SRI Education studies what makes teaching effective and how policies can ensure students have equitable access to high-quality teaching. We have led more than a dozen rigorous, large-scale, randomized controlled trials of teacher coaching and professional development programs. Our work focuses on teacher preparation, educator professional development and human capital management systems.
Recent work
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Initial Efficacy Study of Data Wise
This is the first impact study of Data Wise, which supports educators in using collaborative data inquiry to drive continuous improvement of teaching and learning.
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New Generation of Educators Initiative
This study investigates a multiyear effort to ensure that the California State University teacher preparation programs are producing the teachers California K–12 school districts will need as they complete their transition to CCSS and NGSS standards.
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Virginia Preschool Initiative-Plus (VPI+)
Summary SRI Education designed and launched a 4-year comprehensive evaluation of the implementation and impact of Virginia’s state preschool program called the Virginia Preschool Initiative Plus (VPI+) from 2015 –19. Funded by the federal Preschool Development Grant, VPI+ sought to increase access to high-quality early learning environments and improve school readiness skills for 4-year old […]
Recent reports and publications
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Measuring the multidimensionality of educators’ approaches to diversity: Development of the in-service teacher multicultural education model
The purpose of this study was to examine the latent construct of multicultural education (ME) among 1887 in-service teachers. Using existing ME scales and Banks’ five-pillar framework to capture relevant classroom, school, and community-level contexts, we generated and tested 48 survey items.
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From Research to Market: Development of a Transition Process to Integrate Sustainable Scaling Methodologies into Education Innovation Research Design and Development
Even when innovations have rigorous evidence of impact, they often are not widely adopted by the field, or their use is not sustained. To support more successful transitions of educational research to the field, SRI researchers modified its Invent-Apply-Transition (I-A-T) framework, that has been successfully used to scale research to practice in healthcare, enterprise software, and robotics, to educational contexts based on the experiences of an Advisory Council and Expert Panel Members, all with direct experience successfully scaling educational innovations. SRI began this project by conducting a brief literature scan to identify common themes that education researchers employed in effective scale-up strategies. SRI researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with the four Advisory Council and nine Expert Panel members to gather feedback from experts in the field who have successfully scaled educational innovations on the I-A-T framework, and then used their feedback to make relevant modifications. This report introduces the I-A-T framework and how it has been modified to educational contexts. The report also describes an Embedded Entrepreneur Program model that could be used to support Institute of Education Sciences (IES) grantees to increase their probability of scaling and transitioning their innovations to the educational market by helping them analyze their needs hypotheses, product-user fit, stakeholder mapping, market differentiation, product market fit, and scaling pathway hypotheses. Our initial findings suggest that education researchers and innovators could especially benefit from attending more to three factors: (1) the feasibility/usability of the innovation (the “Convenience” component of the Performance, Reliability, Convenience, Cost [PRCC] approach), and how it would be incorporated into the operating environment of the school and district; (2) an understanding of the scope of the innovation (i.e., whether it is a product or a feature); and (3) early identification of a commercialization strategy that is aligned with the scope of the innovation. The report explains how educational researchers can benefit from following the steps outlined in the modified I-A-T framework and collaborating with entrepreneurs with demonstrated skills and dedicated time for scaling innovations. The following appendices are included: a detailed description of the I-A-T framework, a description of the Embedded Entrepreneur Pilot Program, and a literature scan.
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Early Childhood Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Experiences of Arkansas Educators
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed the experiences of young children and their caregivers over the past year. SRI Education and the National Center on Children in Poverty partnered with the Arkansas Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) to examine early care and education programs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. This brief, which represents the second of two reports, highlights findings from a second sample of Arkansas (AR) educators who completed surveys and focus groups in spring 2021. It includes information similar to the first report and provides additional information related to vaccination, supports for students with disabilities, and educators’ plans for moving forward. Our representative survey of Arkansas early educators found that: The AR early educators who participated in the fall 2020 and spring 2021 studies were consistent in reporting high compliance and agreement with COVID-19 pandemic procedures. Nearly all AR early childhood educators reported that they changed practices in response to COVID & will continue to implement one or more of these changes even after restrictions are lifted. Some ECE teachers reported concerns related to children’s ability to focus their attention during group activities and engage in cooperative play. ECE program directors reported the greatest interest in receiving additional information about vaccines to share with children’s families; ECE teachers reported the greatest interest in whether ECE staff will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Both ECE directors and teachers also indicated that having someone with expert knowledge to discuss their individual concerns would motivate early educators to become vaccinated.
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Strengthening the Clinical Orientation of Teacher Preparation Programs
This paper describes five levers CSU campus-district partnerships used to make clinically oriented reforms to teacher preparation as part of the New Generation of Educators Initiative (NGEI): 1) identifying prioritized skills; 2) selecting or creating a rubric to assess candidate proficiency with prioritized skills; 3) integrating and expanding opportunities to practice prioritized skills; 4) reconceptualizing clinical roles, selection, and support; and, 5) defining and implementing processes to provide feedback on prioritized skills. This paper is one of a four-part series sharing lessons learned from NGEI, a multiyear effort to improve teacher preparation at 11 California State Universities teacher preparation programs (TPPs) in partnership with local public-school districts.
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Strengthening the Data Use and Continuous Improvement Capacity of Teacher Preparation Programs
This paper describes four levers that helped university-district partnerships participating in the New Generation of Educators Initiative (NGEI) use data and continuous improvement practices to execute teacher preparation reforms: 1) developing data sources that can inform improvement efforts; 2) delineating clear roles to support continuous improvement; 3) building an infrastructure for efficient data entry and analysis; and 4) establishing a culture of improvement through routines for data review and use. This paper is one of a four-part series sharing lessons learned from NGEI, a multiyear effort to improve teacher preparation at 11 California State Universities teacher preparation programs (TPPs) in partnership with local public-school districts.
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The NGEI Approach to Improving Teacher Preparation in the CSU Through a System of Supports
This paper describes three levers that helped the funder, the S.D., Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, execute the New Generation of Educators Initiative (NGEI): 1) balancing grant requirements with flexibility and responsive support; 2) customizing technical assistance support to meet partnership needs; and 3) embedding opportunities for cross-networked learning and collaboration. This paper is one of a four-part series sharing lessons learned from NGEI, a multiyear effort to improve teacher preparation at 11 California State Universities teacher preparation programs (TPPs) in partnership with local public-school districts.
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