The Department of Education Reform advances education and economic development by focusing on the improvement of academic achievement in elementary and secondary schools. The program offers a Doctor of Philosophy in Education Policy.
Recent Stories
- Grant to Explore K-12 Teacher Recruitment, Retention
Two faculty members in the College of Education and Health Professions will conduct research focused on K-12 teacher recruitment and retention as part of a five-year, multi-state effort funded by the Institute… Read more: Grant to Explore K-12 Teacher Recruitment, Retention - College Adds Dynamic Leaders to Executive Team
The College of Education and Health Professions’ executive leadership team is embarking on a new academic year, eager to build upon last year’s successes. “The college’s executive leadership team, made… Read more: College Adds Dynamic Leaders to Executive Team - Arkansas Teacher Corps Welcomes Largest Cohort Since 2013 Launch
Charlexis James’ experience as a science educator in Little Rock made her a prime candidate to join the Arkansas Teacher Corps, a three-year program that helps develop teachers’ knowledge, skills… Read more: Arkansas Teacher Corps Welcomes Largest Cohort Since 2013 Launch - Office for Education Policy Awarded $1.17 Million Grant to Facilitate Policy-Relevant Research
The college’s Office for Education Policy recently secured $1.17 million in funding from the Walton Family Foundation to support ongoing research surrounding education in Arkansas. This grant from the Walton… Read more: Office for Education Policy Awarded $1.17 Million Grant to Facilitate Policy-Relevant Research - Office for Education Policy Secures Three-Year Grant to Expand Its Early Childhood Education Research
The Walton Family Foundation has awarded a new grant to the college’s Office for Education Policy (OEP) to enhance its research into early childhood education in Arkansas. The new three-year… Read more: Office for Education Policy Secures Three-Year Grant to Expand Its Early Childhood Education Research - Education Reform Professor’s Book on COVID-19 and Schools Points to Lessons Learned
The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be one of the most geographically widespread crises in the history of schooling, with 195 countries, the United States and tens of thousands of public… Read more: Education Reform Professor’s Book on COVID-19 and Schools Points to Lessons Learned - Gema Zamarro Elected to the Association for Education Finance and Policy Board
Professor Gema Zamarro was recently elected to the Association for Education Finance and Policy (AEFP) Board of Directors. “AEFP is one, if not the main, education policy association that brings… Read more: Gema Zamarro Elected to the Association for Education Finance and Policy Board - Patrick J. Wolf Named Among Top 50 Education Policy Professors in Country
Distinguished Professor Patrick J. Wolf has been ranked in the top 200 most influential education scholars every year since the Edu-Scholars Public Impact Rankings began in 2011. This year, he moved… Read more: Patrick J. Wolf Named Among Top 50 Education Policy Professors in Country - Patrick J. Wolf Named Among Top 50 Education Policy Professors in Country
Professor Patrick J. Wolf has been ranked in the top 200 most influential education scholars every year since the Edu-Scholars Public Impact Rankings began in 2011. This year, he moved up nearly… Read more: Patrick J. Wolf Named Among Top 50 Education Policy Professors in Country - Conference Highlights Education-Related Research, Examines Future of Teaching
Arkansas’ new education secretary, Jacob Oliva, was the keynote speaker at the recent Moving Arkansas Education Forward Conference in Little Rock. The U of A Office of Education Policy and the Department of… Read more: Conference Highlights Education-Related Research, Examines Future of Teaching - Four Department of Education Reform Faculty Place in Prominent National Ranking
Four professors in the University of Arkansas Department of Education Reform are ranked among the 200 most influential education scholars in the country, according to a prominent ranking of impact published on… Read more: Four Department of Education Reform Faculty Place in Prominent National Ranking - Office for Education Policy Awards Schools Offering Outstanding Educational Performance
The U of A Office for Education Policy announced its 2022 Outstanding Educational Performance awards this week. Since 2017, the Office for Education Policy awards have gone to Arkansas schools where students… Read more: Office for Education Policy Awards Schools Offering Outstanding Educational Performance - Considering a Ph.D. in Education or Policy? Attend the Department of Education Reform’s Virtual Town Hall!
