Education and Organization Systems Improvement - YEDI Affiliated Project
Eos Trinidad, Professor
Education
Applications for Fall 2024 are closed for this project.
HOW CAN WE IMPROVE EDUCATION through organizations outside schools? This research is a mixed-methods research project, understanding the role of “outside school” organizations (research, philanthropic, nonprofit orgs) on education systems and school improvement.
The QUANTITATIVE aspect of the project involves using nonprofit tax data to understand the ecosystem of "school improvement nonprofits" and how they are distributed across urban areas in the US. The QUALITATIVE aspect of the project involves in-depth interviews of school leaders and nonprofit actors in the US, Philippines, and Malaysia---looking at how they improve organizational processes for education. This will be a great research opportunity for students who want to be mentored in doing a SOCIAL SCIENCE or EDUCATION research project.
Role: The undergraduate students will be tasked to do: (1) collecting, transcribing, and coding of INTERVIEWS and website data, (2) guided analysis/ CODING of quantitative data, (3) LITERATURE REVIEW of articles connected to the research, and (4) weekly MEETINGS. Work hours are flexible and can be negotiated.
At the end of the semester, the student will have learned the following skills: (a) qualitative coding and analysis of research data, (b) descriptive and inferential quantitative analysis for social scientific research, (c) critical assessment of research literature, (d) summarization of key concepts to create a conceptual framework, and (e) writing skills for social scientific research.
Additional OPTIONAL Opportunity:
If you are selected for this research project, you will be given the opportunity to join the Youth Equity Discovery Initiative (YEDI) program. YEDI is a research apprenticeship and mentorship program that supplements your URAP research work with weekly workshops in both Fall and Spring semesters. YEDI creates a cohort of undergraduate scholars (usually around 20-30, many from underrepresented backgrounds) that are working on youth equity research projects, such as this one. The year-long program utilizes cascading mentorship, skill-building workshops, and professional development to provide supportive pathways into research careers, service, and leadership addressing adolescent inequities and well-being. Scholars greatly benefit from (and enjoy!) the extra training and support, as well as the professional development opportunities (including faculty guest speakers, graduate student and practitioner panels). The program culminates in a research presentation at the end of the program. The 2024-2025 YEDI cohort will meet on Tuesdays from 4:30 - 6:00pm beginning September 24th. In order to take part in the YEDI program, you MUST be able to attend the workshops at this time. As a YEDI scholar, you will sign up for a PH198 class and receive 1 unit. This is in addition to the units you receive for your URAP research project. For any questions about YEDI, please contact Marieka Schotland at mschotland@berkeley.edu or visit our website here (https://i4y.berkeley.edu/youth-equity-discovery-initiative-yedi-program).
Qualifications: We are looking for students who are: (1) interested in social science and/or education research, (2) invested in educational improvement and systems change, and (3) able to work with a group of hardworking students and research mentors.
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: The work will have a hybrid set-up, where we will have in-person meetings at Berkeley Way West and some work that can be done remotely. From our experience, the in-person time together (often Fridays from 9 to 12) help with forming community and friendship, and being closely mentored by the mentor. The hours are flexible.
Social Sciences Education, Cognition & Psychology