UW-Madison conference looks at Obama education agenda

Scholars from a range of disciplines at the University of Wisconsin–Madison will dissect and discuss the Obama administration’s education agenda during a daylong conference sponsored by the Department of Educational Policy Studies (EPS) in the UW-Madison School of Education.

The conference, “The Obama Education Agenda: Principles, Policies and Prospects,” will be held on Wednesday, March 9, from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., in the Wisconsin Idea Room (Room 159) of the Education Building, 1000 Bascom Mall on the UW–Madison campus. All sessions are open to the public.

“President Obama, to the surprise of many, has followed President Bush’s lead in supporting test-based and market accountability — and his Race to the Top and related initiatives have produced massive changes,” says conference co-chair Douglas Harris, associate professor of educational policy and public affairs.

“The Obama administration has also expressed a desire to revitalize and reinvent international education policy and public diplomacy, but recent efforts are now threatened by renewed budget cuts and partisan conflicts,” says co-chair Mark Johnson, assistant professor of educational policy studies.

The conference will examine these efforts, what is motivating them, and what they might mean for American education.

The conference kicks off on Tuesday, March 8, with a talk by Diane Ravitch, of New York University and the Brookings Institution. Regarded as one of the nation’s leading education historians, Ravitch will discuss “The Future of Public Education” at 7 p.m. in the Wisconsin Union Theater at UW–Madison’s Memorial Union.

Ravitch’s talk is sponsored by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters, UW–Madison School of Education, and Wisconsin Center for Education Research, with support from the Wisconsin Education Association Council and the UW–Madison Lectures Committee.

Those interested in Ravitch’s presentation but unable to attend may view the event via live, streamed video online. Visit the Wisconsin Academy website, wisconsinacademy.org just prior to the start of the program for the link. This program will not be available for subsequent video viewing.

A full day of events, sponsored by the Department of Educational Policy Studies, will follow on March 9. This includes a luncheon keynote address by David Obey, who represented Wisconsin’s Seventh District in Congress from 1969 to 2011.

Here is the schedule of sessions and presenters at the conference on March 9:

• “Principles, Policies and Prospects in U.S. K-12 Education” (9-10:30 a.m.), led by Stacey Lee, EPS chair. Presenters: Douglas Harris, EPS and La Follette School of Public Affairs; Linn Posey, EPS; and Diana Hess, curriculum and instruction and the Spencer Foundation.
• “Principles, Policies and Prospects in U.S. Higher and Postsecondary Education” (10:45 a.m.-12:10 p.m.), led by Adam Gamoran, WCER director, sociology and EPS. Presenters: Sara Goldrick-Rab, EPS and sociology; Aaron Brower, social work, educational leadership and policy analysis, and vice provost for teaching and learning; and Tom DiPrete, sociology.
• Lunch and Keynote Talk by David Obey (12:15-2 p.m.), co-sponsored by the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education.
• “Principles, Policies and Prospects in U.S. International Education” (2-3:30 p.m.), led by Amy Stambach, EPS and anthropology and associate dean of international studies. Presenters: Jeremi Suri, history; Nancy Kendall, EPS; and Mark Johnson, EPS.
• “Roundtable: Historical, Philosophical and Ideological Reflections” (3:45-5:30 p.m.) led by Adam Nelson, EPS and history. Presenters: Harry Brighouse, philosophy and EPS; Michael Apple, curriculum and instruction and EPS; Gloria Ladson-Billings, curriculum and instruction and EPS; and Michael Olneck, EPS.