The Weekly Recap
News and Updates from Across BU Wheelock SPACE This Week
Welcome to this week’s recap! This week we share recent community events, provide details on recent faculty engagement, and highlight news mentions, recently published research, and upcoming events.
Out and About
Raul Fernandez (Senior Lecturer, BU Wheelock) presented on Racial Segregation in Massachusetts at the METCO (Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity) Legislative Briefing at the State House. His presentation was informed by his work as the former chair of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE) Racial Imbalance Advisory Council (RIAC).
Cara Mattaliano (Asst. Director, SPACE), attended the 2025 Government Affairs Forum hosted by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, where Governor Maura Healey delivered remarks. Governor Healey reaffirmed her commitment to maintaining the state’s top-ranking schools and criticized the Trump administration’s reductions in NIH funding.
Faculty Engagement
Emmy Nomination: Congratulations to Nermeen Dashoush (Clinical Assoc. Professor, BU Wheelock), who is part of a team that has been nominated for a Children’s & Family Emmy Award. Dashoush is the lead advisor for Lyla in the Loop, a PBS KIDS series featured in the educational game Stu’s Super Stunts. Lyla and the Loop provides children with a place to learn computational thinking skill, which are fundamental problem-solving abilities essential for fields like computer science.
In the News
Indiana Program Addresses Special Education Teacher Shortage, Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien (Assoc. Professor Elizabeth Bettini featured), February 23, 2025.
New Book Release
The Conversation on Higher Ed: Edited by Mary Churchill (Assoc. Dean, BU Wheelock), The Conversation on Higher Ed offers a critical analysis of the tenuous future of higher education. Between falling undergraduate enrollment, rising student debt, program elimination, and widespread faculty burnout, many families across America are left wondering: Is college worth it? Published by Hopkins Press and featuring contributions from 55 authors, this book explores the complicated landscape of academic life in the current era, examining issues ranging from free speech on campus and the implications of artificial intelligence in teaching and learning to the erosion of academic tenure.
Research That Matters
Examining The Effect of Bias-Based Harassment: Direct and Witnessed Bias-Based Harassment Exposures Among Adolescents: Associations With Functioning and the Influence of Protective Factors (co-authored by Professor Melissa Holt and Professor Jen Green)
Adolescents who experience bias-based harassment based on their identity face greater challenges than those who experience peer victimization that is not targeted at their identity. However, there has been little research aimed at understanding how different forms of bias-based harassment influence well-being. This study builds on existing research by examining adolescents’ direct and witnessed bias-based harassment exposures and explores how these exposures are tied to mental health and grades. Additionally, researchers examined three protective factors—support from adults at school, support from friends, and a sense of belonging at school—to understand how they might affect the students exposed to bias-based harassment. Results showed that different types of identity-based harassment had varying effects on students' well-being and highlighted how important support and a sense of belonging are in helping students navigate these challenges.
Effectiveness of Inclusive Practices: Service Delivery Models: Impacts for Students With and Without Disabilities (co-authored by Professor Marcus Winters, Assoc. Professor Nathan Jones, doctoral candidate Lindsey Kaler, doctoral student Jessica Markham, and doctoral student Josefina Senese).
Students with and without disabilities may be educated through various service delivery models (SDMs), including general education, co-teaching, pull-out, and self-contained settings. However, evidence on their relative effectiveness at scale remains limited. Using longitudinal administrative data from Indiana, researchers examined the impact of different SDMs on test scores, attendance, and disciplinary incidents. They found that students with disabilities performed better in less restrictive environments, though the effect size varied across SDMs. Additionally, co-teaching had a positive impact on students without disabilities. This study advances the understanding of inclusive practices and their effectiveness statewide.
Embracing The Complexity of Literacy Practices: Looking Closely to Understand Literacy More Deeply: Exploring Established Literacy Refrains From Unique Vantage Points (co-edited by Assoc. Professor Christina Dobbs)
At last year’s annual conference of the Literacy Research Association, President David Yaden’s address encouraged the literacy research community to look more closely at the complexity of literacy practices and to avoid viewing literacy practice in simplistic ways. The pieces in this issue of the Journal of Literacy Research (JLR) take up common refrains in literacy research and ask what can be gained by looking more closely at each. For example, what new insights emerge when we closely examine the relationship between socioeconomic status and reading comprehension? How might our own linear perspectives on storytelling limit our understanding of children's narrative play? Co-edited by Christina Dobbs, this issue critically investigates how literacy has traditionally been constructed—and what we might gain by rethinking and even disrupting these assumptions.
Important Updates in US Higher Education
The Cost of Cutting Education Research: David Chard (Professor and Dean Emeritus, BU Wheelock) recently penned an op-ed in BU Today warning of the long-term and devastating consequences of cutting funding for grants through the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). He argues that these cuts, which have been a global model for evidence-based reform in government, will severely undermine efforts to improve educational outcomes.
Upcoming Events
March 13 - Presentation by Mary Churchill at the Fulbright France Commission. Mary Churchill (Assoc. Dean, BU Wheelock) is giving a presentation on a newly published book she edited, The Conversation on Higher Ed, at the Fulbright France Commission in Paris, France.
📅 Date: March 13, 2025
🕒 Time: 6:00 - 8:30 P.M. CET
📍Location: Commission franco-américaine - 9 Rue Chardin, 75016 ParisMarch 1-2 – New England Regional Association for Applied Sport Psychology Conference. The Sport Psychology program at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development is hosting the 2025 New England Regional Association for Applied Sport Psychology conference! The conference is March 1st and 2nd at Boston University's Rajen Kilachand Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering, 610 W Commonwealth Ave. Learn more and register here.
📅 Date: March 1-2, 2025
March 27-28 - BU Wheelock Forum: Thriving in the Middle School Years. Each year, the BU Wheelock Forum brings together scholars, educators, policymakers, and others to discuss pressing issues in education and human development. The 2025 Forum will examine the deficit narrative of early adolescence that has resulted in youth ages 10–15 being overlooked, undervalued, and minimized in research, policymaking, and investment. Join us to explore the complexity of this pivotal time in adolescent development and the ways in which systems and strategies can be refocused to help students thrive. The keynote speakers include Jason Reynolds, New York Times best-selling author of novels and poetry for young adults and middle-grade audiences; Wendi Williams, psychologist, advocate, and educator; Tina Durand, Clinical Assoc. Professor at BU Wheelock; and Michael Medina, Asst. Professor at BU Wheelock. Learn more and register here.
📅 Date: March 27-28, 2025
April 19 - BU Curiosity and Learning Conference. Following the success of last year’s dynamic, STEAM-focused sessions, the 10th Annual Curiosity and Learning Conference will include hands-on activities, innovative workshops, and inspirational talks from incredible leaders in education—highlighting how curiosity drives learning across disciplines. Whether you're drawn to robotics, art, math, or creative inquiry, this is your chance to connect, collaborate, and ignite fresh ideas for transforming classrooms. Check out the summary of last year's conference and register here.
📅 Date: April 19th, 2025
🕒 Time: 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM EST
📍Location: BU Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS)