Jerusha Conner, PhD
Professor of Education; Program Coordinator, Graduate Education | Department of Education and Counseling
Jerusha Conner, PhD, is an expert on student engagement, student voice, youth activism and education policy.
Spotlight
Areas of Expertise (5)
- Student Engagement
- Student Voice
- Youth Activism
- Urban Education
- Education Policy
Biography
A strong ally to public school students and teachers, Dr. Jerusha Conner is an excellent source on news and trends in education policy, student engagement and well-being, student voice and youth activism. An author of numerous publications, Dr. Conner can discuss the role students can and do play in improving their institutions.
Education (2)
- Stanford University: PhD
- Princeton University: AB
Select Accomplishments (5)
Affiliations (3)
- URBAN (Urban Research-Based Action Network)
- American Educational Research Association
- Society for Research on Adolescence
Select Media Appearances (8)
Critical Race Theory Sparks Activism in Students
The Conversation
6/21/2021
"Critical race theory—an academic framework that holds that racism is embedded in society—has become the subject of an intense debate about how issues of race should or shouldn't be taught in schools. Largely missing in the debate is evidence of how exposure to critical race theory actually affects students."
Youth Political Engagement Depends on Teachers
U.S. News & World Report
4/7/2020
"High schools that take seriously their missions to promote actively engaged citizens should support extracurricular programs, engage students in reading influential texts and enhance opportunities for student voice. While student activists will likely continue to work hard to drive youth voter turnout, teachers, too, can help catalyze youth engagement in our collective democratic project."
Students Should March and Then They Should Run
WAMC's The Academic Minute
4/27/2018
"The students who participated in last month's March for Our Lives carried on a tradition of student-led marches in the nation's capital that stretches back to 1937, when 3,000 students participated in the first major youth march on Washington, D.C. That march is believed to have helped garner public support and generate political will for the youth programs of the New Deal."
Villanova Professor Says "Never Again" Student Activists Won't Take No for an Answer
WHYY
3/23/2018
Morning Edition host Jennifer Lynn spoke with Villanova Education and Counseling professor Jerusha Conner about the current "Never Again" movement against gun violence. Conner studies student activism, and her research finds young people can truly shape public policy and make personal gains through activism.
After Parkland, a New Generation Finds Its Voice
The Christian Science Monitor
2/21/2018
As the country watches hundreds of groups of high-school-aged students begin to organize, this emerging power of students may be changing the long stalemate in the nation's debates over guns... "They are speaking with a moral authority, and there's nothing more damning than having adult disfunction called out by a kid," says Jerusha Conner, professor of education and counseling at Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
DeVos Voucher Plan Would Exacerbate Educational Inequality
The Hill
2/7/2017
"To counter the damage DeVos could do to our education system, we must refuse to accept the illusion of school choice and to allow the dismantling of public education in this country. We need to rise up and demand from our politicians an educational system built on a foundation of sufficient, well-resourced, sustainable neighborhood public schools for all children."
Help Teachers Help Students
U.S. News & World Report
4/7/2016
"If we know that students in well-resourced schools benefit more from having a greater number of supportive and caring student-teacher relationships than fewer, then why would we settle for only one such relationship for students in less-advantaged schools and communities? As a nation, it is time to reach higher."
Public Schools Are a Public Good
U.S. News & World Report
4/16/2015
"[We] must not let charter proponents divert our attention from the difference between charter schools and traditional public schools. Traditional public schools are a fundamental cornerstone of American democracy that is being jack-hammered away. And if we look away from their destruction, we abrogate our duty to preserve them for future generations."
Select Academic Articles (4)
An Analysis of Student-Report Instruments That Assess Student-Teacher Relationships
Teachers College Record
2017. This review of survey instruments examines the strengths and shortcomings of existing measures of student-teacher relationships (STRs). Specifically, we ask: How do student self-report survey instruments assess STRs?
When Does Service-Learning Work? Contact Theory and Service-Learning Courses in Higher Education
Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning
2017. This study examines the extent to which Contact Theory predicts the efficacy of service-learning courses in promoting positive attitude change among participants.
Youth Change Agents: Comparing the Sociopolitical Identities of Youth Organizers and Youth Commissioners
Democracy & Education
2016. The study explores similarities and differences in the two sets of participants' civic commitments, sense of agency, and beliefs about the process of social change.
The Politics of Paternalism: Adult and Youth Perspectives on Youth Voice in Public Policy
Teachers College Record
2016. This study explores manifestations of adultism during the first four years of the Ballou City Youth Commission (BCYC) from the perspectives of 22 youth members and adult allies.
Contact Jerusha Conner, PhD