Educational Policy News

December 27, 2024

Top Headlines

How Loss of Urban Trees Affects Educational Outcomes

Dec. 17, 2024 — Economists looked at test scores and school attendance for Chicago-area kids before and after a bug infestation wiped out the city's ash trees. Education outcomes for low-income students went down, highlighting how the impacts of ecosystem ...

Confidence Drives Feedback-Seeking Behavior: Insights Into Learning and Motivation

Nov. 21, 2024 — New research reveals how low confidence drives feedback-seeking, enhancing learning with insights for education and rehabilitation ...

Traditional Mayan Practices Have Long Promoted Unique Levels of Family Harmony: But What Effect Is Globalization Having?

Nov. 16, 2024 — A new study shows that the past 30 years of globalization have brought fundamental shifts in some aspects of family interaction among Indigenous people in Guatemala. But families have still ...

Why Health and Price, Not Sustainability, Drive US Meat Consumption Choices

Nov. 8, 2024 — Environmental sustainability isn't a major factor influencing meat consumption decisions for most Americans, despite increasing awareness of the climate impacts of red meat production, according to ...

Latest Headlines

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Probability Training: Preventing Errors of Reasoning in Medicine and Law

Nov. 6, 2024 — A new study shows how students can better understand and interpret conditional ...

How Local Governments Can Lead the Way in Decarbonizing the U.S.

Oct. 30, 2024 — The success of the $1 trillion that was recently invested by the U.S. federal government to mitigate climate climate change through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ...

Studying Wikipedia Browsing Habits to Learn How People Learn

Oct. 25, 2024 — A collaborative team of researchers led by Dale Zhou, who did his Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine, and Dani Bassett in Penn's School of Engineering and Applied ...

Adapting GenAI for the Next Generation of Learning

Oct. 23, 2024 — A new study by learning analytics researchers presents key considerations for generative AI (GenAI) educational tools so they are carefully developed to support, rather than replace, human ...

Deep Learning Illuminates Atmospheric Blocking Events of Past, Future

Oct. 17, 2024 — Atmospheric blocking events are persistent, high-impact weather patterns that occur when large-scale high-pressure systems become stationary and divert the jet stream and storm tracks for days to ...

Green Education Can Create New Generation of Eco-Leaders

Oct. 8, 2024 — Countries across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region can overcome major shared environmental challenges such as water scarcity and air pollution by harnessing the power of 'green ...

Why People Think They're Right, Even When They Are Wrong

Oct. 9, 2024 — If you smugly believe you're right in a disagreement with a friend or colleague, a new study suggests why you may actually be wrong. Researchers found that people naturally assume they have all the ...

New Study Explores How Universities Can Improve Student Well-Being

Oct. 2, 2024 — Despite growing evidence of the importance of student well-being and an abundance of best practices, most institutions have yet to prioritize it as much as they do enrollment, graduation and grades. ...

How Can We Make the Best Possible Use of Large Language Models for a Smarter and More Inclusive Society?

Sep. 20, 2024 — Large language models (LLMs) have developed rapidly in recent years and are becoming an integral part of our everyday lives through applications like ...

Banning Friendships Can Backfire: Moms Who 'Meddle' Make Bad Behavior Worse

Sep. 4, 2024 — Bad behavior often occurs away from home, leading parents to blame and limit contact with peers. However, a new study shows that banning friendships can backfire, worsening behavior instead of ...

11 To 12-Year-Olds Use Smartphones Mainly to Talk to Family and Friends

Dec. 26, 2024 — A research group has analyzed the digital ecosystem of 11- to 12-year-old children across the Basque Autonomous Community, and concluded that two out of three own a smartphone. They use smartphones ...

Education Scholar Calls for Ecological Shift to 'School Within a School' to Give Students Autonomy Needed for Success

Dec. 12, 2024 — An international education expert, argues in a new study for an ecological shift to a 'school within a school' approach that would give students, teachers and parents the ability to guide ...

Preschool Education: A Key to Supporting Allophone Children

Nov. 28, 2024 — A Canadian study reveals that allophone children often face learning and communication difficulties in kindergarten, which can negatively impact their educational ...

