News

In his new book George W. Bush and the Redemptive Dream, Professor Dan McAdams analyzes Bush's distinct personality as central to his decision to invade Iraq.

George Packer's review of Decision Points in the New Yorker points out that professor Dan McAdams's new book George Bush and the Redemptive Dream portrays September 11 experience as the geopolitical version of Bush's personal story of redemption and mission.

In an Education Week article on class size, SESP associate professor Diane Schanzenbach cites research showing that students who had been in small classes in their early years had better academic and personal outcomes throughout their school years and beyond.

Professor Dan McAdams, whose new book is George W. Bush and the Redemptive Dream, blogs in the Washington Post about the former president's story of redemption and the key elements of "real drama" that he left out of Decision Points.

Professor David Figlio's study for the National Bureau of Economic Research comparing learning from online lectures and face-to-face lectures found that certain groups of online students did notably worse, especially Hispanics and males.

This year's Teacher in Residence is Paula Millerd, a sixth-grade teacher in the Omaha Public Schools system. Each year, the School of Education and Social Policy awards an academic-year sabbatical to a mathematics or science teacher to become part of the School's teaching and learning community.

Professor David Figlio has researched the effects baby names have on children, such as their school behavior and degrees earned. New York Post reports his comments in "What's in a Name."

At a School of Education and Social Policy film showing and panel discussion of Waiting for Superman on October 12, SESP professors James Rosenbaum and Carol Lee offered comments to put the film into perspective.

Prize Linked Savings Accounts - bank accounts that that incorporate a lottery to give savers a chance to win cash - could be a good way to get low-income Americans to save more money, according to associate professor Jonathan Guryan's research published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

In a Discovery News article about online learning, professor David Figlio comments on his research showing that the Internet-based delivery of traditional classes has different effects on different types of students.

On the occasion of the first White House summit on community colleges, National Public Radio interviews professor James Rosenbaum, who comments that community colleges need to do a better job of giving students job credentials.

Associate professor Jonathan Guryan's research on for-profit colleges indicates that a proposed government regulation would have unintended consequences disproportionately affecting poor, black and Hispanic students, who attend for-profits at higher rates.

“Learning across the Life Span: New Century, New Challenges” will be the topic when the Human Development and Social Policy program presents the Bernice Neugarten Memorial Lecture at 5 p.m. on October 5 in Annenberg Hall. The featured speaker will be Tom Schuller, author of 15 books and director of Longview, a London think tank promoting life course research.

Children from low-income families who attend high-quality preschool programs are less likely to develop behavior problems later in childhood, according to a new study by Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal (PhD04), SESP professor Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, Christine Li-Grining (PhD06) and other researchers.

A New York Times article explaining the rise in happiness for African Americans over the past three decades summarizes professor Jonathan Guryan's research showing that the black-white pay gap has lessened slightly.

The New York Times discusses an experimental study by professor David Figlio comparing online lectures with face-to-face teaching. The research found students in online lectures performed slightly worse, especially certain groups of students.

The School of Education and Social Policy will welcome 45 new undergraduates and 134 new graduate students this fall.

Real estate prices react to measures of school performance, according to professor David Figlio's research, reported by financial publisher HSH Associates.

Professor Dan McAdams appeared on Chicago Tonight on January 5 to discuss his new book, George W. Bush and the Redemptive Dream. McAdams offers a psychological analysis, arguing that early events in Bush’s life would later shape his controversial decisions to lead the nation into war with Iraq.

A Washington Post review of professor Dan McAdams's George W. Bush and the Redemptive Dream says the book offers one of the first comprehensive psychological profiles of Bush and tries not to pre-judge.

Professor Lindsay Chase-Lansdale was selected to receive the 2011 Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy for Children award from the Society for Research in Child Development.

On February 21 SESP will host a screening of The Lottery, a documentary film about education, followed by a panel discussion with professors Jim Spillane and Kirabo Jackson, moderated by Teach for America alumna Dahlia Graham.

Children who have a stay-at-home parent sleep on average about 20 minutes less -- and children whose parents work overtime sleep about a half hour less -- than those with a parent who works part-time, according to new research by SESP doctoral student Cassandra Hart, associate professor Emma Adam and alumna Emily Snell (PhD08).

SESP professor James Rosenbaum explains to McClatchy and Sacramento Bee why a vocational certificate, instead of a college degree, might be a more realistic goal for many high school students with mediocre grades.

In an article about school vouchers, professor David Figlio comments on his research on the Florida voucher program showing that test scores in public schools increased slightly.

Perception of crime has less to do with overall trends than those in your immediate vicinity, says SESP professor Daniel Lewis in a Slate article about why fear of crime hasn't fallen as crime rates have plummeted.

In an article about the impact of nature vs. nurture on learning, associate professor Emma Adam comments on the role of stress in learning and the difficulty for stress-reactive learners to flourish in high-stress environments.

Professor David Figlio will investigate how the housing crisis is affecting children's academic performance, the Daily Northwestern reports. His research is funded by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

According to professor David Figlio's study, the Florida school voucher system known as the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program led to improvements in public schools because of expanded access to private school options. Reihan Salam in the National Review cites the study as evidence of the efficacy of school choice.

With a new forward-thinking research project, SESP professor Lindsay Chase-Lansdale continues her work to improve outcomes for preschoolers growing up in poverty — by encouraging parents’ postsecondary education and career training.

Northwestern University's School of Education and Social Policy (SESP) ranks number seven in the nation, according to the new 2012 ranking of graduate schools of education by U.S. News & World Report.

At the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association (AERA) from April 8 to 12, 53 Northwestern University faculty members and graduate students will give presentations about their research, and Carol Lee will be named an AERA Fellow.

Professor Lindsay Chase-Lansdale was selected to receive the 2011 Distinguished Contributions to Public Policy for Children award from the Society for Research in Child Development.

Professor Diane Schanzenbach comments in a Chicago Tribune article about a Chicago school's lunch policy that bans home-packed lunches.

In a Newswatch article about children's names, professor David Figlio, who has researched the impact of names, comments, "People’s names might influence how they think about themselves and the way in which people might think about them.”

Professor James Spillane's latest book, Diagnosis and Design for School Improvement: Using a Distributed Perspective to Lead and Manage Change, highlights the importance of diagnostic and design work for school leaders.

In a New York Times article about the impact of education reforms initiated by Jeb Bush when he was governor of Florida, professor David Figlio cites improvement in early-year skills.