Craig De Voto is a Visiting Research Associate at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs and a Research Assistant Professor in the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the implementation of large-scale federal and state policies in several different areas, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, edTPA, desegregation, and standards-based reform. He also studies innovative approaches to preparing urban school leaders.
He discusses his new role at IGPA, how he got started with research in the first place, and the ongoing challenges education researchers face.
What drew you to education research?
I’m trying to solve problems within education. I taught high school history and political science. Eventually, I went back to school for my master’s in museum education to address the problems I had faced when working in the schools. Afterward, I worked in Chicago museums like the Field Museum and Adler Planetarium. However, I realized I needed to tackle those problems that I had avoided as a former teacher. So, I ended up coming full circle and completing my PhD. Since then, I have learned there isn’t one magic solution or policy for schools. But that doesn’t mean we, as education researchers, can’t make things better. Schooling is much more complex than I ever thought, even though I had been a part of it.
How has your work tied into public policy?
My research examines the federal laws governing principal preparation and redesign, particularly within the EveryStudent Succeeds Act (ESSA). As a state, Illinois does a phenomenal job in this area. For example, the state redesigned their approach to ESSA about 10 years ago by requiring principals to get degrees from qualified universities—meaning those that mandated extensive clinicals or internships to get certified. That change basically wiped out many of the so-called principal certification “diploma mills” in Illinois, since only quality universities were willing to comply with the new regulations.
The reason I focus on principal preparation is because I’m a big believer that while you can’t fix every classroom, a great leader will provide a solid foundation for the rest of the school system.
Tell us about the National Science Foundation grant you’re currently working on.
The grant focuses on improving math instruction with four school districts in Illinois via research-practice partnerships. We are in the final year of the project. For the past five years, I have been the “on-the-ground” person who works with the various district leaders, principals, and teachers.
We bring these groups together to work on their unique problems of practice, look at the evidence, and come up with legitimate strategies that will meaningfully support their district. The goal is to provide hyper-specific and hyper-localized recommendations that are sustainable over time. We hope this approach can serve as a model for future partnerships with districts.
What is your favorite research project that you’ve ever worked on?
One of my research offshoots examined how contemporary federal education policy has impacted school segregation. In 2007, the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District No. 1 (PICS), which eliminated voluntary race-based assignment in schools. I looked at Chicago’s selective enrollment high schools, and I examined the data both before and after PICS because CPS actually has quite a bit of data.
I was able to show how this Supreme Court decision negatively impacted Chicago’s selective enrollment schools in a very negative way. White acceptances for students went up substantially, while African American student enrollment dropped. We now call this phenomenon “resegregation”, and it’s a really interesting case of how a federal education policy can truly impact public schools and their student bodies.
What does your role as Visiting Research Associate at IGPA entail?
I mainly assist our affiliates in writing Policy Spotlights, our signature publication series for affiliates to combine their research with public policy recommendations. Our goal is to highlight the great research produced by our affiliates at our three universities and share these Policy Spotlights with media and legislators across the state.
I also provide help on the policy/bill landscape. That is, I try to provide insight into what bills are currently being debated and what laws currently exist. Sometimes, these topics are straightforward but other times, they are topics are much more complicated and require some refinement. There are a lot of interesting and controversial topics out there that are worth discussing from a legislative perspective. In short, I help produce Policy Spotlights since we know our affiliates are very busy!
What do you like to do in your free time?
I love to spend time with my wife and kids. We recently moved to Ann Arbor and bought our first home, which is exciting for our family. I’m a big Chicago sports fan, even though the Bears are going through an epic crisis this year. I’ve also played the bass for 20 years.