Need a Landing Pad for Helicopter Parenting? Frame Tasks as Learning

Nov. 22, 2024 — Parents are much less likely to intervene when their young children are getting dressed or performing other simple chores if those tasks are framed as learning opportunities, according to a new ...

Math-Selective US Universities Reduce Gender Gap in STEM Fields

Nov. 21, 2024 — Nationally, men in colleges and universities currently outpace women in earning degrees in physics, engineering, and computer science (PECS) by an approximate ratio of 4 to 1. To better understand ...

School Suspensions and Expulsions Can Lead to a Lifetime of Depression, Study Finds

Nov. 7, 2024 — A new study shows that children who are suspended or expelled from school report higher rates of depression in adolescence and into ...

Explaining Science Through Dance

Nov. 5, 2024 — Explaining a theoretical science concept to high school students requires a new way of thinking altogether, which is precisely what researchers did when they orchestrated a dance with high school ...

From Compliance to Conversation: New Guidelines Push for Ethical Reflection in Research Reporting

Nov. 4, 2024 — A new study highlights key challenges and tensions in research ethics, particularly in light of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and calls for the adoption of new research ...

Autistic Traits Shape How We Explore

Oct. 31, 2024 — People with stronger autistic trails showed distinct exploration patterns and higher levels of persistence in a computer game, ultimately resulting in better performance than people with lower scores ...

Dramatic Drop in Marijuana Use Among U.S. Youth Over a Decade (2011 to 2021)

Oct. 28, 2024 — Using a national survey of 88,183 adolescents in grades nine to 12, findings show marijuana use declined from 23.1% in 2011 to 15.8% in 2021, with first-time use before age 13 dropping from 8.1% to ...

Early Active Learning Boosts Skills for Children Born Into Extreme Poverty, but Gains Fade for Black Boys, Study Shows

Oct. 23, 2024 — Research findings provide further evidence that early childhood education can improve educational outcomes for low-income Black children, but that subsequent experiences may erode those impacts ...

Students Who Feel More University Connection May Be More Likely to Binge Drink, Study Finds

Oct. 10, 2024 — Mentally healthy college students who felt connected to their university were more likely to binge drink than those who did not feel connected to their university, according to a new ...

Alarming Surge: Global Crisis of Childhood Overweight and Obesity

Sep. 26, 2024 — Since 1990, childhood obesity has nearly doubled globally, with the U.S. at the forefront. Addressing pediatric obesity requires a multifaceted approach from tackling the influence of social media ...

Play It Forward: Lasting Effects of Pretend Play in Early Childhood

Sep. 19, 2024 — As the school year revs up, a renowned child developmental psychologist highlights the robust benefits of pretend play on cognitive, social, and emotional development in children and cautions how ...

Belief in Academic Ability Key Factor in Academic Success for Low-Income Students

Sep. 9, 2024 — A strong belief in their own academic ability can help children from low-income families defy the odds and achieve academic success, according to new ...

Study Finds When Self-Determination Model Provided to Schools With Support, Teachers and All Students Benefit

Sep. 4, 2024 — Researchers published a study detailing their work implementing the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction in 15 schools. They found the schools that received training and coaching for ...

Non-Cognitive Skills: The Hidden Key to Academic Success

Aug. 26, 2024 — A study has revealed that non-cognitive skills, such as motivation and self-regulation, are as important as intelligence in determining academic success. These skills become increasingly influential ...

Climate Reporting Standards Insufficient, Must Be Expanded, Say Experts

Aug. 14, 2024 — A new article concludes that current climate standards are not sufficiently incentivizing the big picture innovations necessary to deliver net zero, and must be expanded to include a company's ...

Just Say 'Climate Change' -- Not 'Climate Emergency'

Aug. 12, 2024 — The familiar terms 'climate change' and 'global warming' are more likely to resonate with people than other commonly used ...

Redefining the Computer Whiz: Research Shows Diverse Skills Valued by Youth

Aug. 11, 2024 — Researchers have uncovered a more nuanced view of what makes an 'ideal' computer science student, challenging long-held stereotypes of geeky, clever, detail-oriented men, who lack social ...