Gender Equity
FHI 360's Center for School and Community Services has worked extensively in programs geared to the special needs of both female and male students.
Addressing the Growing Crisis in Boys' Education through Early Childhood Pre-Service Teacher Education (2005-07)
This project, developed by the Educational Equity Center , brought together a working group of highly experienced early childhood teacher educators to develop materials to help teachers and teacher education programs more effectively address the needs of boys, with a special focus on the needs of African American and Latino boys. The working group included representatives from several types of teacher education institutions, including the College of New Jersey, the Borough of Manhattan Community College, Medgar Evers College and the Bank Street College of Education. Project activities included the design, development, pilot-testing, and revision of materials by the working group in consultation with an advisory group of nationally known researchers and educators. Materials were disseminated widely through teacher education professional development networks, such as National Association for the Education of Young Children, conference presentations, and articles in relevant journals.
Great Science for Girls: Extension Services for Gender Equity in Science through After-School Programs (2006-11)
To broaden and sustain girls' interest and persistence in science education, GSG Extension Services will use 21st Century on-line technologies in combination with professional development and customized consulting services to create a unified program of change around girls, science and math, STEM and afterschool. Specifically, GSG Extension Services will offer consist of 1) four-day regional professional development institutes, 2) on-site consulting services, 3) a virtual support system of technical assistance, training, resources, and research, and 4) a handbook of best practices. To deliver GSG Extension Services efficiently across three large sections of the country, the project will affiliate with 12 regional intermediary organizations—four in the North East, four in the Midwest, and four in the Far West. Integral to this project will be EEC's Science, Gender and Afterschool On-Line Community of Practice, funded by NSF.
Raising and Educating Healthy Boys (2005)
Research shows that boys, particularly African-American and Latino boys, are especially vulnerable during their first 10 years with respect to social/emotional development, referral to special education, and academic achievement, mainly in the area of literacy. This EEC project, which addressed the difficulty schools face in adequately supporting the developmental needs of many boys, conducted focus groups with parents and teachers; hosted a strategic planning meeting of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers; and issued a ground-breaking report--an urgent call to action to address the growing crisis in boys' education beginning in early childhood. The final report, Raising and Educating Healthy Boys: The Growing Crisis in Boys Education, 2005. (PDF) has been disseminated widely.
Science: It's a Girl Thing: A Web-Based Diffusion Initiative for Parents and Parent Influencers (2008-10)
The overall goal of this diffusion initiative was to educate influential adults about the fact that science is a girl thing, and to stress the importance of starting early to develop positive attitudes and skills in girls for later success in STEM. The vehicle for getting the message out to the widest possible audience was a web-based campaign based on Playtime is Science, EEC's research-based, award-winning program for students in grades K-3. Playtime is Science is currently marketed to schools and early childhood education teachers through presentations at conferences, workshops, and other events for educators. NSF diffusion funds will be used to extend the reach of our dissemination efforts, targeted to the widest possible audience of parents and parent influencers (e.g., teachers, the PTA, parent involvement coordinators, community advocates).The campaign was built around a series of online and interactive strategies including bringing content directly to websites used by our target population and creating our own Science: It's a Girl Thing social networking site.