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Boston College鈥檚 Lynch School of Education will advance its distinctive focus on 鈥渨hole child鈥� education and universal student development by convening three groundbreaking conferences for education professionals, scholars and policymakers this fall.
鈥淥ur distinctive vision of education encompasses the many dimensions of a student鈥檚 life,鈥� says Stanton E.F. Wortham, Charles F. Donovan, S.J., Dean at the Lynch School. 鈥淥ur fall colloquia will provide an opportunity to share that methodology with education leaders nationally.鈥�
The initial event鈥攖itled 鈥淐omprehensive Services for Children in Poverty: Setting the Research Agenda for Integrated Student Services鈥� (October 18-20), and led by Mary E. Walsh, the Lynch School鈥檚 Daniel E. Kearns Professor of Urban Education and Innovative Leadership and the executive director of 鈥淐ity Connects鈥濃�攊s the first conference to convene national and international leaders from the field of integrated supports for children. Funded by an American Educational Research Association (AERA) grant, the by-invitation-only conference will assemble experts in school-based approaches for lifting academic and non-academic barriers to learning.聽 The conference鈥檚 goal, says Walsh, is to establish new research priorities to advance the field.聽聽
The three-day, 鈥淲hole Child, Whole Person Summit: Redefining Achievement, Education and Well-being鈥� (October 21-23) serves as the centerpiece among the three convenings, with more than 200 teachers, principals, superintendents and practitioners expected to attend.
Led by Lynch School of Education Professors Andrew Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley, in partnership with ASCD (formerly the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development), the summit opens with a one-day, invitation-only pre-conference for 40 scholars and policymakers who are experts in the areas of emotional, social, and educational well-being, and whole-child/whole-person development.
The goal, explains Hargreaves, the Thomas More Brennan Chair in Education, is to shape the agenda for the field鈥檚 future research.聽 The main conference will emphasize collaboration and discussion to expand the narrow definition of academic achievement beyond just content mastery and test scores, and to embrace all spheres of students鈥� long-term development and success. 聽
The summit closes on November 15-17 with a first-of its-kind conference and interactive workshop focused on strategies for measuring the impact of undergraduate education 鈥� particularly a liberal arts education 鈥� on students鈥� personal growth.聽 Titled 鈥淭racking Development Toward Living a Life of Meaning and Purpose: Addressing the Challenges to Measurement,鈥� and led by Henri Braun, the Lynch School鈥檚 Boisi Professor of Education and Public Policy, the three-day event will endeavor to quantify what he describes as the ultimate outcome for undergraduate college students: a life of meaning and purpose.
Funded by the Spencer Foundation, the conference鈥檚 primary goal is to establish new, interdisciplinary research agendas centered on assessing students across the intellectual, emotional, spiritual, and ethical spectrum of 鈥渨hole person鈥� learning that a liberal arts education develops.聽 Says Braun, developing a body of quantitative research is essential for liberal arts colleges and universities as they face increasing pressure to demonstrate value for cost; research resulting from the conference could help counter the push for a narrow, short-sighted definition of student鈥檚 success focused primarily on technical, job-specific skills.
鈥擯hil Gloudemans | University Communications