July 30th, 2024 – Public Agenda, a research-to-action nonprofit dedicated to building a democracy that works for everyone, announced today that it will disperse $180,000 in funding to six teams of scholars studying culturally relevant and sustaining education (CRSE) in Pennsylvania as part of its Pennsylvania Education Equity Project. Each team will receive $30,000 to support research on educator training and teaching practices aimed to ensure that all students’ backgrounds, identities, experiences, and aspirations are recognized in teaching materials and interactions with peers and educators. 

“Pennsylvania’s new standards for culturally relevant and sustaining education are an expression of the fundamental American value that every young person deserves to be taught in a way that fits who they are and where they come from,” said Andrew J. Seligsohn, President of Public Agenda. “Our Pennsylvania Education Equity Project seeks to ensure that these standards succeed by supporting and sharing robust, practical research on how to translate the standards into practices in colleges and universities, school districts, and classrooms.” 

The funded research projects, each anchored in Pennsylvania’s new CRSE competencies, examine practical changes to educator training curricula, incorporation of CRSE into existing literacy programs and teaching support networks, and progress toward statewide implementation of CRSE in educators’ professional development. The Pennsylvania Educator Diversity Consortium (PEDC) is a key research partner for this work, and the project is supported by Spring Point Partners.

As research is completed, Public Agenda will transform findings into practical tools and resources tailored for educators and practitioners in Pennsylvania and beyond. Below is a summary of the research projects undertaken by Pennsylvania Education Equity Project grantees:

• Dr. Sarah Anne Eckert of Eastern University and Dr. Jill May Swavely of Temple University, will examine teacher preparation at five Pennsylvania colleges and universities. Teacher educators at these institutions have revised their courses to align with the new standards, and the researchers will assess students’ experiences of these courses and their understanding of CRSE competencies. Participating institutions include: East Stroudsburg University, Eastern University, Millersville University, Temple University, and the University of Pittsburgh.
• Dr. Michael Golden and Dr. Katrina Struloeff, both of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, will investigate the dynamics of incorporating CRSE standards into continuous improvement practices in an existing network of Pennsylvania schools districts–the Equity in Student Belonging Inquiry Community (ESBIC)–and explore whether participants’ activities become more aligned with culturally relevant and sustaining education practices.
• Dr. Maya Kaul and Dr. Sarah Kavanagh, both of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, will examine four teacher education programs across public and private institutions and diverse Pennsylvania counties. The researchers will interview program leaders and teacher educators, review program documents, and observe courses to understand how these key actors in the pipeline from policy to practice understand, transform, and integrate CRSE competencies into teacher education programs.  
• Dr. Christopher Pupik Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education will study state-required school district professional education plans to determine the degree to which Pennsylvania schools are formally incorporating CRSE competencies in professional development and to understand the challenges districts face in meeting the standards. 
• Dr. Phillandra Smith and Dr. Mahati Kopparla, both of the University of Pittsburgh School of Education, will explore educators’ approach to CRSE through students’ experiences of their cultural heritages and identities. In the first phase of the project, Caribbean middle school students in western Pennsylvania will use photography and video to document the teaching and learning that is part of daily life in their communities. Researchers will examine how pre-service teachers reflect on the students’ presentation of their documentary projects and use these reflections to revise lesson plans. 
• Dr. Caitlin Forbes Spear and Dr. Shallegra Moye, both of the University of Pittsburgh Office of Child Development, will assess the impacts of the 3Rs, a literacy initiative aligned with Pennsylvania’s CRSE standards, that aims to use high quality picturebooks to make reading practices more culturally informed and effective. Working in partnership with a Pittsburgh K-5 charter school, the researchers will examine whether 3Rs training is associated with changes in teachers’ mindsets, skills, and practices.

These grantees were selected from a large pool of applicants who responded to Public Agenda’s  Pennsylvania Education Equity Project Request for Proposals. The competitive selection process included review by a panel of expert academics and practitioners. Stay up-to-date on the Pennsylvania Education Equity Project by registering for Public Agenda’s newsletter here.