The Conversation: Education
Monday, October 12
What colleges and universities need from donors to thrive
Graduates pass the John Harvard Statue during Harvard University's commencement on May 29, 2025. Harvard was the school's first big donor. Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images In 1638, John Harvard, an English-born Puritan minister and teacher in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, bequeathed 400 books and half…
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Friday, October 9
Why faculty diversity at universities still lags far behind the changing demographics of college students
In 2022, 72% of full-time faculty across universities and colleges nationwide were white. Asian professors made up 13%, Black professors 7% and Hispanic professors 6%. skynesher/iStock via Getty Images U.S. colleges and universities have long struggled to increase the racial diversity of their faculty. And after they…
theconversation.comStudents from military families are often misunderstood in US public schools – a retired military officer and behavioral health expert explains what schools can do
Children's responses to military life vary, depending on their age and their level of maturity. Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images Over 1.4 million children had a parent or caregiver who served in the U.S. armed forces in 2024. Among active-duty families, 2.4% of military…
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Wednesday, October 7
AI can help with academic research but doesn’t always get it right – here are some tips to check the information you receive
AI tools are not all the same – and should not be used interchangeably. Mininyx Doodle/iStock/Getty Images Plus Almost 25% of adults in the United States are using artificial intelligence chatbots on a daily basis, a 2026 Pew Research Center study found. At the same time, another recent study found that 48% of the…
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Monday, October 5
Why it’s more important than ever to jump-start entrepreneurial careers from the college classroom
By teaching entrepreneurship, colleges can better prepare students for a fast-changing job market and technological disruption. Igor Golovniov/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Recent college graduates are facing a job market that’s only getting tougher. Their unemployment rate hit 5.7%, compared to 4.1% for…
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Friday, October 2
Cornell 7 case puts a spotlight on fraternity misconduct – and the limits of universities’ power to stop it
A case alleging that a Cornell sophomore was sexually assaulted by seven fraternity members is drawing national attention. Spencer Platt/Getty Images Universities have been trying for years to cut back on the abuses among fraternities, with limited resources and limited success. A new lawsuit, filed by a former…
theconversation.comHow Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is helping kids start reading when they’re very young
By the time Dolly Parton died on Aug. 25, 2026, her Imagination Library had gifted more than 332 million children’s books to babies and kids in all 50 states and four other countries: Canada, the U.K., Australia and Ireland. If they were set end to end, these books would circle the earth 1.8 times. This free program…
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Wednesday, September 30
Using an AI chatbot to practice new languages can be helpful, but it doesn’t replace speaking with an actual person
Relying on AI chatbots to learn a new language has various drawbacks, including the propensity for the chatbots to sometimes have cultural biases and make grammatical mistakes. Andriy Onufriyenko/iStock via Getty Images Approximately 30% of U.S. adults who were learning a language in 2025 reported that they were using…
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Tuesday, September 29
Why Trump’s plan to cut Head Start regulations could undermine services for the country’s poorest families
A teacher leads a clay activity with students at a dual language Head Start program at Hillcrest Elementary School in Monterey Park, Calif., in August 2026. Christina House/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images For over 60 years, the federal program Head Start has helped children from low-income families get ready for…
theconversation.comAre religious charter schools constitutional? After deadlocked SCOTUS decision, another Oklahoma case is trying to find out
Another case about the constitutionality of a religious charter school may be on the Supreme Court's horizon. Finn Gomez/Getty Images Just over a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rendered an unusual judgment: a tied vote. Without stating why, Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself from Oklahoma Statewide Charter…
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Monday, September 28
College rankings, like those of US News and World Report, remain influential, despite their many flaws and decades of criticism
College rankings assign schools numbers that may correspond more closely with their wealth than other factors of quality, critics say. Talaj/iStock via Getty Images Plus U.S. colleges and universities are governed by many traditions – including the annual U.S. News Best Colleges rankings, which list schools based on a…
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Friday, September 25
What civil rights enforcement cuts mean for students with disabilities – fewer staff, closed offices, longer waits
The Department of Education has undergone various changes, including closing regional offices of its Office for Civil Rights, since 2025. J. David Ake/Getty Images Felicita Piñón weighed just 1 pound at birth. She was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy that requires her to use a power wheelchair, and she also has…
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Thursday, September 24
Friendship is built over time, through ordinary moments – I teach lonely college students to notice them
Nearly 6 in 10 college students said in 2026 that they felt lonely sometimes or always. Denis Novikov/iStock/Getty Images Plus The first skill I learned when I became a political science professor nearly 20 years ago was how to quiet a room full of chatty undergraduates. These days, I often walk into a silent room,…
