February 18, 2008
Warner: ‘We are in a unique position to prepare
teachers’
Raffaella Borasi speaks with Warner students.
scott.hauser@rochester.edu
Like other University divisions during this year of
strategic planning, the Warner School of Education has been assessing its
strengths and mapping its course for the coming decade. Raffaella Borasi,
Warner dean since 2001, recently discussed her school’s focus on
research and practice to educate ‘agents of change.’
Where do you see the Warner School going?
A few years ago we really made a major step in
articulating our mission as promoting excellence and equity in education by
bridging research and practice. And furthermore, we articulated that there
are three major ways that we can accomplish that mission: One is by
preparing educators that could be practitioners and researchers who are
leaders and agents of change in the field. A second is to generate and
disseminate knowledge that can move the field of education forward by
informing better scholarship, policies, and practices. And the third is to
participate directly in reform efforts that can improve education and the
learning opportunities offered to students, particularly in our region.
Do Warner faculty suggest reform efforts to
schools, or do schools come to Warner and ask for ideas for improvement?
It’s both. I don’t think that schools of
education can go to K-12 schools or to other institutions and say,
“We have the solution. Just do what we say.” We need to work
together with these institutions that know pretty well what their problems
and their goals are but may lack some of the expertise that our faculty
has.
Can you describe how you see the school changing
in coming years?
If you look at the Warner School over the past seven
years, you will see a lot of accomplishment. We have grown more than 70
percent in faculty and students in that time. Our grants have increased by
more than three times over that same period. And we are aware that we have
the potential to do more, but we would need more faculty in order to do
that. So growth is in our vision for the future.
At the same time, we are envisioning a growth that is
pretty contained and strategic. We are seeking about a 20 percent increase
in faculty in the next five years.
In order to achieve that, we also need new facilities.
We have the same space that we had seven years ago, and we have 70
percent more faculty, students, and staff—and we are talking of
adding to that. It’s clear that this will not be possible unless we
have not only more space, but the kind of space that can be the most
effective in facilitating an internal learning community and collaboration
with the local communities. Therefore, a new building is a key piece of our
strategic plan moving forward.
What Makes Warner’s programs unique?
We pride ourselves on having state-of-the-art programs
to prepare practitioners in a number of important areas and professions
within education. Those include teachers, administrators, and counselors.
As an overall goal, we try to prepare education
practitioners across fields who can be leaders and agents of change. We
want to infuse in them the desire to be the kind of teachers, counselors,
and administrators that make a difference in the institutions they will
join.
What are the challenges facing education in the
21st century? And how is Warner preparing to address them?
There is a sense of challenge when you talk of
globalization and the fact that the United States has to compete with
nations that have more scientists and more people with technological
backgrounds. At Warner, we are excited about a new grant that we received
from the National Science Foundation to prepare math and science teachers
for schools with high needs.
But I would say that one of the biggest challenges
today is not just in competing with the rest of the world, but in
recognizing the inequities that exist in today’s schools within the
United States and recognizing that it’s not enough just to seek
excellence. We also need to ensure that all students have equal
opportunities to achieve that excellence.
One thing that characterizes the Warner School is our
deep commitment to social justice and recognizing that education can play a
major role in achieving that goal for society.
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