Peabody-home

By Jenna Somers Key Takeaways Researchers uncovered new personality traits and developed a new personality hierarchy using novel data science methods in taxonomic graph analysis (TGA). TGA could lead to a more precise understanding of personality and classifications in psychopathology. The researchers’ TGA method builds personality hierarchies from the bottom… Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich and Krystal Schmidt As kids return to school, families considering special education services for their children may wonder where to start. Even after support is in place, Section 504 plans and IEPs can feel overwhelming. Vanderbilt Peabody College researcher Meghan Burke, professor of special… Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich Teenagers in the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt (SSMV), staff with the Vanderbilt University Museum of Art (VUMA) and Nashville Metro Historical Commission archaeologists recently joined forces in a unique collaboration. Beginning in January 2025 with support from Vanderbilt’s Community Engagement Collaboration Fund, three… Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich This July 6 – 23, rising high school seniors in the Cooke Young Scholars Program immersed themselves in life and learning at Vanderbilt University. During the initiative’s annual Senior Summit, 57 students stayed on campus, studied in advanced courses and participated in engaging residential experiences.  … Read More

by Jenna Somers Karen Legrand Karen Legrand returned to Guatemala with “new eyes” after her experience in the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development in 2020-2021. In the highlands of Guatemala, she created a violence prevention program, followed by a… Read More

Amy Owen The Tennessee Education Research Alliance, a research-practice partnership between the Tennessee Department of Education and Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, is pleased to announce Dr. Amy Owen as its new executive director. Owen succeeds Dr. Laura Booker, who will transition into… Read More

By Jenna Somers and Krystal Schmidt   This summer, around 30 middle-school students from the Tennessee Nature Academy explored upstream and downstream Mill Creek, which flows 28 miles from Nolensville to the Cumberland River in Tennessee. Some students moved as quickly as algae-covered rocks would allow, while others took… Read More

Since 2020, educators, policymakers, and families have grappled with the long-term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on student learning and well-being. While pandemic recovery efforts are ongoing, one of the most persistent challenges has been chronic absenteeism. Nashville PEER hopes to understand this issue at its roots with a new… Read More

By Jenna Somers A growing number of federal agencies require researchers to establish data management and sharing plans to receive federal funding. The National Institutes of Health’s policy took effect in 2023, requiring researchers to include these plans in their grant proposals and to share their data upon publication… Read More

By Jenna Somers Mark Chin Andres Pinedo Nicollette Mitchell Two scholars at Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development were awarded prestigious early-career fellowships from the National Academy of Education and… Read More

A recent study out of Vietnam, published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology, offers important insights into how culture effects adolescents’ aggressive responses to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). ACEs include child abuse and neglect, exposure to domestic violence, and other such damaging experiences. The study focused on the… Read More

By Jenna Somers Richard Welsh Suspended FuturesTransforming Racial Inequities in School Disciplineby Richard O. Welsh   Racial disparities in school discipline can arise based on how educators perceive and respond to student behaviors, according to research by Richard Welsh, associate professor of education and public policy at… Read More

In May, the Peabody Journal of Education released a special themed issue on seven studies conducted by the Tennessee Education Research Alliance (TERA), a research-practice partnership between Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development and the Tennessee Department of Education. TERA houses Tennessee’s K-12 public school… Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich Marissa Tessier, Melanie Hundley and Elizabeth Seeker. Photo: Krystal Schmidt Convincing tweens and teens to read books can be an uphill battle. But a collaboration between two Vanderbilt Peabody College of education and human development students, their professor, and best-selling Disney Books author Jen Calonita is… Read More

By Jennifer Kiilerich Only a third of American students read proficiently, according to the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress. Scores continue to lag behind those from 2019 and 2022, and there has been little overall improvement since the NAEP began tracking reading in 1992. Educators and policymakers have… Read More

by Jenna Somers Jessika Boles After consulting with the palliative care team, Jessika Boles, MEd’08, found herself speaking with a mother about honoring her daughter’s legacy. “One of the ways we can do that is through handprint art, since handprints and fingerprints are unique to each person. Would you… Read More

As founder and CEO of UpSmith, Wyatt Smith, BS'10, uses technology to help builders and technicians be more productive, master new skills to stay in the workforce longer and help solve the skilled workforce shortage. Read More