Michael Gottfried, Assistant Professor in the Department of Education at UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School, has been named the winner of the first annual UC Center Sacramento (UCCS) Bacon Public Lectureship and White Paper Competition. Open to faculty and researchers throughout the UC system, the Bacon Lectureship focuses on evidence-based solutions to critical problems facing California. Professor Gottfried’s entry focused on pre-K education and will be the subject of his public lecture, “Which Pre-kindergarten Options Are Best Preparing English Language Learners to Start School?” The lecture will be presented at UC Center on February 26, 2015.
Gottfried’s paper was submitted as part of a UC-wide call that asked UC faculty to submit proposals to stimulate evidence synthesis and creative thinking around a pressing public policy problem (this year’s call was open to papers in the areas of education, health, and water). In addition to presenting the lecture, Professor Gottfried will receive a stipend and meet with relevant policy staff in Sacramento. A panel of policy experts convened by UC Center selected his entry.
Dr. Gottfried’s research focuses on the economics of education and education policy. Using the analytic tools from these disciplines, he has examined issues pertaining to peer effects, classroom context, and STEM. His research extends across the K-16 pipeline. Dr. Gottfried has published numerous articles in these areas, with multiple publications in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, American Educational Research Journal, Teachers College Record, American Journal of Education, Journal of Educational Research, and Elementary School Journal, among others. He is/has been the Principal Investigator on multiple funded research grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health (NICHD), American Educational Research Association, and the Haynes Foundation. He has won multiple scholarly awards for his research, including the Outstanding Publication in Methodology Award in both 2010 and in 2012 given by AERA Division H and the Highest Reviewed Paper Award in 2013 given by AERA SIG: School Effectiveness and School Improvement.