The Department of Education Reform will hold a virtual town hall from 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1. The purpose of this event is to introduce the department’s doctoral program in education policy,… Read more: Considering a Ph.D. in Education or Policy? Attend the Department of Education Reform’s Virtual Town Hall! - Division of Research and Innovation Begins Pilot for New Proposal Initiation ToolThe Division of Research and Innovation is launching a pilot program designed to improve and simplify the proposal initiation process and to increase the level of proposal support for researchers.… Read more: Division of Research and Innovation Begins Pilot for New Proposal Initiation Tool
- Researchers Find Arkansas Gifted-Student Screenings Often Miss Low-Income Students
Researchers in the Department of Education Reform recently found that high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds are half as likely to be placed in an Arkansas schools’ gifted programs as their more affluent… Read more: Researchers Find Arkansas Gifted-Student Screenings Often Miss Low-Income Students - Doctoral Student Wins Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Research Fellowship
Doctoral student Jessica Goldstein has won a Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Research Fellowship from North Carolina State University. Goldstein is a Distinguished Doctoral Fellow and research assistant in the… Read more: Doctoral Student Wins Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Research Fellowship - Arkansas Senate Honors Department of Education Reform
Faculty from the University of Arkansas’ Department of Education Reform traveled to Little Rock recently to testify before the Arkansas Senate. They updated the Senate on the department’s education policy work and offered their… Read more: Arkansas Senate Honors Department of Education Reform - Graduate Student, Educational Equity Leader Selected for Pahara Institute Fellowship
Graduate student Marilyn Rhames has been selected for a Pahara Institute Fellowship, a program that brings together leaders in educational excellence and equity, especially those serving low-income children and communities.… Read more: Graduate Student, Educational Equity Leader Selected for Pahara Institute Fellowship - Education Reform Hosts Boston College Professor as Part of Friday Lecture Series
Michael Hartney, an assistant professor at Boston College, will speak at the U of A on Friday, Oct. 22. His lecture is titled “Unmasked: How COVID-19 Revealed Painful Truths about… Read more: Education Reform Hosts Boston College Professor as Part of Friday Lecture Series - Gifted Education Expert to Present Lecture on Friday
Jennifer Jolly, director of the Gifted Education and Talent Development Office at the University of Alabama, will speak at the U of A on Friday, Oct. 8. Jolly is a professor… Read more: Gifted Education Expert to Present Lecture on Friday - Meet Andrew Camp
This doctoral fellow’s research explores the in-person learning racial gap during COVID-19. - U of A Education Reform Team Recognized for Influential Blog Post
Three scholars from the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas co-authored the fifth-most-downloaded post of the year on the Education Next blog. Education Next, which describes itself as “a… Read more: U of A Education Reform Team Recognized for Influential Blog Post - Researchers Revisit COVID-19 Pandemic Gender Disparity Study
Researchers who interviewed thousands of couples in the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic found that women were disproportionately affected by job losses, childcare duties and mental distress. A… Read more: Researchers Revisit COVID-19 Pandemic Gender Disparity Study - Journal of School Choice Runs Special Section on COVID-19 and School Reopening
The Journal of School Choice has published a special issue online about schools reopening in the U.S. and around the world amid COVID-19. The journal is edited by Robert Maranto in the… Read more: Journal of School Choice Runs Special Section on COVID-19 and School Reopening - New Analysis Reveals Record High Funding Gap Between District and Charter Schools
Researchers based at the University of Arkansas have discovered that traditional public schools get about 33 percent more in per-pupil funding than their public charter school counterparts in 18 urban… Read more: New Analysis Reveals Record High Funding Gap Between District and Charter Schools - Professors’ Police Research Aimed to Make Black Lives Matter
A professor’s background can influence research interests, and that is certainly the case for Robert Maranto, 21st Century Chair of Leadership in the Department of Education Reform. “Back in the 1970s… Read more: Professors’ Police Research Aimed to Make Black Lives Matter - Education Reform Professor Robert Costrell Honored with Steven D. Gold Award
Robert Costrell, professor of education reform and economics (by courtesy) at the University of Arkansas, was recently honored with the 2020 Steven D. Gold Award. The award is given annually by the Association for… Read more: Education Reform Professor Robert Costrell Honored with Steven D. Gold Award - New Book Explores Religious Liberty and Education
