Revamping educational systems to engage diverse students

Every person involved in education interprets their experience differently. Understanding this can help researchers redesign a system that works for everyone, according to Shelley Zion, Ph.D., professor of urban education in the Department of Educational Leadership, Administration and Research in Rowan’s College of Education.

Zion has received more than $15 million in grants, including funding from the U.S. Department of Education, the Spencer Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation. In her latest research, she will uncover the viewpoints and experiences of students, educators and families to recommend ways to create public school systems that welcome all people and help them become engaged members of a diverse global community.

“We have created a one-size-fits-all education system, and people make sense of their experiences differently,” said Zion, who has helped schools lead equity work for more than two decades throughout the country. “They have different hopes, fears and dreams for the students.”

Leaders also hold different goals. Some believe public schools should prepare students for the workforce. Others assert they should teach students life skills. Many other opinions abound.

“That’s where the conflict happens,” she said.

“We have spent the last several hundred years tweaking around the edges of the system, trying to make sure everyone has equitable opportunities and outcomes, but we’ve done that without addressing the root causes,” Zion said. “We spend tons of money, time, energy and effort to put band-aids on a system without figuring out what the system is designed to do in the first place.”

Zion is exploring the range of perspectives and how to address conflicts that polarize communities.

“Can we create the space where we can hear each other and understand the values and beliefs that are behind the reason you think the way you do and I think the way I do?” she asked.

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