The Weekly Recap
News and Updates from Across BU Wheelock SPACE This Week
Welcome to this week’s recap! This week we share community events, provide details on faculty engagement, and highlight recently published research.
Out and About
Federal Policy Retreat: Cara Mattaliano (Asst. Director, SPACE), Raul Fernandez (Senior Lecturer, BU Wheelock), and Sidrah Baloch (Asst. Director, Wheelock Education Policy Center) traveled to Washington, D.C., to participate in a federal policy retreat as part of the Rennie Center's Massachusetts Education Policy Fellowship. Over three days, the fellows participated in dynamic programming at the Education Trust offices, the Hart Senate Office Building, and the Cannon House Office Building, meeting with key leaders in education and policy.
Academic Conferences
Science Teaching: TJ McKenna (Clinical Assoc. Professor) presented with a group at the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST). His presentation, Grappling with Critical Problems of Practice within Our Diverse Informal Elementary Science Teacher Education Community, explored key challenges in elementary science teacher education. This collaborative effort, spanning various contexts and perspectives, highlighted how effectively leveraging and adapting pedagogical tools and science curriculum materials can better support pre-service teachers.
International Education: Mary Churchill (Assoc. Dean, SPACE) and Eleonora Villegas-Reimers (Clinical Professor, BU Wheelock) attended the annual conference for the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) in Chicago. At the conference, Mary gave a presentation, Developing a Cohesive Strategy for Global Work: Leveraging a College Merger and Leadership Transitions to Increase Global Engagement.
Research That Matters
U.S. Undergraduate Students and Disability Self-Identification: A National Look at Shifts in Disability Self-Identification for Students Enrolled in Higher Education (co-authored by Research Asst. Professor Kyle DeMeo Cook)
Utilizing data from the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) 2012/2017, this study examines patterns of disability self-identification among a nationally representative sample of U.S. students during their first three years of postsecondary education. Findings indicate that nearly 10% of undergraduates reported a disability status at some point during this period. Compared to their peers, students who self-identified as having a disability were more likely to be older, less likely to be a dependent, and enrolled full-time. They were also more likely to live on campus but reported a lower sense of belonging within their campus community.
Upcoming Events
April 17 - How Advocacy Works: Advancing Early Education and Care in the Commonwealth. How Advocacy Works, a new webinar from the BU Wheelock SPACE Office, will spotlight strategic and effective advocacy efforts that advance equitable policy in education and human development. Join us for the opening webinar of this series, where a distinguished panel of early childhood education leaders will explore key strategies—including advocacy, research, community organizing, and strategic communication—that they use to drive meaningful change in the Commonwealth. The panel will feature Amy O'Leary, Executive Director of Strategies for Children, kate warren barnes, Head of Massachusetts Strategy & Partnerships at Jumpstart for Young Children, and Felicia Billy, Director of BU’s Children’s Center. The conversation will be moderated by Kyle DeMeo Cook, Research Assistant Professor at the Center on the Ecology of Early Development (CEED) at BU Wheelock.
📅 Date: Thursday, April 17th
🕒 Time: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM EST
📍 Location: Webinar, Register here.
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. Check out a 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)April 26 - 1965 Freedom Rally. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of the 1965 Freedom Rally led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ruth Batson, Alan Gartner, Reverend Virgil Wood, and Dr. Ralph Abernathy. The rally took place on April 23, 1965, with over 20,000 people marching on Boston Common to protest racial imbalance in housing and schools. On April 26th, from 12:00 to 2:30 PM, Embrace Boston calls upon over 10,000 voices to unite in solidarity for hope and action. As Dr. King urged in 1956, Boston must “be the testing ground for the ideal of freedom.” This rally serves as a testament that Boston continues to be a powerful force for freedom, equality, and human dignity.
📅 Date: April 26th, 2025
🕒 Time: 12:00 PM - 2:30 PM
📍The Embrace at Boston CommonMay 7 - Preparing a Strong Special Education Workforce: Learning from NCES. Join the SPACE Office for the third session in the Research that Matters: Insights from Community-Engaged Scholarship webinar series. Moderated by Jessica Wong, Director of BU Federal Relations, this session will feature a conversation between research partners Elizabeth Bettini, Associate Professor at BU Wheelock, and Tuan Nguyen, Associate Professor at the University of Missouri College of Education. Together, they will discuss key findings from two recent research projects examining the special educator workforce.
📅 Date: May 7th, 2025
🕒 Time: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
📍Webinar, register here