A new book, Religious Liberty and Education: A Case Study of Yeshivas vs. New York, explores the current controversy over efforts by the state of New York to regulate traditional Jewish… Read more: New Book Explores Religious Liberty and Education - Conservatism Is Focus of Upcoming Honors College Lecture
Who is a conservative and what do they believe? Is President Donald Trump a conservative? Is our current experience changing what it means to be conservative, going forward? Jay P.… Read more: Conservatism Is Focus of Upcoming Honors College Lecture - Researchers Find School Voucher Program Helps Reduce Crime, Unplanned Pregnancies
Researchers based at the University of Arkansas found last year that the country’s oldest private school choice program, in Milwaukee, helped shape the character skills necessary for living a good… Read more: Researchers Find School Voucher Program Helps Reduce Crime, Unplanned Pregnancies - U of A Professor Part of Think Tank Studying How Australian Schools Have Shaped Millennials
Albert Cheng, an assistant professor in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas, was up at 1 a.m. on Wednesday, presenting a webinar from his university office… Read more: U of A Professor Part of Think Tank Studying How Australian Schools Have Shaped Millennials - Education Reform Study Suggests More Charter Regulations Harm Minority Educators
Do education regulations sometimes harm those they were intended to help? A recent study by University of Arkansas Education Reform professor Robert Maranto and former doctoral student Ian Kingsbury, now… Read more: Education Reform Study Suggests More Charter Regulations Harm Minority Educators - Professor’s Research Regarding COVID-19 Impact and Gender of Note to New York Times
University of Arkansas professor Gema Zamarro was recently interviewed by The New York Times regarding her research about how job losses, childcare duties and mental distress have disproportionately affected women during the… Read more: Professor’s Research Regarding COVID-19 Impact and Gender of Note to New York Times - Education Reform Professor and Alumnus Write Book About Religion and School Choice
History and research show it’s important to be flexible when it comes to the relationship among government, religion and schooling. “We need to learn from the lessons of European nations,… Read more: Education Reform Professor and Alumnus Write Book About Religion and School Choice - Associate Director of U of A’s Office for Education Policy Named Arkansas’ Chief Data Officer
- College Choice Affects More Than Just Job Prospects, Study Finds
- Education Reform Graduate Student Awarded Humane Studies Fellowship
- First Recipients of U of A Chancellor’s Humanities and Arts Grant Named
- Grants to Help Improve Gifted and Talented Identification Process in Arkansas
- Choose Love Conference Offers Teachers and Counselors Tools for Preventing School Violence
- U of A Scholars Find That Private School Choice Can Reduce Criminal Accusations, Convictions
- Alumni Aid Johns Hopkins Research Into ‘Systemic Dysfunctions’ in Rhode Island School System
- U of A Professor Albert Cheng Appointed Cardus Senior Fellow
- Professor’s Book Seeks to Illuminate the Facts on School Choice
- Research Suggests College Visits Inspire Eighth-Graders to Pursue Higher Education
- Office for Education Policy Hires Research Assistant Professor
- Funding Gap Grows Between Public Charters and Traditional Public Schools
- Education Reform Professor Jay Greene to Lecture on ‘B.S.’
- Two Specialists Consider Changes in Education Spending
- Sociologist Addresses Research on Educational Equity
- Arkansas Teacher Corps Welcomes New Staff
- Education Policy Students Make Comparisons During Trip to Israel
- U of A Graduate Named to Arkansas Board of Education
- U of A Professor Answers Questions About School Segregation at Writers’ Conference
- Education Policy Conference for Policymakers, Educators to Focus on State Teacher Pipeline
- Education Policy Doctoral Student Wins Three Minute Thesis Final
- U of A Researcher Examines Special Education Gap Using Louisiana Charter School Data
- New Book Examines Failed Efforts to Improve Education Systems
- U of A Receives Funding to Study El Dorado Promise Program
- Kentucky School Superintendent to Give Lecture on School Turnaround
- Education Reform Professors Included on Public Influence List
- U of A Graduate Slated to Serve as U.S. Commissioner of Education Statistics
- Analysis of New Orleans Test Data Suggests Best Practices for Charter Schools
- Maranto’s Latest Book Focuses on Schooling at Home
- Education Commissioner to Describe Vision for Excellence in EducationOctober 3, 2016 Johnny Key, commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Education, will give a lecture titled “Arkansas Vision for Excellence in Education” at noon Friday, Oct. 7, on the… Read more: Education Commissioner to Describe Vision for Excellence in Education
