SSSP: EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS DIVISION NEWSLETTER SPRING 2015 Important deadlines * Online registration is available until midnight (EDT) on July 15. * Preliminary program will be available on May 15. * All program participants must register by June 1. Included in this issue: Letter from the chair Job bank listings Graduate student opportunities A Message from the Chair: Happy spring! I have so enjoyed chairing the Educational Problems Division of the SSSP over the last two years. Serving as chair has given me a new perspective on the passions and commitments of our members, and the dynamism of sociological research on educational problems. Please join me in welcoming our new division chair, Maralee Mayberry! A former chair for the Conflict, Social Action, and Change Division, Dr. Mayberry has research interests in the sociology of education, feminist science studies, feminist pedagogy, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and LGBT youth in educational settings. She has conducted research on the home schooling movement, Gay-Straight Alliances, applications of feminist approaches to the transformation of science curriculum, and applications of feminist pedagogy within and across disciplines. I am very much looking forward to her divisional leadership. I hope you plan to attend the upcoming meetings in Chicago. As a reminder, the theme of this yearÕs meetings is ÒRemoving the Mask, Lifting the Veil: Race, Class, and Gender in the 21st Century.Ó We have an exciting and important line-up of Educational Problems sessions planned for this yearÕs conference, including several sessions that align with the SSSP broader theme of justice and intersectionality. Please join me in congratulating this yearÕs winner of the Educational Problems Division Student Paper Competition, Anthony Jack! Anthony is a doctoral candidate in the department of sociology at Harvard University. His paper, " Ò(No) Harm in Asking: Culture, Class, and UndergraduatesÕ Help-Seeking and Engagement Strategies," investigates how undergraduates from varying pre-collegiate backgrounds engage college officials. Based on 137 interviews with black, Latino, and white undergraduates and two years of ethnographic observation at an elite university, JackÕs analysis shows that there is an important heterogeneity amongst undergraduates from working-class backgrounds. Jack employs the distinction of ÒDoubly DisadvantagedÓ vs. the ÒPrivileged Poor,Ó which describe two types of working-class students who either gained pre-collegiate experience in engaging faculty, or did not gain this experience and instead see faculty and other officials as distant authority figures. Jack persuasively argues for scholarly attention to pre-collegiate cultural experiences (and not just socioeconomic backgrounds) of students as a predictor of how these students engage with faculty and other college officials in ways that translate into unequal educational benefits and social rewards. Anthony will be honored at the SSSP Awards Banquet. Many thanks to all the other students who submitted their work this year! This was a very difficult decision, as there were several excellent submissions. This newsletter is fairly brief, but includes important information about various opportunities of interest to our division members. Finally, many thanks to Mollie Davis, who again serves as our divisionÕs champion newsletter editor! It was truly a pleasure to serve as our divisionÕs chair. I am looking forward to seeing you all in Chicago. Hava Rachel Gordon, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Sociology University of Denver Division Chair 2013-2015 Hava.Gordon@du.edu Faculty position listings Ð Assistant Dean for Technology Enhanced Instruction The University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP) is seeking an Assistant Dean for Technology Enhanced Instruction.Ê The chosen individual will be a strong communicator, highly organized, self-starter and will work closely with faculty to develop curriculum that uses the most effective technology and innovative strategies to train our 150 medical students and 268 residents and fellows. Ê UICOMP is committed to education as our primary purpose, is nationally recognized for generating primary care physicians and is a vital part of the healthcare economy.Ê The UICOMP campus is adjacent to two academic affiliate hospitals with over 900 beds. Ê UICOMP is a collaborative partner in JUMP (www.jumpsimulation.org), a 67,000 square foot state of the art simulation center. JUMPÕs vision is Òto improve outcomes and lower health care costs through innovative simulation training of medical professionals.Ó ÊThis is a unique opportunity to be at the forefront of medical education. The candidate must have a Masters degree (PhD or EdD preferred); 3 years of experience in undergraduate/graduate education; experience with simulation; experience with curriculum development, analysis and evaluation; knowledge of psychometrics/statistics; familiarity with various technologies and excellent communication skills. The University of Illinois is an EOE/AA/M/F/Disabled/Veteran.Ê Please apply at the following link : Êhttps://jobs.uic.edu/job-board/job-details?jobID=49694 Post doc/ Graduate listings Ð The following new job listing has been posted in the ASA Job Bank and may be of interest to section members: Job ID: 11087 Institution: Marymount University Department: Dept of Sociology Title: Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow, Sociology Position/Rank: Fellowships/Post-docs: Post-doctoral, Academic Positions: All Areas/Special Programs: For additional information on this position (including how to apply), visit the ASA Job Bank at http://jobbank.asanet.org. Collegiate Inventors Competition Targeted Fields Open to all fields. Health Sciences. Life Sciences. Physical Sciences. Social Sciences. School of Education and Information Studies. School of Engineering. School of Management. School of Nursing. School of Public Health. School of Public Affairs. Students frequently come from science, engineering, mathematics and technology studies but creative invention can emerge from any course of study. Includes: Bandwidth/Connectivity Communications Technologies, Biomass Technologies, Biotech/Genetics, Chemistry, Electronics/Computer Hardware, Hydrogen, Fuel Cells, and Infrastructure Technology, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Device or Instrument, Nanotechnology, Optics