A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n
FOR RELEASE Contact: David Thomas October 15, 1997 (202) 401-1576
$5 MILLION IN GRANTS TO SUPPORT FIELD RESEARCH IN EDUCATION
U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley announced today the award of more than $5 million for 29 grants under the 1997 Field Initiated Studies Educational Research Grant Program.
Field initiated studies grants, managed by the department's Office of Educational Research and Improvement, support educational research projects where the topics and methods of study are generated by the investigators. Applicants for the program applied to one of the five U.S. Education Department National Research Institutes. Each institute funded only applications for work that was within its respective legislative mission. Grant recipients included universities and research institutions. The awards cover a broad range of topics.
Following are brief summaries of the awards made by each of the National Research Institutes:
The National Institute on Student Achievement, Curriculum and Assessment awarded 5 grants totaling almost $1 million to two research organizations and 3 universities. The topics to be studied are: exploring the role of teacher leaders in implementing standards based reform in urban schools; redesigning classroom instruction in core curriculum areas in six school districts; training and evaluating the impact of trained substitute teachers on improving student achievement; studying the effects of reductions in class size on curriculum and instructional practices; and investigating and promoting model centered instruction as a means of improving middle school science education.
The National Institute on the Education of At Risk Students awarded six grants totaling over $l million to institutions of higher education. The topics to be studied are: the impact of alternative school restructuring designs on at risk learners; incentives for improving the resiliency of urban youth; the impact of early environmental factors on students' out of school transitions; assessment accommodations for limited English proficient students; the impact of athletic participation on at risk students' academic and personal resilience; and the effects of language of instruction on the development of English literacy among Spanish speaking adolescent students.
The National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education awarded six grants totaling slightly over $1 million. Recipients included institutions of higher education and a media entity. The topics to be studied are: promoting children's language development in Head Start classrooms; using children's play as a tool for helping children with disabilities; assessing low income children's changing environments and its effects on school readiness; the effects of discrepancies in the expectation about school readiness and children living in poverty; improving the parenting skills of low income families; and the quality of child care programs.
The National Institute on Educational Governance, Finance, Policymaking and Management awarded six grants totaling almost $1 million to five universities and one research organization. The topics to be studied are: the impact of teachers and district conditions on changes in school climate, district policy and governance, and student achievement; the effects of school reconstitution policies on school improvement; the influence of state level graduation requirements on student course taking, educational attainment, and early labor market experiences; the effects of intervention in failing schools; the implications of the disproportionate representation of ethnic minorities in special education; and the quantity and quality of degree graduates from teacher preparation programs.
The National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries and Lifelong Learning awarded seven grants totaling over $1 million. Recipients included a community college, two universities, and four research institutions. The topics to be studied are: employment and schooling experiences young people have after completing high school; costs and benefits of the General Education Development certificates (GEDs) program; impact of welfare reform, immigration reform and the changing workplace on adult students' achievement; affirmative action in college admissions; performance based assessment strategies in postsecondary education; assessment of multicultural diversity education ; and institutional practices that improve or impede the development of complex problem solving skills for different kinds of college students.
###
NOTE TO EDITORS: A list of awards is attached.
The National Institute on
Student Achievement, Curriculum and Assessment
FY 1997 Field Initiated Studies Grant Awards
Funding for first year of project
CALIFORNIA
| Santa Monica |
| RAND |
| Brian Stecher | (310) 393-0411 | $218,809 |
MASSACHUSETTS
| Cambridge Education Matters, Inc. |
| Judy Swanson | (617) 234-4352 | $123,711 |
OHIO
| Kent Kent State University |
| Judith K. March | (330) 672-2280 | $184,321 |
PENNSYLVANIA
| Pittsburgh University of Pittsburgh |
| Kalyani Raghavan | (412) 624-9580 | $222,241 |
UTAH
| Logan Utah State University |
| Geoffrey G. Smith | (801) 797-3232 | $240,437 |
The National Institute on
the Education of At-Risk Students
FY 1997 Field Initiated Studies Grant Awards Funding for first year of project
CALIFORNIA
| Los Angeles California State University |
| Anne Hafner |
(213) 343-4361 |
$ 68,765 |
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
| Washington George Washington University |
| Anna Uhl Chamot |
(202) 994-0331 |
$214,999 |
FLORIDA
| Coral Gables University of Miami |
| Jomills Henry Braddock | (305) 284-6768 | $124,641 |
MARYLAND
| Baltimore Johns Hopkins University |
| Karl L. Alexander | (410) 516-6178 | $156,702 |
PENNSYLVANIA
| Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania |
| Margaret Beale Spencer | (215) 898-1550 | $108,266 |
TENNESSEE
| Memphis University of Memphis |
| Steven M. Ross | (901) 678-3413 | $385,951 |
The National Institute on
Early Childhood Development and Education
FY 1997 Field Initiated Studies Grant Awards Funding for first year of project
ARIZONA
| Tempe Arizona State University |
| M. Jeanne Wilcox | (602) 965-9397 | $199,720 |
CALIFORNIA
| Berkeley University of California-Berkeley |
| Bruce Fuller and Susan Holloway | (510) 642-7223 | $164,682 |
COLORADO
| Denver University of Colorado, Health Sciences Center |
| Cordelia Robinson | (303) 315-5209 | $224,160 |
CONNECTICUT
| Weston The Media Group of Connecticut, Inc. |
| Harvey F. Bellin | (203) 227-7555 | $ 99,038 |
NEW YORK
| New York Fordham University |
| Chaya Piotrkowski | (212) 636-6652 | $145,920 |
NORTH CAROLINA
| Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| R. A. McWilliam | (919) 966-7485 | $225,000 |
The National Institute on
Educational Governance, Finance, Policymaking and Management
FY 1997 Field Initiated Studies Grant Awards Funding for first year of project
GEORGIA
| Atlanta Georgia Tech Research Corporation |
| Thomas Dee | (404) 894-4919 | $ 62,802 |
ILLINOIS
| Chicago University of Chicago |
| Kenneth Wong | (773) 702-0753 | $147,288 |
MARYLAND
| College Park University of Maryland |
| James Cibulka | (301) 405-3583 | $216,914 |
NORTH CAROLINA
| Raleigh North Carolina State University |
| Ruie Jane Pritchard | (919) 515-1785 | $164,825 |
PENNSYLVANIA
| Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania |
| Erling Boe | (215) 898-5697 | $190,334 |
VIRGINIA
| Richmond Virginia Commonwealth University |
| Donald Oswald | (804) 828-9900 | $155,676 |
The National Institute on
Postsecondary Education, Libraries and Lifelong Learning
FY 1997 Field Initiated Studies Grant Awards Funding for first year of project
COLORADO
| Denver University of Colorado (Colorado Seminary) |
| Karen Kitchner | (303) 871-2480 | $186,985 |
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
| Washington Urban Institute |
| Duncan Chaplin | (202) 857-8771 | $ 95,162 |
| Washington Urban Institute |
| Duncan Chaplin | (202) 857-8771 | $104,365 |
ILLINOIS
| Chicago National Opinion Research Center |
| Barbara Scheider | (773) 256-6361 | $134,641 |
KANSAS
Emporia | Emporia State University |
| Jerry Long | (316) 341-5367 | $105,745 |
MASSACHUSETTS
| Cambridge Human Services Research Institute |
| Marianne Taylor | (617) 876-0426 | $224,957 |
| Holyoke Holyoke Community College |
| A. C. Risley Schroeder | (413) 538-7000 | $222,349 |
