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Sheridan moderates NET panel on parent engagement in education

Susan Sheridan, director of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools, moderated a panel on parent engagement in children’s education that aired Aug. 15 on NET2 World.

“The Challenge of Parent Engagement,” an hour-long episode of Nebraska Educational Telecommunications’ “The State of Education in Nebraska” series, featured a discussion among educators and administrators from Lincoln, Crete, Grand Island and Omaha. In addition to addressing the many forms and benefits of parent engagement, the panel examined how best to foster connections among parents, schools and community organizations. Full Article

Coutts researching distance tech delivery of intervention to rural communities

Michael Coutts

Miles or megabytes? Speed limits or bandwidth? Country roads or fiber optics?

For years, reaching out to families and schools in rural communities has meant long hours of costly travel. This reality has made distance technology an appealing alternative – and the dissertation focus of Michael Coutts, a CYFS doctoral student affiliate. Full Article

Postdoc Hawley recognized for research on teacher assessment

Leslie Hawley

Leslie Hawley, a postdoctoral trainee with the CYFS Statistics and Research Methodology Unit, will receive a University of Nebraska-Lincoln research award that recognizes her dissertation’s potential to improve the evaluation of K-12 teachers.

UNL’s Phi Delta Kappa Chapter recently announced Hawley as the recipient of its Dr. Ron Joekel Research Award, which honors outstanding education-focused research conducted by a UNL graduate student. Hawley, who completed her doctorate from UNL’s Qualitative, Quantitative and Psychometric Methods program in December 2012, will receive the $1,500 award at a fall meeting of the PDK Chapter. Full Article

Rudasill studying effects of temperament on early childhood achievement

Kathleen Moritz Rudasill

Some preschoolers listen to the teacher as others tune her out. While some stay within the lines, others color outside them. Some play by themselves; others share toys. And though some sit still, others fidget endlessly.

Collectively, Kathleen Rudasill sees these routine activities as a window into the emerging personalities of young children – one that potentially offers new perspectives on helping those from difficult backgrounds reach their potential. Full Article

Faculty affiliate Swearer launches Empowerment Initiative

Susan M. Swearer, Ph.D.

UNL professor Susan Swearer, whose research on bullying has yielded collaborations with the White House and Lady Gaga, has launched a new initiative to support personal, social and cultural acceptance from childhood through adulthood.

Swearer’s Empowerment Initiative will facilitate translational research and outreach efforts designed to foster healthy communities, schools and families free from bullying and other negative behaviors. Full Article

Sociologist Crosnoe addresses challenges of high school

The University of Texas at Austin’s Robert Crosnoe addressed how social marginalization affects teenage development during a recent Distinguished Lecture hosted by the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools.

Crosnoe, a professor of sociology at UT Austin, presented “Adolescence, Peers and the Challenges of High School” April 10 in the Nebraska Union’s Colonial Room. Full Article