Susan B. Neuman

Susan Neuman is an educator, researcher, and education policy-maker in early childhood and literacy development. In 2013, she became Professor of Early Childhood and Literacy Education, and Chair of the Department of Teaching and Learning at NYU's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development.[1]

Neuman previously served as Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education in the US Department of Education during the George W. Bush Administration and was primarily responsible for initial implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act.[2][3] Neuman has written or edited 12 books and has written more than 100 peer-reviewed articles on topics such as media literacy, early childhood literacy education and curriculum, family literacy, parent education, and education policy.[4] She has been co-editor of the Journal of Literacy Research, and serves on several editorial boards, including Reading Research Quarterly, Reading Teacher, and Journal of Literacy Research. Neuman has directed or been actively involved with numerous early literacy research organizations and state and national projects. She has received many awards and honors for her research and public service.[1] Neuman's most recent professional endeavors have been directed towards improving the quality of early childhood education services in disadvantaged communities and promoting principles of educational initiatives to help children living in poverty.[1]

Education

Neuman graduated from American University in Washington, DC with a BA in religion and philosophy in 1968. She earned her teaching certification in 1969 from University of California, Berkeley. In 1974, Neuman received an MA in Reading Supervision and Administration from California State University, Hayward and an EdD from the University of the Pacific (United States) in Stockton, California in 1977. Neuman was recently awarded an honorary doctoral degree from California State University, Hayward in 2002.[5]

Career

California/Connecticut

After receiving her BA and teacher certification, Neuman began her professional career in California as a first grade teacher. She later worked as a Title I reading teacher and resource teacher while earning her MA in Reading Supervision and Administration from California State University, Hayward.[6] After receiving her doctorate in education from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, Neuman taught and conducted research as an associate professor from 1979 to 1986 at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, Connecticut. During this time, she also taught as visiting faculty at Yale University in New Haven, CT.[7]

Massachusetts

From 1984 to 1986, Neuman was a Senior Research Associate for the Educational Development Center (EDC) in Newton, Massachusetts. EDC is a nonprofit organization that designs, delivers and evaluates innovative programs to address urgent challenges in education, health and economic opportunity.[8] While at EDC, Neuman worked on a US Department of Education field-based project focused on the use of microcomputers to facilitate writing development in learning disabled children.[9] She also taught and conducted research as an associate professor at University of Massachusetts Lowell from 1984 to 1990.

Philadelphia

In 1990, Susan Neuman became an associate professor of Curriculum, Instruction and Technology in Education and Coordinator of the Reading and Language Arts Graduate Program at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Her research agenda addressed numerous issues in early literacy and childhood education, including effective instructional practices, literacy as a cultural tool in play,[10][11] family literacy, and parent education.[12][13] In addition, Neuman worked with the William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia, as well as the Philadelphia Public Library system to implement and evaluate projects aimed at improving access to books/media in disadvantaged communities [14][15][16](see section on Major Topics of Research below).

Michigan

In 2000, Neuman joined the College of Education faculty at University of Michigan at Ann Arbor as Professor of Educational Studies. There, she also served as Director of Dissemination and National Leadership for the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement (CIERA), succeeding Elfrieda "Freddy" Hiebert as the director,[17] an educational research organization funded through the US Department of Education. Headquartered at the University of Michigan, CIERA was a consortium of university researchers, teacher educators, teachers, publishers of texts, tests, and technology, professional organizations, schools and school districts across the United States.[17] CIERA's mission was "to improve the reading achievement of America's children by generating and disseminating theoretical, empirical, and practical solutions to persistent problems in the learning and teaching of beginning reading."[18][19] As director, Neuman worked to bring CIERA's message to a broad range of audiences in education, government and policymaking.

Washington, DC

Neuman took a two-year hiatus from her professorship at University of Michigan when she was named US Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education in 2001 by President George W. Bush.[2] In her role as US Assistant Secretary, Neuman managed the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, served as the principal adviser to the secretary of education on all matters related to elementary and secondary education, and initiated implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act.[3] As US Assistant Secretary, Neuman was primarily responsible for directing, coordinating and recommending policy and funding for programs designed to assist state and local agencies to improve achievement of students K to 12.[2] A primary focus of this office is to expand educational opportunities and excellence for all children, particularly those who are educationally or economically disadvantaged, and to increase school accountability for students’ educational progress nationwide.[20]

Neuman held this office from 2001 to 2003, during which time she established the Reading First program and the Early Reading First program, and was responsible for all activities in Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. During her tenure with the US Department of Education, Neuman also established the Early Childhood Professional Development Education Program.[21] The purpose of this program is to promote young children’s school readiness and learning outcomes by providing high quality, professional development for early childhood educators and caregivers working in poverty-stricken communities. In 2003, Neuman resigned from her position as US Assistant Secretary[22] and returned to academic life as a professor and researcher. She was a visiting professor at University of Georgetown at the Center on Health and Education,[23] an organization that focused on ways to help realize health equity and achieve educational excellence worldwide.[24]

