Education News | University of Illinois

The story of the politics and policies of public education for newly freed slaves in post-bellum Mississippi is the subject of Christopher Span’s new book, “From Cotton Field to Schoolhouse: African American Education in Mississippi, 1862-1875” (The University of North Carolina Press). Span is a professor of educational policy studies at the University of Illinois.

A market-based approach to increasing school choice actually leads to fewer educational opportunities, particularly for disadvantaged students in urban areas, according to a University of Illinois expert in education.

Popular culture may have an uncharitable attitude toward community colleges, but a University of Illinois expert in education says they are an underfunded community asset and an invaluable resource for first-generation college students, low-skilled adult workers and immigrants aspiring to enter college, and downsized workers and mid-career changers transitioning to a recession-proof career.

David Brown, a professor in the U. of I. College of Education and expert in science education, says that interactive web-based science tutorials can be effective tools for helping elementary school teachers construct powerful explanatory models of difficult scientific concepts.

A persistent assault by the political right threatens to erode nearly century-old principles of academic freedom that have made U.S. universities a model for the world, a new book co-written by a University of Illinois legal expert warns.