Research has always played a role in school integration advocacy, and NCSD believes that current research should inform policy development process in a more systematic way. NCSD aims to increase real time, two-way communication between advocates and researchers on key contested questions. We do this by: 1) consulting with leading educational researchers on important issues; and 2) connecting both emerging and already-established school diversity scholars and researchers with one another and with integration program practitioners.
NCSD School Diversity Research Network
Our School Diversity Research Network is a vehicle for connecting both emerging and already-established school diversity scholars and researchers with one another and with integration program practitioners. Similar to the research communities that exist within professional research associations, the School Diversity Research Network supports scholarly inquiry into school diversity models and evaluation of individual programs. To ensure that school diversity research can benefit practitioners and policymakers, NCSD works to compile and disseminate this research in accessible formats.
The School Diversity Research Network is also designed to help integration program practitioners. In an educational reform climate that emphasizes evidence-based practice, research and evaluation are increasingly important. And yet, reliable educational research is expensive and time consuming, and often remains outside the reach of many programs. By forming this community of school diversity researchers and joining them with practitioners, we hope to greatly expand what we know about school diversity in theory and practice.
If you are an educational researcher and would like to join the School Diversity Research Network, please sign up for our newsletter.