Michigan

Later in 2003, Susan Neuman returned to her position at University of Michigan to teach and conduct research as a full-time Professor of Educational Studies. Dr. Neuman's current projects include evaluation of the Every Child Ready to Read,[25] a program designed to provide public libraries with vital tools to help prepare parents for their critical role as their child's first teacher. She is also involved with the University of Michigan Ready to Learn Project.[26] This project focuses on developing and assessing scientifically based literacy curricula for use in early childhood (pre-K and K) classrooms, online education for teachers and care providers, and resources for parents and families.[27]

Major topics of research

Media and literacy

The role of media and language/literacy development has been an early and ongoing topic of Susan Neuman’s research. During the 1980s, Neuman conducted several studies that explored the impact of television on listening, reading achievement and attitudes, as well as specific reading skills such as inferencing, comprehension, and vocabulary acquisition through exposure to captioned text.[28][29][30][31][32][33][34] In the midst of hot debates on the impact of television viewing on reading, Neuman challenged the traditional assumptions regarding the negative relationship between TV and literacy development. In two editions of her book, Literacy in the Television Age: The Myth of the T.V. Effect,[35][36] Neuman systematically reviewed the developing corpus of research on the relationship between television media and literacy. She concluded that the relationship was complex and like other resources, television was neither "intrinsically" good nor bad. Neuman characterized television viewing as a situated social practice embedded within family life and as such, needed to be carefully examined within the context of a child’s environment. Moreover, the role of adult mediators in that environment was a critical determinant of television media’s positive or negative impact.[36]

Neuman urged those who would "banish" new technologies and media, to shift focus toward harnessing the power of this media for positive educational purposes.[36] As a powerful disseminator of information, TV contributes to public knowledge and our understanding of social and political current events. Neuman noted that TV is a prime medium for expanding children's background knowledge and exposure to story genres. Access to information from television, radio and other media sources can potentially foster students’ interests in different topics that can foster literacy development. Encounters with multiple perspectives through media can support critical thinking when interacting with other texts. Rather than being in competition, Neuman maintained that the entertainment and educational purposes of television may have a complementary, synergistic relationship for enhancing children’s literacy and learning.[36]

Neuman applied this theory of synergy between media and learning to other early literacy projects and research over the course of her career. She has incorporated multimedia resources and technologies into preschool and professional development curricula to provide a "360 degree surround" of information for early childhood education programs.[27] In Multimedia and Literacy Development: Improving Achievement for Young Readers,[37] Neuman and co-editor Adriana Bus, provided an updated synthesis of evidence-based research that documents young readers’ experiences with evolving multimedia materials. This research suggests how new features of media might enhance children’s ability to understand stories and gain in independent reading.

Access to books and media resources

Neuman saw the potential for newly evolving media as means to support young children’s literacy development and close the knowledge-gap for disadvantaged students with limited opportunities for enriched experiences.[36] However, rapidly expanding technology along with limited access to both technology-based and traditional print resources threatens to further widen the knowledge divide for many of these children. While at Temple University, Neuman and research associate, Donna Celano, conducted a study that revealed the drastic inequities in available print resources for children in four different Philadelphia communities.[38] Children in low-income areas were dependent on public institutions for access to print, yet libraries in these areas offered impoverished physical resources and limited access to books and technology as compared with libraries in more affluent areas. Similarly, day-care centers that served disadvantaged communities provided a caring environment for children, but were lacking in print-rich materials and staff expertise in early literacy development.[15]

Neuman engaged in several local projects and research initiatives aimed at increasing access to print and technology in disadvantaged communities of Philadelphia. Two major projects were funded by the William Penn Foundation of Philadelphia.[14][15] The Books Aloud project[15] flooded 350 child-care centers with books and provided training for child-care staff on techniques for enhancing children's literacy environment and interactions with books. Enhanced physical access to books, greater verbal interactions around literacy, and more time spent engaged in book-related activities resulted in significant gains in print-related concepts and school readiness of children involved with the Books Aloud program.

