Federal Funding for Education Research: Tips and Trends

Federal Funding for Education Research: Tips and Trends

Adam GamoranWisconsin Center for Education

Research

Funding your work, and planning for the future

I will talk about two federal agencies National Science Foundation U.S. Department of Education

I will focus mainly on what is available now

I will also speculate about directions for the future

Federal Funding Sources

UW-Madison is a national leader Over $500 million in federal research

support in 2006-07 (5th most in the nation)

Over $400 million in non-federal research support (most in the nation)

National Science Foundation Supports basic research on

fundamental discipline-based and interdisciplinary problems

Key program areas for social scientists Social and Behavioral, and Economic

Sciences (SBE) Education and Human Resources (EHR)

National Science Foundation Social, Behavioral, and Economic

Sciences Discipline-based programs

E.g., anthropology, political science, sociology Interdisciplinary programs

Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation Human and Social Dynamics Science of Learning Centers …and many others

See www.nsf.gov

National Science Foundation Most NSF programs have small and

large awards Smaller awards for pilots, conferences,

syntheses, applications, dissemination Large awards for full projects

Most NSF awards are for basic research, but some span basic and applied research

National Science Foundation Disciplinary programs generally have

two deadlines each year, e.g. January and August

Interdisciplinary programs have ad hoc deadlines, usually once per year

Disciplinary programs are relatively permanent, interdisciplinary programs seem to come and go as funding and interests wax and wane

National Science Foundation

Education and Human Resources Divisions Undergraduate Education Graduate Education Human Resource Development Research on Learning in Formal and

Informal Settings NSF-supported education research at UW-

Madison mostly falls within this program Note: NSF’s interest in education is limited to

science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education


Key programs within the Division of Research on Learning Discovery Research K-12 REESE (Research and Evaluation on

Education in Science and Engineering) FIRE (Fostering Interdisciplinary Research

on Education) Informal Science Education


Whether in SBE or EHR, NSF reviewers are looking for Clear, concise statements of purpose Relevant literature and theoretical

framework Valid and reliable measurement Effective dissemination

Two key elements of NSF proposals Intellectual merit: Contribute to knowledge Broader impact: Enhance diversity and

benefit society


NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Social Sciences is one of the program areas For beginning or first-year graduate

students Must be US citizen or permanent resident Applied fields are excluded, specifically

including social work and education (except science education)

Institute of Education Sciences

The U.S. Department of Education’s research division is the Institute of Education Sciences Four centers: research, statistics,

evaluation, and special education research Research is supported by the research and

special education research centers


IES supports research in a variety of programs, such as: Math and science education/teacher quality Reading and writing education/teacher

quality Education policy, finance, and systems Cognition and student learning …and many more See http://ies.ed.gov/funding/


New programs this year include: Organization and Management of Schools

and Districts Analyses of Longitudinal Data to Support

State and Local Education Reforms Early Learning Programs and Policies See

http://ies.ed.gov/funding/ncer_progs.asp


Special Education programs include: Early Intervention and Early Learning Reading, Writing, and Language Development Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learnig Transition Outcomes for Spec. Ed. Secondary

Students Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education Professional Development for Teachers and Related

Services Providers Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems Autism Spectrum Disorders See http://ies.ed.gov/funding/ncser_progs.asp


Many think IES is focused on a particular methodology

But the real change is not the advancement of one method over another

Rather: a narrowing of the question What works in education? Generally: what works to raise test scores?


All IES program areas support research that addresses one of five goals Goal 1: Analyze large-scale data sets to

develop hypotheses that could later be tested in randomized trials

Goal 2: Develop interventions that could later be tested in randomized trials

Goal 3: Small-scale efficacy trials Goal 4: Large-scale randomized trials Goal 5: Develop instruments/assessments


IES proposals require less emphasis on theory and more emphasis on application

IES proposals tend to be tightly scripted Specific elements depend on the goal Application is preceded by (optional) letter

of intent Full proposals always include the following

sections: significance, methods, personnel, resources


IES also has a graduate fellowship program, but it is provided to universities rather than to students directly UW-Madison has an interdisciplinary

training program in education sciences Enables social science doctoral students to

apply rigorous methods that permit causal inference to pressing problems of education policy and practice

Students in economics, political science, psychology, sociology, and social welfare are eligible

www.wcer.wisc.edu/itp

Graduate Fellowships from Other Sources

Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowships Deadline in November

AERA Dissertation Grants Deadlines in January, March, and

September

Future Directions for Federal Funding for Education Research

This is a hard time economically for our country

But it is a good time for education research

Recognition of the need for rigorous research that answers pivotal questions about programs

Future Directions for Federal Funding for Education Research

In science and engineering: Rising above the Gathering Storm Substantial increase to NSF funding

for 2010 In education

New funds for reform efforts Reform efforts will be studied

Opportunities for research and evaluation

Future Directions for Federal Funding for Education Research In science and engineering:

Rising above the Gathering Storm A call to action from the National

Academies Heeded by Congress

Substantial increase to NSF funding for 2010

In education New funds for reform efforts Reform efforts will be studied

Opportunities for research and evaluation

Documents

Federal Funding for Education Research: Tips and Trends