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Primary Education
Building off years of success, Penn and Lea School formalize partnership
The University and its Graduate School of Education will contribute more than $4 million to the West Philadelphia K-8 school throughout the next five years.
Parental praise associated with longer toddler toothbrushing, a barometer of persistence
Using a first-of-its-kind video-based study, Penn and Yale developmental psychologists found that how parents talk to their 3-year-old during toothbrushing matters to the child’s behavior.
2021 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education honorees boast transformative accomplishments, Penn ties
Often regarded as the “Nobel Prize of Education,” the McGraw Prize is awarded annually to leaders who are pushing beyond the boundaries of the current education landscape and revolutionizing the field.
Penn Alexander celebrates achievement award from Dept. of Education
At an outdoor gathering at Penn Alexander on Sept. 21, the school community and guests celebrated its National Blue Ribbon Award.
Three things parents need for kindergarten prep
For parents with children getting ready to start kindergarten, focus on three things: reading, playing, and encouraging.
A post-pandemic wave of teachers leaving the workforce, and other trends
Penn GSE’s Richard Ingersoll has published a new report looking at who is at work in America’s classrooms, and finds that many trends he has tracked since publishing his first study continue to hold true, and in some ways have deepened.
Five tips for talking to young children about COVID-19 today
Many vaccinated adults have started going maskless, but most children still cannot. Some states are now fully open. Psychologist Caroline Watts offers parents language they can use to talk openly as a family about this newest phase of the pandemic.
How project-based learning can prepare students for the 21st century
Penn GSE dean Pam Grossman and peers argue in a new book that project-based learning, a method of instruction that identifies a project or problem that students work on, should be at the center of American public education.
How to get even better at supporting your LGBTQ+ students
Teachers, school counselors, and administrators owe it to their LGBTQ+ students, along with the rest of the student body, to provide an inclusive environment where everyone feels comfortable.
Maritza Moulite reminds us that the present is past
Penn GSE doctoral student Moulite’s second Young Adult novel “One of the Good Ones” has published to rave reviews.
In the News
Sandra Day O’Connor and the promise of civic education
Jonathan Zimmerman of the Graduate School of Education writes that teaching schoolchildren about the rights and responsibilities of citizenship might be the only way to heal our polarized society.
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Schools in poorer neighborhoods struggle to keep teachers. How offering them more money and power might help
Richard Ingersoll of the Graduate School of Education says that giving educators more authority at their workplace makes them feel like respected professionals.
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Lego, martial arts and dance classes: How one school tackled school absenteeism
A 2022 Penn study found a return of three dollars for every dollar invested in City Connects, a pilot project that links students with support for basic needs and enrichment activities.
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How gross inequalities in institutional wealth distort the higher education ecosystem and shortchange the vast majority of middle- and lower-income undergraduates
Penn is noted for its pledge to contribute $100 million over 10 years to renovate decrepit Philadelphia schools, potentially assisting a more diverse student body.
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New Mexico can turn the tide by increasing classroom time
A study co-authored by economists at Penn found that a longer school year showed an “extremely robust” association with higher student achievement.
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Africana studies can save education—and the world
Ismael Jimenez of the Graduate School of Education writes that "Africana studies is an interdisciplinary field concerned with the study of Black people and history, but it also represents a foundational building block of a more just world."
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