A second project involved a major renovation of libraries in the Philadelphia library system to establish technologized urban libraries that offered neighborhoods across the city with state-of-the-art books, media and facilities, as well as staff training.[14] While increased access to print and media made a significant difference in the literate lives of children and families in those Philadelphia communities,[14] Neuman observed that increased resources alone were not enough to "level the playing field", and close the knowledge and media divide for low-income students.[39] A follow-up study conducted by Neuman and Celano five-years later revealed continued, significant differences in how children from different communities utilized the enriched facilities and accessed media and technology. Children in middle-income communities made far more effective use of library resources for literacy and learning compared to low-income children, as a result of parent support and instruction. By contrast, disadvantaged youngsters without such support made far less effective use of available resources.[39] Neuman and Celano's research highlights the critical role of adult mediation in students’ successful access to the tools of literacy and knowledge acquisition. During hard economic times, Neuman warns against prioritizing capital outlays for technology over budgeted salaries for qualified library staff. In their supportive interactions with youngsters, trained librarians and media specialists make a critical difference in students’ ability to effectively access both traditional texts and media for literacy and learning.[40]

Neuman’s Ready to Read Research Team continues to collaborate with the Public Library Association and the Association for Library Services for Children to enhance family literacy and children’s as part of the Every Child Ready initiative.[26] This program is designed to provide public libraries with essential tools to help prepare parents for their most important role as their child’s first teacher.[41] This focus on developing skills of early childhood professionals and families in support of children's literacy development and learning has also been a hallmark of Neuman's ongoing research.[12][13][42][43]

Best practices in early childhood literacy and education

Best practice in early childhood literacy and education has been a predominant theme throughout Dr. Neuman’s career and research.[44][45] In collaboration with early childhood researcher, Kathleen Roskos, Neuman has conducted numerous studies and written articles, chapters and books on topics such as the role of play in preschoolers’ literacy learning,[11] enhancing early literacy classroom environments as authentic contexts for reading and writing,[46][47] developmentally appropriate practice,[48][49] family literacy interactions[50] and parent education.[13] While at Temple University, Neuman co-authored a position paper that was jointly issued by the International Reading Association and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)entitled, Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children. This paper established literacy goals for early childhood programs and outlined what parents and teachers could do to help children in preschool through second grade successfully develop reading and writing skills.[51]

Concerned with the achievement and knowledge-gap between low and middle/upper income children evident even during the early years of life, Neuman has been a strong proponent of intensive, content-rich preschool instruction that fosters essential links between vocabulary/language, concepts, and content area learning.[45] Neuman states that within content-rich settings, "early literacy skills serve children's developing thirst for knowledge and greater understanding." While emphasizing the importance of literacy and content area goals for early childhood programs, Neuman insists that national and state educational reform initiatives need to encourage school readiness through developmentally appropriate practices.[52] Neuman warns that "nonsensical" skill-and-drill approaches to learning focus on a small set of procedural skills within activities disconnected from the real purposes of literacy.[53] As architects of the foundations for later learning, early childhood educators need to provide at-risk children with a "great infusion of knowledge" developed through words, meanings and a network of concepts that connect them to real world experiences.[53] Neuman argues that if we are to close the achievement gap for at-risk children in the US, educators and policymakers must be committed to creating intensive, high-quality programs anchored in best practice for early childhood education [54]

Changing the odds: Breaking the cycle of poverty

Susan Neuman stated that the major lesson she learned from her experiences as administrator of the NCLB was, "Poverty trumps all".[55] She observed that in the face of overwhelming disadvantages of children living in poverty, extensive school-based educational reforms can only hope to marginally close the achievement gap for these youngsters. In her two books, Changing the Odds for Children At Risk [55] and Educating the Other America,[56] she advocated for a "broader, bolder approach" to comprehensive reform that encompasses not only education, but coordinated social and health services for children and families living in poverty-stricken communities. Neuman derived essential principles for this approach from an extensive review of highly effective programs that were consistently "changing the odds" for young, at-risk children. Effective programs target children and families who evidence multiple-risk factors associated with poverty and provide early intervention efforts during the preschool years. Services need to "invest in two generations at a time", both parents and child, and coordinate delivery of critical health, education and social services across disciplines so that children arrive at school healthy and able to learn. Neuman further argues that intensive, compensatory services need to be provided by highly trained professionals with an eye toward accountability and continuous monitoring children’s progress and program improvement. Neuman insists that only through this "broader, bolder approach" can we break the cycle of poverty so that at-risk children can learn, achieve and succeed.[55][56]

Dr. Neuman's personal mission to "change the odds" is reflected in her current research efforts toward designing quality preschool curriculum and professional development initiatives for early childhood programs in disadvantaged communities.[27][57] Moreover, through her determination and dedication to bringing this positive, yet urgent message to a national level of awareness and action, Susan Neuman makes a significant contribution to the field of early literacy education as well as society.

