Peabody College

By Jessica Holter What school and community systems and resources are necessary to create equitable conditions for students to excel? How do district policies and practices exacerbate or transform disparities in student opportunities and outcomes? How can schools build learning opportunities to support all students? These questions guide the research… Read More

By Jenna Somers In 2022, the U.S. State Department awarded a two-year, $2.5 million grant to Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and human development and the American University of Iraq–Baghdad to design and launch a new college of education and human development at AUIB focused on teacher training and… Read More

On June 29, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of Students for Fair Admissions in cases against the University of North Carolina and Harvard College for violating the Constitution’s equal protection clause in their admissions practices. The decisions overturned more than 40 years of precedent set… Read More

By Jenna Somers ChatGPT is here to stay, and educators need to adapt to their students using it—at least, that’s what news headlines have suggested for almost a year following ChatGPT’s unveiling. Much of the coverage has given voice to worries about the possibility that AI will hinder learning… Read More

Hankering for a warm crepe and coffee? Then bike over to Red Bicycle, now with two locations on the campus of Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development. Hours of Operation: 6 Magnolia, ground floor: Monday – Friday, 7:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Peabody Library, ground floor: Monday –… Read More

By Jenna Somers Andres Pinedo How do young people develop an understanding of societal and systemic injustices, and how are they compelled to challenge those injustices? These questions lie at the center of new research published in Child Development that illuminates the interplay between youth participation in community-based… Read More

The Peabody Scholars program gives exceptional undergraduate students at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development the opportunity to contribute to the betterment of society through collaborations with organizations around the world in the form of summer service projects. These projects reflect the program’s larger mission to… Read More

In 2023, many states made major progress to address poverty, the child care crisis, birth outcomes, and more.   American families are struggling. A national funding cliff is making child care even less affordable and accessible, the Medicaid unwinding means dropped coverage for millions, and child poverty has doubled after… Read More

Cynthia Osborne Cynthia Osborne has been selected as a 2023 Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow, recognized for her leadership in working across sectors to support the well-being of children and families. Osborne is professor of early childhood education and policy as well as the founder and executive director… Read More

By Jenna Somers Meghan Burke Public schools’ resources for students with disabilities are critical tools for empowering their educations, especially when families have the knowledge to advocate for their children and partner with their children’s schools to create support plans. However, research suggests that some schools may be falling… Read More

By Jenna Somers From left to right: Balkis Boum and Nancy Dickson of the AUIB Project Design Team, Pallavi Reddy, Allison Webster-Giddings, Dean Camilla Benbow, Jason Fatz, and Associate Dean Xiu Cravens The American University of Iraq—Baghdad has hired three alumni of Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of education… Read More

By Jenna Somers Amy Booth; Photo by Anne Rayner; VU Little is known about the origins and development of scientific literacy and interests that emerge in early childhood, but according to Amy Booth, professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of education and… Read More

Impacts include higher quality of care, increased parental employment and educational achievement—plus millions of dollars in state economic benefits. The Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center release a one-of-its-kind report, Early Investment, a Lifetime of Returns: Articulating the Value of Early Childhood Investments in Virginia. This report estimates that the… Read More

An unprecedented gift from Hal and Marjorie Hollis Roberts will establish a new academy for primary students with dyslexia and an innovative center focused on outreach and dyslexia research at Vanderbilt University. Read More

By Jenna Somers Lisa Fazio New research published in Public Opinion Quarterly reveals a correlation between the number of times President Donald Trump repeated falsehoods during his presidency and misperceptions among Republicans, and that the repetition effect was stronger on the beliefs of people who consume information primarily… Read More

By Jenna Somers Jeannette Mancilla-Martinez Many students from Spanish-speaking homes—whether designated as English learners or not—struggle with English language and reading comprehension, including students born and raised in the U.S. and who attend English-only-instruction schools. These students’ low scores on standardized English reading and language assessments are often associated… Read More

By Jenna Somers Hilary Travers Earlier this year, the U.S. and Tennessee Departments of Education awarded grants totaling more than $9.9 million to Hilary Travers, PhD’21, research assistant professor of special education, to support educational and post-school outcomes of students with disabilities in Tennessee. In April, Travers received… Read More

By Jane Sevier and Jenna Somers Meghan Burke Meghan Burke joined Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development in August as professor of special education. Her research interests include family advocacy, families of individuals with disabilities, and disability policy. She examines how families advocate for… Read More

By Jenna Somers James R. Booth A five-year, $3.9 million grant from the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders will support novel research into the brain function of language development in 4- to- 8-year-old late talkers with language delay to identify predictive biomarkers that could support early… Read More

By Jenna Somers Autumn Kujawa A two-year, $1.45 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health will support a study to test a novel therapeutic approach for preventing the emergence of anhedonia, a hallmark symptom of depression, in high-risk children. Autumn Kujawa, associate professor of psychology… Read More