A pilot reading initiative led by two UConn professors is showing dramatic results four years after its implementation, much to the delight of lawmakers and advocates who have struggled for years to close Connecticut’s significant reading achievement gap.

For more than a decade, school districts across the country have been revamping their career and technical education programs to better prepare students with the high-tech skills in demand today.

But as transformative as many of these so-called CTE programs have been, a new report by the Manhattan Institute for Public Policy and co-authored by Neag School assistant professor Shaun Dougherty cautions that there is much important work that still needs to be done.

When charter schools first appeared in the U.S. in the early 1990s, they were seen as an exciting alternate choice for families looking to move their children out of low-performing urban schools.
Still widely popular, charter schools have become a major part of the nation’s educational infrastructure, expanding at a rate of about 12 percent a year. Nearly 3 million children, or about six percent of all children enrolled in public schools nationwide, currently attend charter schools.

But with states facing mounting pressure to ease regulations to allow more charter schools, and with the federal government and private industry offering millions of dollars in new charter school grants and incentives, UConn professor of educational leadership and law Preston Green III is urging policymakers to be careful.

Connecticut lawmakers and education leaders seeking to reduce the use of restraints and seclusion in public schools were encouraged this week by two UConn experts who offered a successful, research-driven alternative to addressing disruptive student behaviors. More than 100 people attended a two-hour presentation at the state Capitol on Jan. 27, where professors George Sugai and Nicholas Gelbar described how a prevention and de-escalation strategy known as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) can significantly reduce incidents of seclusion and restraint, while simultaneously improving the classroom climate for all students.

This time of year, millions of high school students around the country are anxiously waiting to learn whether they will be accepted into the college or university of their choice. For many, high school grades and standardized test scores will be the initial benchmarks that decide their fate. But UConn professor of educational psychology James C. Kaufman says traditional college admission practices are capturing only part of a student’s overall potential.

While conventional wisdom may hold that academically gifted students can take care of themselves in school, a new report co-authored by UConn professor of education Jonathan Plucker reveals a starkly different story.

Being creative can be sexy in any relationship, but how you apply your creativity can influence how long a relationship lasts.
In two recent studies that looked at the intersection between creativity, personality, and relationships, UConn professor James C. Kaufman and colleagues found that people who immerse themselves in purely artistic pursuits – such as writing the next great novel, composing an opera, or painting a brilliant landscape – are more apt to be single and experience short-term relationships

Erik Hines, assistant professor of educational
 psychology in the Neag School of Education, a specialist in school counseling and college and career readiness, offers insight on the proposal for free community college tuition under President Obama’s new proposal.

Students in lower income school districts have a significantly harder time analyzing and understanding information on the Internet than their peers, according to a new UConn study that indicates a troubling online reading achievement gap may exist in the nation’s schools.

Getting young children involved in sports and other recreational activities is a great way to keep them healthy, happy, and fit. But being active also increases a child’s chances of getting hurt. Each year, more than 3.5 million children ages 14 and under receive medical treatment for sports-related injuries, according to Safe Kids USA, a […]