and Photonics, Pharmaceuticals/Drug Delivery, Software/Information Technology, Wind/Hydropower Technologies. Open To Students Working on Master's Thesis. Students Working on Doctoral Dissertation. Citizenship No citizenship requirements. Eligibility Requirements Applications to enter the competition must include: general student information, essay including a brief description or abstract of the invention, a letter of recommendation from the faculty advisor, a literature/patent search and summary. Individual entrants must be enrolled as full-time students in any U.S. college or university for at least part of the 12-month period prior to entry. Teams must include at least one member who meets this requirement, and all remaining members must be enrolled at least part-time at some point during the 12-month period prior to entry. Eligible entries must prove capable of being reproduced. An essay including a brief description or abstract of the invention. Information and a letter of recommendation from the faculty advisor. Each entry must be the original idea and work product of the student/advisor team. Entry must not have been available to the public. Entry must not have patented or published more than 1 year prior to the date of submission to the Competition. Students chosen as finalists must attend the final judging session and awards presentation in Washington, DC. Stipend Stipend of $100,000 are awarded to top three entries in each division. Deadline 6/15/2015 Program Description Invent Now annually offers 3 prizes awarded for projects leading to inventions that can be patented from an individual graduate or undergraduate student or team. Successful entries will be clear, concise, and convincing. Finalists will present their idea to the judging panel, which are some of the most influential inventors and invention experts in the nation - National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductees and United States Patent and Trademark Office officials. Awardees will present innovative work related to emerging ideas and technologies. For More Information Collegiate Inventors Competition 3701 Highland Park NW North Canton, Ohio 44720 (800) 968-4332 option 5 collegiate@invent.org collegiateinventors.org Call for papers: Ê AERA Open Special Topic Call for Papers Family Socioeconomic Background and Educational Mobility Several recent studies suggest that the association between family socioeconomic status and childrenÕs educational outcomes (test scores, college enrollment and completion) has grown stronger in the last few decades (Bailey & Dynarski, 2011; Belley & Lochner, 2007; Reardon, 2011). Other research, however, finds no significant change in the association between family income and childrenÕs college enrollment patterns, for example (Chetty, Hendren, Kline, Saez, & Turner, 2014). The purpose of this special topic is to publish new research examining the patterns and trends in the association between family socioeconomic background and educational outcomes, as well as new research examining the causes of these patterns and trends. Published papers will present new empirical evidence, though we may also consider theoretical or review articles that attempt to synthesize existing evidence and provide frameworks for understanding the causes and consequences of the association between family background and educational success. Ê Possible topics include but are not limited to: áÊÊÊÊÊÊ Descriptive evidence on trends in the association between family socioeconomic background and educational outcomes (Òthe SES-education associationÓ); áÊÊÊÊÊÊ Descriptive evidence of spatial variation (across states, metropolitan areas, school districts) in the SES-education association; áÊÊÊÊÊÊ Descriptive evidenceÑquantitative or qualitativeÑon trends in possible mechanisms linking family socioeconomic status to educational outcomes (such as parenting behaviors, school quality, neighborhood conditions, out of school activities, etc.); áÊÊÊÊÊÊ Causal evidence on the effects of factors related to family socioeconomic status on educational outcomes; áÊÊÊÊÊÊ Evidence-based evaluations of one or more explanations for trends in the SES-education association; áÊÊÊÊÊÊ Measurement issues in assessing the SES-education association; áÊÊÊÊÊÊ Syntheses of research on the causes and consequences of the SES-education association Ê Submissions may include a wide range of supplemental material, including data sets, setup-files, or exemplar video material. Ê Although there is no formal deadline for the submission of manuscripts on this topic, we encourage authors to submit them by June 1, 2015. Ê Please consult the AERA Open website for general guidelines on manuscript submission. Inquiries may be sent to the Editors at AERAOpenEditors@aera.net Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education:ÊStudies of Migration, Integration, Equity, and Cultural SurvivalÊ(DIME)Êis a quarterly peer-reviewed journal focused on critical discourse and research in diaspora, indigenous, and minority education. The journal is dedicated to researching cultural sustainability in a world increasingly consolidating under national, transnational, and global organizations. It aims to draw attention to, and learn from, the many initiatives being conducted around the globe in support of diaspora, indigenous, and minority education, which might otherwise go unnoticed. Ê DIME invites research from a variety of theoretical and methodological perspectives that emphasize the centrality of marginal voices and a peripheral gaze, and which draw attention to the complex interrelations between political, economic, historical, and social contexts, as well as the ways in which these various contexts shape educational policies, practices, curricula, and outcomes. The journal welcomes articles that ground theoretical reflections in specific empirical research and case studies of diverse locations and peoples as yet underrepresented within scholarly research and literature, as well as action or participatory research studies of exemplary or ÒbestÓ practices. We do hope you may consider submitting your work to Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education. A link to the submission site is provided below. For further questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Bruce Collet, DIME Editor in Chief, at colleba@bgsu.edu ÊInstructions for Authors: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=hdim20&page=instructions#.VAUPEUghy-o