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Tuesday, September 22
When your child asks if they’ll be harmed like the people on the news, what do you say? Psychologists provide tips on how to talk about identity
Imagine your child asks you out of the blue, “If we speak Spanish, will they take you away?” Or imagine them suddenly asking what an offensive slur means. When a child asks these types of questions, it can be difficult to trace them back to a specific news story or event. But you may not need to. The question itself…
theconversation.comThe SAT has changed since it debuted 100 years ago – but questions remain about its relevance
More than 2 million students took the SAT exam in 2025. zimmytws/iStock/Getty Images Plus In June 1926, the SAT exam was first administered to 8,000 high school students who hoped to attend elite universities. The SAT has undergone many changes since its original form 100 years ago, ranging from how the test is…
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Friday, September 18
Learning another language may be one of the best ways to keep your brain healthy as you age
Age changes the way languages are learned, but adults remain capable of learning new languages throughout life. DrAfter123/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images Learning another language is a highly complex mental activity. It requires people to remember words, distinguish unfamiliar sounds, recognize patterns, work…
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Wednesday, September 16
Lockdown or active shooter drill? The distinction matters for children’s safety and well-being
Most states have laws that mandate lockdowns, but the exercises differ greatly in practice. Catherine McQueen/Moment via Getty Images School shooting preparedness drills have been a routine though uncomfortable part of the back-to-school experience. Since the 1999 mass shooting at Columbine High School in Jefferson…
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Tuesday, September 15
We paid college students about $5 a night to sleep at least 7 hours – and their grades quickly improved
Half of surveyed college students said they go to bed after 1 a.m., on average. iStock via Getty Images Plus Paying college students about US$5 a night to sleep seven hours got them a quarter more nights of adequate sleep – and better grades. That is what we found in a study we published in July 2026. We gave more…
theconversation.comHow libraries in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other Pennsylvania communities evolved from subscription clubs to vital public institutions
Pennsylvania played a vital role in the growth and spread of public libraries in America. Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images As a librarian who researches and writes about library history in Pennsylvania, I was delighted to see the American Library Association’s efforts to celebrate its 150th…
theconversation.comTo crack the job market, internships can be just as key for young people as the degree
College students are facing one of the most precarious labor markets in years. A recent New York Federal Reserve study pointed to a sharp increase in the post-college unemployed compared with other workers, with explanations ranging from artificial intelligence job displacement to a broader slowdown in hiring. One…
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Monday, September 14
School choice proponents say it offers families more options – but those don’t always extend to immigrant students
School choice gives families options, but not all families necessarily have the same ones. Andrii Yalanskyi/iStock via Getty Images Plus Educators, politicians and education observers have long debated school choice. This controversial policy approach lets families pick alternatives to their assigned neighborhood…
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Friday, September 11
Here’s how teachers and parents can collaborate and help Michigan’s 1.4M students succeed
Family engagement can help students regularly attend classes, according to researchers. Paul Sancya/AP About 1.4 million Michigan students returned to the state’s K-12 public school classrooms this fall. One of the most powerful influences on how these students will perform exists outside the classroom: the quality of…
theconversation.comWhy the Trump administration’s bid to end diversity efforts at nonprofit schools is likely to get tied up in court
Some 18,000 private schools could be affected by a proposed new rule if it goes into effect. Jumping Rocks/Universal Images Group via Getty Images The Trump administration wants to strip all nonprofit colleges, universities and private K-12 schools of their tax-exempt status if any of their programs designed to help…
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Monday, August 31
Federal stimulus money bought new technology for Philly students, but many schools lost track of where items went
Better tracking systems can help ensure students have the equipment they need. FatCamera/E+ Collection via Getty Images Back-to-school season is underway, and school personnel have been busy cleaning, doing repairs and setting up classrooms for the 2026-27 academic year. This work includes making sure appropriate…
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Tuesday, August 25
Do more than half of Philadelphia adults really read at or below 5th grade level? It’s time for a new way to describe what they know
Many adult learners take classes not to get a new job but to be able to help with their children's education. kali9/E+ Collection via Getty Images Over half of Philadelphia adults ages 18-64 read at a fifth grade level or below, according to a nationwide assessment released in 2020. A recent Axios Philadelphia article…
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Friday, August 21
A seemingly technical change to international student visas could disrupt teaching and research at US universities
New visa changes for international students are the latest step the Trump administration has taken that can make it harder for students to come to the U.S. to complete their degrees. LVector/iStock via Getty Images Plus The Trump administration is revising a visa rule for international students that in part determines…
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