Shira May Peterson, doctoral student and Scandling Scholar, has been awarded a 2003 Spencer Dissertation Fellowship for Research Related to Education. According to the Spencer Foundation, since only about six percent were offered fellowships, this award is a strong expression of the Foundation's confidence in Peterson's potential contribution to the history, theory, or practice of education.

Last year, Peterson was awarded an American Educational Research Association (AERA)/Spencer Pre-Dissertation Fellowship for travel to two AERA/Spencer Foundation Institutes and the AERA Annual Meeting held in Chicago held last month. Peterson's dissertation is on the subject of science explorations in preschool classrooms. She expects to complete her Ph.D. in the spring of 2004.