Neag School of Education
Finding Joy Through the Holiday Season
The pandemic is bringing an atypical holiday season this year, presenting change in the things we do, the way we do them, and who we do them with. We may miss out on getting together in person with family and friends, traveling to cherished places, or taking part in our traditional celebrations. Forced upon us, these unfamiliar changes can evoke feelings of loss and frustration.
A Teacher’s Teacher is New Head of Teacher Prep
Wendy Glenn is a teacher’s teacher and, therefore, a natural to be the new director of teacher education in the Neag School of Education at UConn. Her predecessor, Associate Dean Marijke Kehrhahn, who laid the administrative groundwork for the job, is even humbled by Glenn’s talents. “I’m not a teacher educator, and she is to […]
UConn Researchers Prepare Master’s Students to Work with Children with Developmental Disabilities
Many children with developmental disabilities, such as autism, have high-intensity behavioral needs, meaning they require a wide-ranging support system of people appropriately trained to work together to address their needs. Nearly 400,000 students in Connecticut have special health care needs. In the past decade, the prevalence of children with developmental disabilities has increased by 17% […]
Expanding Global Ed, Intercultural Learning at the Neag School
Associate Professor David Moss has spent the past six years actively expanding Neag School study abroad programs around the world as the Neag School’s global education director, and the past 20 years coordinating UConn’s long-standing London study abroad program in education.
Justis Lopez: Celebrating Inclusion, Joy in Education
On the way home from a hip-hop education conference last year, Justis Lopez ’14 (ED), ’15 (MA) and his colleague Ryan Parker were unpacking what they had learned and what they were feeling that day. They started to freestyle rap and found themselves filled with joy, repeating the verse ‘I’m feeling so happy.’ Their freestyling turned into a song called “HAPPYVISM” that is now part of a greater initiative they have named Project Happyvism.
The Renzulli Center: A Worldwide Leader in Gifted Education
Joseph Renzulli served as founding director of the Neag Center, the Lynn and Ray Neag Endowed Chair for Talent Development, as well as the first director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT), then one of a dozen centers in the U.S. focused on addressing significant issues in the education of gifted and talented students, and enrichment education. Under Renzulli’s guidance, the Neag Center evolved into one of the leading centers in gifted education and talent development in the world.
The Prevalence and the Price of Police in Schools
Since the 1900s, U.S. public schools have employed a growing number of school resource officers (SROs) – defined here as sworn law enforcement officials. In 1975, only 1% of schools reported having police officers on site, but by 2018, approximately 58% of schools had at least one sworn law enforcement official present during the school week.
Q&A: Schooling, Caregiving, and Emotional Support during COVID
UConn education expert Sandra Chafouleas discusses the challenges COVID-19 poses to students, parents, and caregivers as the school year takes shape.
Talking to Kids About the Dysfunctional Presidential Debate
To move forward with our kids, we first need to address the mess that happened this week. We must talk about what happened during this debate of dysfunction, using it as a prime non-example (what not to do) of healthy debate. We also need to push for more civics education in school, teaching our kids the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that they will need to be healthy debaters as adults. Actively embedding social and emotional learning within existing structures for teaching debate is important for all students.
Reducing Racism in Schools: The Promise of Anti-Racist Policies
In 2020, the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others led to a resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement across the nation and around the globe. The revitalization of this movement has come with increased public demand for policy change, and specific calls for anti-racist policies in schools. As a result, many educational leaders are grappling with what this means for their respective contexts, and the extent to which their school or district’s current policies measure up to public demand.