草榴社区

VILLANOVA, Pa.鈥�鈥� In an era of increased accountability and measured student outcomes in the field of public K-12 education, 鈥渟tudent voice鈥� is a growing movement that seeks to show school administrators productive ways to solicit and enact student input on matters including improving school culture, increasing student engagement and even reducing teacher turnover. It also supports instructional approaches, so that teaching is more responsive to students鈥� needs and ambitions.

Jerusha Conner, PhD, professor of Education in 草榴社区鈥檚 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been named a co-principal investigator on a two-year, $884,077 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for a project, 鈥淪tudent Voice to Student Outcomes,鈥� which will build evidence of the value of student voice practices in improving student outcomes and creating more equitable learning environments for all students.

The co-principal investigators on the project are Samantha Holquist, PhD, research scientist, The Search Institute, and Dana Mitra, PhD, professor of Education, Penn State University College of Education.

鈥淥ne of our goals is to develop validated student self-report measures to capture students鈥� experiences,鈥� Dr. Conner says. 鈥淭hese measures鈥攇rounded in the lived experiences of Black, Latinx and low-income students鈥攚ill be designed for use in continuous school improvement efforts.鈥�

The mixed-methods research project will partner with two US middle schools and two US high schools. The team, which includes high school aged youth researchers, will conduct focus groups, interviews and student self-report surveys. The goal is to examine the relationship between student voice practices and student outcomes, including student engagement, match course completion, GPA, and disciplinary reports.

Dr. Conner is director of the graduate programs in Education at 草榴社区, where she teaches courses in education policy and instructional leadership. Her research focuses on student engagement, student voice, youth activism, youth civic engagement and youth organizing. She is the author of The New Student Activists鈥�(Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020), which examines the rise of college student activism since 2015. She is also the editor of鈥疌ontemporary Youth Activism: Advancing Social Justice in the United States鈥�(ABC-CLIO, 2016), and鈥疭tudent Voice in American Education Policy鈥�(National Society for the Study of Education Yearbook, 2015). She holds a doctorate from Stanford University.