Social justice and equity remains an area of focus for Neag School researchers, particularly given that the achievement gap between Connecticut’s low-income and minority students and their peers is among the largest in the United States. Here, the Neag School highlights several key avenues of research work in this area.

Working alongside fellow UConn faculty and administrators, Neag School assistant professor Blanca Rincón will serve as co-principal investigator and researcher on a new five-year, $3.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant dedicated to expanding diversity in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

For Ph.D. candidate Thomas “TJ” McKenna, a love for science may not be enough; his mission, it seems, has become focused just as much on sharing his love for making science accessible to the masses.

Inside IES Research (Neag School’s Michael Coyne was mentioned as a contributor for this special issue)

Three Neag School students — Alexandra “Ali” Jabick ’16 (ED), ’17 MA, Cheyann Kelly ’16 (ED), ’17 MA, and Yizhi Wang ’16 (ED), ’17 MA — each in their fifth year of the Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s program with a concentration in elementary education, are currently spending the semester in Cape Town, South Africa, where they are working at Christel House School, which is run entirely on donations and where all students are on full scholarship.

From Nov. 14-18, 2016, the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Department of Education commemorates International Education Week, an opportunity to “celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide.” This joint initiative focuses on promoting programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and that attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences.

As part of this weekly celebration, the Neag School of Education is taking the opportunity to highlight a few of its own Global Experiences programs.

Each fall, a select group of fifth-year students in the Neag School’s Integrated Bachelor’s/Master’s Program (IB/M) spends the semester living, teaching, and researching in the heart of London as part of the Study Abroad Teaching Internship Program.

The Neag School’s aspiring teachers are each assigned to intern at a specific school, which range from a diverse, multifaith primary school in suburban London to a highly selective all-boys’ school in the northern part of the city.

Emily Anderson ’15 (ED), ’16 MA spent the fall semester of her master’s year in England as part of the Neag School’s Study Abroad Teaching Internship Program. In England, Anderson taught students in the U.S. equivalent of second grade at Roxeth Primary School, a highly diverse, multifaith school in suburban London.

Caroline Katzman ’15 (ED), ’16 MA spent the fall semester of her master’s year in England as part of the Neag School’s Study Abroad Teaching Internship Program. In England, Katzman interned at Roxeth Primary School, a highly diverse, multifaith school in suburban London.

Kaleigh Kupstis ’15 (ED), ’16 MA spent the fall semester of her master’s year in England as part of the Neag School’s Study Abroad Teaching Internship Program. In England, she taught students at Rooks Heath, a multicultural school in London with about 1,000 students ages 11 to 18.