A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

National Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE)

ED Program Office: OERI/At-Risk Institute

Award Number: R306A60001-96

ED Agency Contact: Gilbert N. Garcia

Start Date: 07/01/96

End Date: 06/30/03

Expected Total Award: $28,538,390

Center Directors:

Roland G. Tharp, University of California, Santa Cruz, Director
Yolanda Padron, University of Houston, Co-Director

Institutions:

University of California, Santa Cruz
1156 High Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95064
Telephone: (831) 459-3500
FAX: (831) 459-3502
E-mail: crede@cats.ucsc.edu

University of Houston
College of Education
256 Farish Hall
Houston, TX 77204-5872
Telephone: (713) 743-4945
FAX: (713) 743-4990

Center Description:

CREDE's research plan provides a comprehensive framework for educational research and development that is strong, flexible, and inclusive of diversity among all individuals and communities. It is based on a theoretical framework that is sensitive to diversity of culture and language, and powerful enough to identify the great commonalities that unite people. CREDE addresses educational excellence from preschool to higher education for students from all major linguistic, cultural, and ethnic groups, including those suffering all four identified risk factors for educational failure: limited English proficiency, poverty/economic disadvantage, race, and geographic location.

Over the past five years, CREDE operated 30 research projects under six programmatic strands:

• Research on language learning and academic achievement highlighted exemplary instructional practices and programs.
• Effective professional development practices for teachers, paraprofessionals, and principals were explored.
• The influence and interaction of family, peers, school, and community on the education of students placed at risk were examined.
• Instruction in context explored the embedding of teaching and learning in the experiences, knowledge and values of the students, their families and communities. The content areas of science and mathematics were emphasized.
• Successful integrated school reform initiatives were identified and documented.
• Research on assessment investigated alternative methods for evaluating the academic achievement of language minority students.

Principal Research Questions:

CREDE's work for Years Six and Seven is organized to answer these three questions:

1. What is the status of knowledge in our research domain? This questions will be answered through the work of seven Synthesis Teams focusing on: Language Learning and Academic Achievement; Preservice Teacher Education; Professional Development; Schools; Families and Communities; Mathematics and Diversity; Science and Diversity; and Teacher/School/System Integration.
2. Where do we go from here? We need additional data to augment our existing knowledge base. Continuing projects and new, innovative activities provide those data.
3. How will we communicate our findings? We plan to communicate research findings in forms that will influence policy, practice, and future research.