COLLEGE PARK, MD (January, 2014) Dr. Judith Torney–Purta, Professor in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, was one of 14 education researchers nationwide to be elected to the National Academy of Education. Election into the Academy is one of the most prestigious honors bestowed upon education researchers.
Dr. Torney-Purta has conducted psychological research for nearly fifty years on young people's knowledge of democracy and the social and political attitudes necessary to maintain it. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) appointed Dr. Torney-Purta as the International Chair of the Steering Committee for their landmark IEA Civic Education Study. Over a ten-year period with colleagues from over thirty countries, Dr. Torney-Purta led a rigorous study of how young people are prepared for their roles as citizens in democracies and societies aspiring to democracy. Her current work is contributing to a debate about how US students civic learning and participation can be enhanced (together with other aspects of student achievement). Recently Dr. Torney-Purta has also been spearheading efforts to promote effective international collaboration among researchers in the social sciences and education.
The National Academy of Education advances high quality education research and its use in policy formation and practice. Founded in 1965, the Academy consists of US members and foreign associates who are elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship related to education.
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