- Study: Philanthropic, Non-Public Funds for Charters Don’t Close Revenue GapFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A research team at the University of Arkansas has released a new, first-of-its-kind school funding report stating that, in 15 states, non-public revenue fails to close the… Read more: Study: Philanthropic, Non-Public Funds for Charters Don’t Close Revenue Gap
- U of A Education Reform Researchers to Make Large Showing at Conference
- U of A Professor Co-Authors Piece on Political Correctness for Chronicle of Higher EducationSeptember 19, 2017 Bob Maranto, a University of Arkansas professor in the Department of Education Reform, argues in a piece published in the Chronicle of Higher Education that conservatives’ concern about university… Read more: U of A Professor Co-Authors Piece on Political Correctness for Chronicle of Higher Education
- Study of Character Skills Intrigues Engineer-Turned-Education-ResearcherSeptember 7, 2017 Malachi Nichols originally wanted to be an engineer. He came to the University of Arkansas from Midland, Texas, on a scholarship designed to recruit students underrepresented in… Read more: Study of Character Skills Intrigues Engineer-Turned-Education-Researcher
- Researchers Describe New Findings On Louisiana Voucher Program
- Study Finds Large Funding Gap Between Charter Schools, Traditional SchoolsMay 10, 2017 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The average disparity in per-pupil funding between traditional public schools and their public charter school counterparts in metropolitan areas is $5,721, a gap of… Read more: Study Finds Large Funding Gap Between Charter Schools, Traditional Schools
- Study Finds Large Funding Gap Between Charter Schools, Traditional Schools
- U of A Alumnus Wins Research Award from University of Missouri-St. LouisMay 1, 2017 James Shuls, a 2013 graduate of the University of Arkansas, received the 2017 Junior Investigator of the Year award from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, where Shuls… Read more: U of A Alumnus Wins Research Award from University of Missouri-St. Louis
- U of A Alumnus Wins Research Award From University of Missouri St. Louis
- C-SPAN Asks Two U of A Faculty Members to Rank U.S. PresidentsMarch 15, 2017 C-SPAN recently asked presidential historians, including two at the University of Arkansas, to rank U.S. presidents for a survey released in advance of the federal… Read more: C-SPAN Asks Two U of A Faculty Members to Rank U.S. Presidents
- U of A Research Suggests Education Savings Account Could Reduce CrimeJanuary 4, 2017 University of Arkansas researchers found that an education savings account program in Texas could reduce crime, according to a paper published in late December by the Texas… Read more: U of A Research Suggests Education Savings Account Could Reduce Crime
- U of A Research Suggests Education Savings Account Could Reduce Crime
- NEA Awards Grant to U of A to Study Benefits of Field TripsDecember 12, 2016 The University of Arkansas has been awarded a $149,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to study the effect of the arts on students’ health… Read more: NEA Awards Grant to U of A to Study Benefits of Field Trips
- U of A Alumnus Appointed to Illinois State Board of EducationDecember 12, 2016 Collin Hitt, a 2016 graduate of the University of Arkansas, was recently appointed by Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner to a two-year term on the State Board of… Read more: U of A Alumnus Appointed to Illinois State Board of Education
- Arkansas Teacher Corps Expands Impact With New StaffNovember 30, 2016 The Arkansas Teacher Corps, a University of Arkansas program, recently completed a cycle of new hires in key positions as the program expands its presence across Arkansas,… Read more: Arkansas Teacher Corps Expands Impact With New Staff
- Latest Research Breaks Down Impact on Proposed Changes to Louisiana Scholarship ProgramAugust 15, 2016 The elimination of the Louisiana Scholarship Program would result in cost increases larger than funding increases for the vast majority of school districts in the state, according… Read more: Latest Research Breaks Down Impact on Proposed Changes to Louisiana Scholarship Program
- U of A Professor Reflects on Obama’s Education AgendaJuly 20, 2016 President Barack Obama’s education agenda is the focus of a new book co-written by University of Arkansas professor Robert Maranto, who has produced two other books about the… Read more: U of A Professor Reflects on Obama’s Education Agenda
- U of A Professor’s Research Project in Spain Asks if Character Traits Can Be TaughtJuly 14, 2016 University of Arkansas professor Gema Zamarro and a colleague in Spain will embark this fall on a research project to discover whether children can be taught character… Read more: U of A Professor’s Research Project in Spain Asks if Character Traits Can Be Taught
- Research Shows Private School Principals Report Strong InfluenceJune 21, 2016 New research from doctoral students at the University of Arkansas suggests that principals of private schools report having more influence over their schools than principals of public… Read more: Research Shows Private School Principals Report Strong Influence
