Research Clinics

What qualities should schools be cultivating in their students so that their graduates go on to lead meaningful and productive lives? And how can schools best teach and nurture an increasingly diverse student body? The University School, a private school for boys outside of Cleveland, OH, approached SPARQ with these intriguing questions. SPARQ Faculty Affiliates, includng Carol Dweck, Geoff Cohen, Greg Walton, Hazel Markus, and Mark Lepper, drew on their extensive research in education to help the school hone its strategy.

Children begin rejecting career options as early as age 8. To keep girls’ minds open to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM), SheHeroes creates videos that profile women superstars of STEM. The nonprofit also develops curricula that parents and teachers can use to talk to girls and boys about STEM careers. SPARQ worked with SheHeroes to apply the social science of persuasion and identity formation to the organization’s videos and programming.

Too many schools put children of color in the "school-to-prison pipeline," funneling them out of the education system and into the criminal justice system. Children of color are three times more likely to get sent to the principal's office, suspended, or expelled than are their White schoolmates. Students of color who suffer from learning, behavioral, or physical disabilities are even more vulnerable to unfair discipline. Why do teachers more harshly discipline their students of color, and how can the legal system help end this injustice? ...