THE
CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON
EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITY
Maureen T.
Hallinan, Director
Chicago School Study
With support from the U.S. Department of Education, faculty and graduate students in CREO are analyzing data from the Chicago School Study. This research presents the first major opportunity to identify school and classroom effects on student learning in Catholic and public schools using data specifically collected for this purpose. Ongoing analyses of these data are answering critical questions about the impact of school and classroom characteristics on student cognitive, social, and moral development. More generally, the research examines issues related to school reform efforts, school choice, and desegregation for students who differ by race, ethnicity, and income.
Research on Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE)
CREO supports the efforts of the ACE staff in training teachers to work in underprivileged Catholic schools. CREO faculty and graduate students are beginning to conduct research on the teacher education program, the experience of beginning ACE teachers in the classroom and the effectiveness of their training, the careers of ACE teachers after they have completed their service in ACE, and other issues of importance to the ACE program.
Facilities
CREO is located in the west wing of Flanner Hall’s 10th floor and has recently expanded into a nearby wing. An on-site library with Sociology of Education research materials is available for CREO faculty and students. In 2007, a restricted data room was established at the Center so that CREO faculty and students can access restricted files from Government sponsored national surveys of schools.
Faculty
CREO continues to build an outstanding research faculty to advance its mission. Director Maureen Hallinan and Professors Bill Carbonaro, and Sean Kelly, assisted by Associate Professional Specialist Warren Kubitschek, conduct systematic, theoretically grounded empirical research on effective practices and policies in Catholic and public schools. CREO graduate students actively collaborate with faculty on these research projects. Several CREO projects focus on inequality in achievement and attainment outcomes. Professor Hallinan and CREO students are studying the effects of school and class racial composition on school community, analyzing factors that lead eighth grade students in Catholic elementary schools to choose a Catholic or public high school, and examining the effects of holding a job during high school on academic achievement and academic expectations. Professor Bill Carbonaro and graduate students are analyzing data on course taking and achievement among Catholic, public, and private non-Catholic high schools and also are examining how interracial friendships affect students' achievement and attainment outcomes. Professor Carbonaro also is initiating a new longitudinal study that will include collecting data on high school students' social networks, drop outs, and the transition into postsecondary schooling. Professor Sean Kelly and his students are analyzing the effects of vocational course taking on students' social psychological adjustment to school, achievement, and educational attainment. In addition, they are documenting the effects of vocational education offerings, which have decreased in recent years in response to the accountability movement and rising academic course taking requirements. In addition to his work with Professor Hallinan on the Chicago School Study, Warren Kubitschek has established a restricted data room at CREO. He also is developing models and methods for examining student achievement. As the faculty grows, an increasing number of research studies will be based in CREO.
