and Memphis. Read More

Stella Flores, assistant professor of higher education, was interviewed about how institutions of higher learning can better support underserved populations. Read More

A recently released policy brief by Will Doyle, associate professor of higher education, lays out a detailed proposal to reform what is widely considered to be a broken financial aid system. Read More

Peabody professors Claire Smrekar and Ron Zimmer weighed in on school vouchers during a panel discussion sponsored by the League of Women Voters in collaboration with Vanderbilt’s Peabody College. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College and The League of Women Voters of Nashville will host a panel discussion on school vouchers, featuring industry experts on the subject on Feb. 7. Read More

A study of California school districts by Jason Grissom, assistant professor of public policy and education, shows that nearly half of superintendents left their districts within three years, including nearly three-quarters of the superintendents of the largest districts. Read More