The education policy breakfast series at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development returns on Fri., Nov. 12 with a discussion on education and economic growth. The breakfast takes place from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at NYU’s Kimmel Center for University Life, 60 Washington Square South.
The education policy breakfast series at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development returns on Fri., Nov. 12 with a discussion on education and economic growth. The breakfast takes place from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at NYU’s Kimmel Center for University Life, 60 Washington Square South.
This year’s three-part education policy series focuses on the connections between education and the broader economy, with a particular focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The goal of the series is to stimulate a conversation among academics, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners about the extent to which human capital drives economic growth in the developed world, the state of STEM education today, challenges for STEM education in the future, and the promise of reform efforts. Panelists will consider the role of K-12 and post secondary educational institutions, as well as not-for-profit science, cultural, and government institutions.
Featuring presentations by Alison Wolf, professor of public sector management, King’s College London, and Henry M. Levin, professor of economics and education, Teachers College, and a response by Jack Buckley, associate professor of applied statistics, NYU, the Nov. 12 discussion will center on the emerging consensus surrounding education policy and economic growth.
The presenters take a critical look at the common belief that education is a vital component of economic growth. Reports by international groups such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) routinely link levels of educational attainment or countries’ performance on international mathematics, science, and reading assessments to GDP and productivity growth.
This panel will critically examine several aspects of this perhaps overly simplistic consensus: What are the consequences of the failure of the international assessments to measure non-cognitive aspects of schooling such as persistence, effort, and interpersonal relations? Is increased spending on education in industrialized nations the right prescription for improving international competitiveness and escaping the current economic downturn?
Reporters wishing to attend must RSVP to Tim Farrell, NYU Office of Public Affairs, at 212.998.6797 or tim.farrell@nyu.edu.
About the Speakers:
Alison Wolf is the Sir Roy Griffiths Professor of Public Sector Management at King’s College in London, and specializes in the relationship between education and the labor market. She has a particular interest in training and skills policy, universities, and the medical workforce. While most of her current work focuses on the interface between education institutions and labor markets, she also has long-standing interests in assessment, and in mathematics education. She has been an adviser to, among others, the OECD, the Royal College of Surgeons, the Ministries of Education of New Zealand, France and South Africa, the European Commission, and the Bar Council. She was educated at the universities of Oxford (MA, MPhil) and Neuchatel; spent her early career in the United States working as a policy analyst for the federal government, and spent many years at the Institute of Education, University of London, where she is a visiting professorial fellow.
Henry M. Levin is the William Heard Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and Director of the National Center for the Study of Privatization in Education, a nonpartisan entity. He is a specialist in the economics of education and human resources and is currently doing research on educational reform, educational vouchers, cost-effectiveness analysis, financing educational equity, and educational privatization. Levin has published 16 books and almost 300 articles on these and related subjects. His most recent books are Privatizing Educational Choice (2005), Privatizing Education (2001), and Cost-Effectiveness Analysis: Methods and Applications (2000).
Jack Buckley is associate professor of Applied Statistics at NYU Steinhardt. He also holds courtesy appointments in NYU’s department of political science and in the Wagner School of Public Service. Previously, Buckley served as the Deputy Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the federal entity responsible for collecting and analyzing education data. Buckley holds doctorate and masters’ degrees in political science with an emphasis on public policy and statistical methodology from SUNY at Stony Brook and an undergraduate degree in government from Harvard.