Michigan State University faculty member Barbara Schneider has been elected to the National Academy of Education, an honor reserved for the nation’s most outstanding scholars in education. She was among 16 new members announced for 2015.
Schneider is the John A. Hannah Chair and Distinguished Professor in the College of Education, as well as in the Department of Sociology. She recently served as president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and has helped shape the future of education research and policy through many of her leadership roles and projects.
Schneider’s work examines the social contexts of schools and families and the influence they exert on the academic and social well-being of adolescents as they move into adulthood. She places a particular emphasis on improving educational opportunities for students with limited economic and social resources, and she currently oversees research focused on promoting a college-going culture in high schools. This project, the College Ambition Program (CAP), and others are also exploring how to increase youth engagement in learning STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).
Schneider is the author of 15 books and more than 100 articles, and she has received many honors. Most recently, she was named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Only about 200 people have become members of the National Academy of Education since its inception 50 years ago. This includes fellow College of Education professors Robert Floden and William Schmidt.
Members who are alumni of MSU or former faculty members include Suzanne Wilson, Deborah Loewenberg Ball, James A. Banks, David Cohen, Richard Elmore, Frederick Erickson, Magdalene Lampert, Anna Neumann, Annemarie Palincsar, P. David Pearson, Penelope Peterson, Andrew Porter, Stephen Raudenbush, Brian Rowan, Lee Shulman and Clifton Wharton Jr.