education Archives - Institute of Social and Economic Research

ISER releases new report on how COVID-19 school closures affect teacher preparation

ISER releases new report on how COVID-19 school closures affect teacher preparation

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Dunleavy mandated that Alaska’s K12 schools closed to in-person instruction; later, these school closures were extended until the end of the 2019-2020 academic year. Across the state, educators worked not only to ensure they met their responsibilities for instruction, but also other key school functions including parent resources, meal services, and social-emotional learning. Concurrently, senior college students in teacher licensure programs at the University of Alaska (UA) were in classrooms fulfilling their clinical experience (student teaching) requirements. During the school closures, students were still “placed” in schools, but the nature of their internship experience changed fundamentally as classes were moved to distance delivery. Read more about > ISER releases new report on how COVID-19 school closures affect teacher preparation

Chris Start2020-06-30T17:08:51-08:00June 30th, 2020|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: COVID-19, Dayna DeFeo, education, Trang Tran|

Reporting impacts and recommendations for COVID-19 in Anchorage and Alaska

Reporting impacts and recommendations for COVID-19 in Anchorage and Alaska

ISER faculty are working to inform the Municipality of Anchorage's COVID-19 efforts through a partnership between ISER, the UAA Division of Population Health Sciences, and the UAA College of Arts and Sciences. The group is involved in three distinct projects. First, Dr. Cueva, Dr. DeFeo, and Dr. Berry contributed to a series of publications focusing on specific areas in which the pandemic has impacted Anchorage and its residents, with recommendations for monitoring further impacts and potential responses/interventions. Of the published papers, Dr. Cueva and Dr. DeFeo took the lead on Education; considering the pandemic’s effect on early childhood, K12, and postsecondary systems, they noted the impacts of school and facility closures on students and communities, and provided recommendations to limit negative outcomes and plan for the future. Dr. Berry authored a paper on the economic impact of the hunker down order. Read more about > Reporting impacts and recommendations for COVID-19 in Anchorage and Alaska

Chris Start2020-06-23T11:58:11-08:00June 9th, 2020|Categories: News|Tags: COVID-19, Dayna DeFeo, economy, education, health, Katie Cueva, Kevin Berry|

CAEPR researchers testify about teacher turnover to the Alaska Legislature

CAEPR researchers testify about teacher turnover to the Alaska Legislature

On Wednesday, March 18, Dr. Dayna DeFeo, Director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research, and Dr. Diane Hirshberg, Professor of Education Policy, testified to the Alaska Legislature’s House Education Committee. Their testimony wove together major findings from seven CAEPR research studies to explore teacher supply, demand, retention, turnover, and competition in Alaska and relative to the lower 48. They shared some of Alaska’s areas of opportunity in meeting the need to staff its classrooms with high-quality educators, including expanding efforts to grow our “homegrown” teacher pipeline, improving working conditions that drive turnover, particularly in rural Alaska, and ensuring that compensation structures are on par with other states. DeFeo and Hirshberg’s presentation followed a discussion of current educator turnover research from REL Northwest. Read more about > CAEPR researchers testify about teacher turnover to the Alaska Legislature

Chris Start2020-06-23T13:48:56-08:00March 20th, 2020|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Dayna DeFeo, Diane Hirshberg, education, legislative testimony|

Dr. Diane Hirshberg interviewed about transition to teaching online

Dr. Diane Hirshberg interviewed about transition to teaching online

Faculty member Diane Hirshberg was interviewed by the High North News about challenges facing educators and students across the Circumpolar North as schools and universities are asked to move their teaching online.

Chris Start2020-03-19T12:05:29-08:00March 19th, 2020|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Diane Hirshberg, education|

ISER Researchers Present at AlaskaCAN! Conference

ISER Researchers Present at AlaskaCAN! Conference

The Institute of Social and Economic Research’s (ISER) Dr. Dayna DeFeo alongside ISER researcher, Trang Tran, and Associate Vice Provost for Workforce Development at the University of Alaska (UA) Statewide, Teri Cothren, presented at the 6th Annual AlaskaCAN! Conference in Anchorage last week. The theme of this year’s conference […]

Chris Start2020-03-03T16:10:38-09:00March 3rd, 2020|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: CAEPR, Dayna DeFeo, education|

Dr. Hirshberg presents at education conference in Finland and will co-edit a new book on circumpolar education

Dr. Hirshberg presents at education conference in Finland and will co-edit a new book on circumpolar education

Dr. Diane Hirshberg traveled to Joensuu, Finland to meet with collaborators on a new project called Enhancing Equity and Inclusion in Education in Circumpolar North (EICN). Funded by the Danish Agency for Science and Higher Education (DASHE) in support of UArctic Networking Activities on Arctic Research and Education, the […]

Chris Start2019-12-02T12:09:19-09:00December 10th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: arctic communities, Diane Hirshberg, education|

U.S. Department of Education releases study co-authored by Diane Hirshberg on Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants

U.S. Department of Education releases study co-authored by Diane Hirshberg on Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants

Dr. Diane Hirshberg is co-author of a just-released report on how districts and schools use Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants. The study examines the implementation of the Title VI grants and addresses the services that Title VI funds support, how grantees work with stakeholders to identify program-eligible children, and how they measure progress toward their project objectives. This study, led by SRI International, was conducted for the U.S. Department of Education Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development Policy and Program Studies Service. Read more about > U.S. Department of Education releases study co-authored by Diane Hirshberg on Title VI Indian Education Formula Grants

Chris Start2019-11-07T16:37:50-09:00November 8th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: Diane Hirshberg, education, Title VI|

ISER Researchers and Director deliver presentations at ACTE

ISER Researchers and Director deliver presentations at ACTE

The Alaska Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) held their annual professional development conference, Growing Stronger Together 2019, this week at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage. The event is “the only statewide conference dedicated to professional […]

Chris Start2019-10-16T17:35:56-08:00October 17th, 2019|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Dayna DeFeo, education, enrollment, graduation rate, Jessica Passini, Ralph Townsend, Trang Tran|

Dayna DeFeo featured in KTUU regarding concern around the number of teachers in Alaska

Dayna DeFeo featured in KTUU regarding concern around the number of teachers in Alaska

Director of the Center for Alaska Education Policy Research (CAEPR) and Research Assistant Professor of Education Policy, Dr. Dayna DeFeo, was recently featured by KTUU to discuss the growing concern around the number of teachers in Alaska. Dr. DeFeo explained that lower enrollment in education programs has resulted […]

Chris Start2019-10-16T17:12:34-08:00October 16th, 2019|Categories: CAEPR, News|Tags: Dayna DeFeo, education, teacher turnover|

Preliminary Results from ICOR Survey Now Available

Preliminary Results from ICOR Survey Now Available

The Improving Childcare Outcomes Research (ICOR) project, with Diane Hirshberg as part of the team, is expanding the definition of culturally responsive teaching from its current K-12 focus to include early childhood education. This involves creating and assessing the effectiveness of new professional development aimed at strengthening culturally responsive practices […]

Chris Start2019-10-04T14:53:22-08:00October 14th, 2019|Categories: News|Tags: Diane Hirshberg, education|