The Reach of Research - 2010

THEORY TO PRACTICE, ISSUE NO. 2, FALL '10
The Reach of Research
The Reach of Research

Education in America is at a crossroads. Lehigh’s commitment to innovative research and focus on applying research to practice allows College of Education faculty to help shape education and mental-health policy across the nation.

United States

Philadelphia, Pa.

In Philadelphia, 45 percent of the families served by the Parent-Child Home Program have an annual income of less than $10,000. Forty-three percent of parents and caregivers were born outside of the United States. And fully 36 percent of the children involved with the program have nonexistent English language skills.

But Project CARES, a four-year study led by Patricia Manz, assistant professor of school psychology, shows there is more than a glimmer of hope for this underserved community. Her results reveal that three-year-old children who completed the city’s Parent-Child Home Program showed significant improvement in their receptive vocabulary.

The Parent-Child Home Program is a national program in which academic professionals visit homes to help families increase their language and literacy skills.

Manz’ study also showed a direct relationship between the frequency of home visits and the growth in toddlers’ expressive vocabulary. Just as important, Project CARES revealed that home visiting enhanced caregivers’ involvement with their child, even for those families who experienced the greatest degree of socio-economic stress.

St. Louis, Mo., Columbus, Ohio, Allentown, Pa.

Preliminary data from the Center for Adolescent Research in Schools, or CARS, show that a newly designed package of interventions promises to reduce behavior and mental health problems, prevent dropouts and improve academic skills in high school students. 

Lee Kern, Iacocca Professor in special education, is co-PI for the national $9.5 million study, currently the largest of its kind. To date, the interventions have been tested on 35 students in Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Beginning in 2010, the new package of interventions will be tested with a larger group of 60 high school students in states including Kansas, Kentucky and South Carolina. And starting in 2011, the interventions will be evaluated using a randomized, controlled trial with over 500 high school students across all six states.

Lehigh Valley, Pa.

The Lehigh Valley area of Pennsylvania is a diverse region of 750,000 people comprising almost 20 school districts. To help encourage dialogue among the districts, the College of Education and its Center for Developing Urban Educational Leaders devoted its annual distinguished lecture series to “Leadership That Makes a Difference.” 

The event resulted in a new working group consisting of superintendents of the area’s three urban school districts—Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton—along with local educators, business and nonprofit leaders and parents.

Featured guest Martin Blank, president of the Institute for Educational Leadership, praised the area’s commitment to urban education. He was particularly complimentary of the partner ship between Lehigh, the United Way and the Bethlehem Area School District in creating the first University Assisted Community School at Broughal Middle School (which also serves as an Integrated Professional Development School for the College of Education).

Around the World

In a world that is becoming more connected, Lehigh faculty have become an integral part of the international dialogue surrounding education—particularly in regions where educational reform is undergoing intense scrutiny.

KAZAKHSTAN 

For post-socialist countries of Central Asia like Kazakhstan, a significant increase in private tutoring has led to more innovative learning experiences for students. But the individualized programs have also resulted in a greater socio-economic divide and widespread corruption in public education, says Iveta Silova, the Frank Hook Assistant Professor of comparative and international education.

BAHRAIN 

In Bahrain and throughout the Middle East, a growing number of private schools are seeking accreditation from the Commission on International Trans-regional Accreditation. Ron Yoshida, professor of educational leadership, has chaired CITA’s Quality Assurance review Teams. “Our mission is to continue to support these pioneers as they open up new learning opportunities and situations for cultural understanding,” he says.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 

In the U.A.E. and Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the rise of the non-national population has altered the labor market—often at the expense of the native Arab population. Alexander Wiseman, associate professor of comparative and international education, explores whether science education and new market strategies can help Arab students effectively transition into private sector jobs.

INDIA

There has been astonishing growth in counseling and mental-health programs across India in recent years. Arpana Inman, Fulbright-Nehru Scholar and associate professor of counseling psychology, studied this dynamic at the national Institute of Mental Health & neuroscience. The experience gave her insight into the need for national accreditation standards and curricula in India’s universities.

ECUADOR

In a country like Ecuador, traditional values are often at odds with advances in mental-health issues. This reflects a tension between what is foreign and what is perceived to be authentically Ecuadorian. Arnie Spokane, professor of counseling psychology, looks at mental-health issues such as teen suicide, immigration rights and women’s issues in Ecuador in respect to the culture and indigenous healing practices.

HONG KONG

Lehigh’s Office of International Programs has extended its educational curriculum to five continents since it was founded in 2000. The latest addition to that international portfolio is Hong Kong, where Lehigh created a program of study for educational leaders in the spring of 2010.