- Louisiana Voucher Program Helps Desegregate Public Schools, Study FindsJune 21, 2016 University of Arkansas researchers took a deep look at data on the school voucher program in Louisiana and found that the voucher program had reduced racial stratification… Read more: Louisiana Voucher Program Helps Desegregate Public Schools, Study Finds
- Wall Street Journal Editorial Cites U of A Study About Voucher EffectivenessJune 1, 2016 The Wall Street Journal recently cited a meta-analysis conducted by University of Arkansas researchers that found overall positive and statistically significant achievement effects of using school vouchers.… Read more: Wall Street Journal Editorial Cites U of A Study About Voucher Effectiveness
- Northwest Arkansas Students Outperform Natural State PeersMay 24, 2016 The 2015 Northwest Arkansas Report Card published by the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas shows Northwest Arkansas students outperform their peers in other… Read more: Northwest Arkansas Students Outperform Natural State Peers
- Meta-Analysis Finds Positive Impact of School Choice Programs WorldwideMay 10, 2016 The review by M. Danish Shakeel and Kaitlin Anderson, both doctoral students in the education policy program, and Patrick Wolf, holder of the Twenty-First Century Chair in… Read more: Meta-Analysis Finds Positive Impact of School Choice Programs Worldwide
- Study Finds Connection Between School Voucher Use, Lower Crime RatesMarch 8, 2016 An evaluation by University of Arkansas researchers of a Milwaukee school voucher program found that students who used the vouchers to attend a private high school were… Read more: Study Finds Connection Between School Voucher Use, Lower Crime Rates
- New Reports Show Positive, Negative Effects of Louisiana School VouchersFebruary 23, 2016 The Louisiana Scholarship Program has widely varying effects on students, according to a series of studies released jointly by the School Choice Demonstration Project at the University… Read more: New Reports Show Positive, Negative Effects of Louisiana School Vouchers
- ATC Fellow Launches After-School Tutoring ProgramJanuary 26, 2016 Isabel Anderson realized a few weeks into her first semester as a fourth-grade teacher at Little Rock Preparatory Academy that her students would benefit greatly from one-on-one… Read more: ATC Fellow Launches After-School Tutoring Program
- Program Director Examines Effects of High School Reform, Early CollegesJanuary 25, 2016 The SERVE Center is a research, development, dissemination, evaluation and technical assistance center at UNCG that works with educators and policymakers to improve education. The lecture is… Read more: Program Director Examines Effects of High School Reform, Early Colleges
- Education Reform Faculty Members Named on Public Influence ListJanuary 7, 2016 Three University of Arkansas faculty members who study education reform have been included in the 2016 “Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings” released annually by the American Enterprise Institute… Read more: Education Reform Faculty Members Named on Public Influence List
- McKenzie Selected to Join National Task Force on Assessment EducationDecember 1, 2015 The Northwest Evaluation Association announced Dec. 1 that Sarah McKenzie and 21 other educators have been selected to join a national Task Force on Assessment Education for… Read more: McKenzie Selected to Join National Task Force on Assessment Education
- Economics Professor Examines Teacher Salary Increase Effect on Student PerformanceNovember 30, 2015 Those planning to attend any of the lectures in the series are asked to RSVP on the Department of Education Reform’s website before 1 p.m. the Wednesday preceding… Read more: Economics Professor Examines Teacher Salary Increase Effect on Student Performance
- Lieutenant Governor to Talk About Common Core Review in U of A VisitSeptember 3, 2015 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin will speak about the work of the Governor’s Council on Common Core Review at noon, Friday, Sept. 18 on… Read more: Lieutenant Governor to Talk About Common Core Review in U of A Visit
- Measuring, Teaching Character Is Focus of Education Reform ResearchersAugust 31, 2015 Who doesn’t want their children to have self-control, grit and what social scientists describe as a growth mindset in which they believe they can improve their abilities?… Read more: Measuring, Teaching Character Is Focus of Education Reform Researchers
- Professor to Discuss Charter Schools as Urban Redevelopment CatalystsAugust 26, 2015 By Andrew Viguet, communications intern Bartley R. Danielsen, associate professor of finance and real estate at North Carolina State University, will speak at noon Friday, Aug. 28… Read more: Professor to Discuss Charter Schools as Urban Redevelopment Catalysts
- Greene Named Head of UA Education Reform DepartmentJuly 1, 2015 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University of Arkansas has taken a significant step toward national leadership in education with the appointment of noted education researcher Jay P. Greene… Read more: Greene Named Head of UA Education Reform Department