Ameliorating

Ameliorating social disparities in human development and learning

Social inequality is one of the most pressing problems in the United States. Some assert that America is now more unequal than at any time since the 1920s. Social disparities are significantly related to health and human development as well as to learning and levels of education. When compared with individuals of higher socioeconomic status (SES), lower SES individuals tend to have higher rates of mortality and incidence of all major categories of disease as well as lower levels of psychological and emotional health. In addition, lower SES individuals have less access to health and psychological care just as they have less access to high-quality education and learning opportunities. Although the relationships between social disparities and health as well as between social disparities and education are clearly bi-directional, they offer the possibilities for the design of interventions to lessen these disparities. Our School responds to this challenge by working to ameliorate social disparities in human development and learning.

Examples

	A forward-thinking project at Evanston School Districts 65 and 202, launched by the Learning Sciences program, trains teachers and students in strategies for improving critical reading skills in the content areas. SESP’s Teacher in Residence Kristen Perkins extended this work at Evanston Township High School in 2008–09 with the continued generous financial support of Northwestern University.
	A conference called “Teacher Quality: Broadening and Deepening the Debate,” funded by the Institute of Education Sciences, brought together 60 education experts from across the nation to consider policies and research related to teacher quality. These scholars seek to address concerns about the caliber of teachers in low-income, high-minority schools, which lags behind than that of teachers in higher socioeconomic communities.
	Professor Carol Lee has been recognized for her research to improve the lives of children growing up in urban settings. She was elected president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and was honored with AERA’s Scholars of Color Distinguished Scholar Award for 2007. In addition, she received Northwestern University’s Martin E. and Gertrude G. Walder Award for Research Excellence and the University of Illinois LAS Alumni Achievement Award.