Baylor Center for School Leadership Announces Research Awards

The Baylor Center for School Leadership (BCSL) announced three awards as a part the BCSL Research Award initiative. 

“These awards span across various departments here in the School of Education and align with the BCSL mission to be the most effective Christian leadership catalyst for educators worldwide," said Dr. Bill Sterrett, who with Dr. Jon Eckert, serves as co-Executive Director for the center. 

Sterrett, Eckert and a team of reviewers that included BCSL Senior Director Jill Anderson, Director of Networks and Improvement Erik Ellefsen, and Program Coordinator Sahira Kodra reviewed applications for the inaugural set of awards.  

“These three awards help to examine relevant, timely issues in education,” shared Sterrett. “It is our hope that the Center helps identify collaborative synergies to help address tomorrow’s challenges in a way that brings about meaningful and sustained change.”  

The three awards include funding for the following: 

Dr. Kylah Clark-Goff, who serves as Assistant Dean of Educator Preparation Programs and Associate Clinical Professor, teamed with Dr. Jenifer Johnson, Senior Director of Recruitment and Student Success, and Dr. Deborah Focarile, who serves as an adjunct faculty member across all three School of Education (SOE) departments, on a project called, “Vision Through Evaluation--Fulfilling TAC 228 Changes Through Program Evaluation: Evaluating an EPP through Students’ Perceptions of Self-Efficacy, Resilience, and Program Effectiveness.” Over the next year, the team will evaluate various aspects of the undergraduate educator preparation program at Baylor, looking at self-efficacy, resiliency, preparedness, and readiness. This work will seek to inform faculty and staff about current trends and opportunities in the midst of a national teacher shortage.

A second research project titled, “Radical Hope in Education,” examines the role of hope and community for teachers during an era of challenging working conditions. The project is led by Educational Leadership Assistant Professor Dr. Saralyn McKinnon-Crowley and Curriculum and Instruction Associate Professor Dr. Kevin Magill. The researchers seek to interview public school teachers and leaders in California and Texas who will seek to better understand how Christian teachers and leaders serve their schools and foster community. 

The third project is led by Clinical Assistant Professor Dr. Tracey Jones and focuses on “Bilingual Language Acquisition and Education.” Jones, who serves in the Curriculum and Instruction Department, noted that bilingual education is a profound and ongoing need, and that the research award will allow her to better understand students’ language development and implications for classroom practice, student support, and needed professional development for teachers. Jones will hire SOE students to help with data analysis and will also seek additional external grant funding to build on this research.

 “We are hopeful that colleagues across the School of Education find research advocates and partners in our Center, and we look forward to finding new ways to work together to indeed be a catalyst for change in schools throughout the world,” Sterrett said. 

The Center plans to solicit additional awards in future years.