Awards and honors

Suggested further readings

http://www.umich.edu/~rdytolrn/pdf/FromRhetoricToReality.pdf

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~sbneuman/pdf/changingtheodds.pdf

http://www.umich.edu/~rdytolrn/pdf/stateofstate.pdf

References

  1. 1 2 3 "NYU Steinhardt Faculty Pages". Retrieved 2014-07-18.
  2. 1 2 3 "Archived: Biography of Susan B. Neuman, Former Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary Education". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  3. 1 2 "No Child Left Behind - ED.gov". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  4. ↑ "ERIC - Education Resources Information Center". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  5. ↑ "California State University – Honorary Degrees". Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  6. ↑ http://pioneer.csueastbay.edu/PioneerWeb/PioneerNews10-18-01/*PioneerNews10-18-01p.1.pdf
  7. ↑ http://sitemaker.umich.edu/soe/faculty&mode=single&recordID=51090
  8. ↑ "About EDC". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  9. ↑ Morocco, Catherine Cobb; Neuman, Susan B. (April 1986). "Word Processors and the Acquisition of Writing Strategies". Journal of Learning Disabilities. v19 (n4): 243–247. doi:10.1177/002221948601900413. EJ334305. Retrieved 6 May 2009.
  10. ↑ Roskos, K. A., Vukelich, C., Christie, J. F., Enz, B.J., & Neumann, S.B. (1995). Linking Literacy and Play. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
  11. 1 2 Neuman S. B.; Roskos K. (1992). "Literacy objects as cultural tools: Effects on children's literacy behaviors in play". Reading Research Quarterly. 27: 202–225. doi:10.2307/747792.
  12. 1 2 Neuman S. B.; Gallagher P. (1994). "Joining together in literacy learning: Teenage mothers and children". Reading Research Quarterly. 29: 382–401. doi:10.2307/747786.
  13. 1 2 3 Roskos K.; Neuman S. B. (1993). "Enhancing Head Start Parents' conceptions of literacy development and their confidence as literacy teachers: A study of parental involvement". Early Child Development and Care. 89: 57–73. doi:10.1080/0300443930890105.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Modern Urban Library Services for Children" (PDF). Evaluation Report. Free Library of Philadelphia. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Neuman S. B. (1999). "Books make a difference: A study of access to literacy". Reading Research Quarterly. 34: 286–311. doi:10.1598/rrq.34.3.3.
  16. ↑ Donna Celano; Susan B. Neuman. "The role of libraries in children's literary development" (PDF). Pennsylvania Library Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  17. 1 2 "Susan Neuman - New Director of CIERA". CIERA. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  18. ↑ "CIERA MSU Home Page". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  19. ↑ "CIERA: the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  20. ↑ "Office of Elementary and Secondary Education". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  21. ↑ "Early Childhood Educator Professional Development Program". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  22. ↑ "Archived: Secretary Paige Accepts Susan Neuman's Resignation". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  23. ↑ "News Releases - Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC)". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  24. ↑ "Georgetown University Center on Health and Education". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  25. ↑ "ALA – Every Child Ready to Read". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  26. 1 2 "Projects Susan B. Neuman Professor University of Michigan School of Education". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  27. 1 2 3 "Pre-School education and literacy research projects research team: Ready to Learn". Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  28. ↑ Neuman S (1980). "Listening behavior and television viewing". Journal of Educational Research. 74: 15–18. doi:10.1080/00220671.1980.10885273.
  29. ↑ Neuman S.B. (1982). "Television viewing and leisure reading: A qualitative analysis". Journal of Educational Research. 75: 299–302. doi:10.1080/00220671.1982.10885398.
  30. ↑ Neuman S.B. (1986). "Television, reading and the environment". Reading Research and Instruction. 25: 173–183. doi:10.1080/19388078609557876.
  31. ↑ Neuman S. B. (1986). "The home environment and fifth grade students' leisure reading". The Elementary School Journal. 86: 335–343. doi:10.1086/461454.
  32. ↑ Neuman S. B. (1988). "The displacement effect: Assessing the relation between television viewing and reading performance". Reading Research Quarterly. 23: 414–440. doi:10.2307/747641.
  33. ↑ Neuman S. B. (1989). "The impact of different media on children's story comprehension". Reading Research and Instruction. 28: 38–47. doi:10.1080/19388078909557985.
  34. ↑ Neuman S. B.; Koskinen P. (1992). "Captioned television as comprehensible input: Effects of incidental word learning from context for language minority students". Reading Research Quarterly. 27: 94–106. doi:10.2307/747835.
  35. ↑ Neuman, S. B. (1991). Literacy in the television age: The myth of the TV effect. Norwood, New Jersey: Ablex Publishing Corporation
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 Neuman, S. B. (1995). Literacy in the television age: The myth of the TV Effect. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group.
  37. ↑ Bus, A., & Neuman, S. B. (2008). Multimedia and Literacy Development: Improving Achievement for Young Readers. NY: Routledge.
  38. ↑ Neuman S.; Celano D. (2001). "Access to print in low-income and middle-income communities: An ecological study of four neighborhoods". Reading Research Quarterly. 36: 8–26. doi:10.1598/rrq.36.1.1.
  39. 1 2 Neuman S. B.; Celano D. (2006). "The knowledge gap: Implications of leveling the playing field for low-income and middle-income children". Reading Research Quarterly. 41: 176–201. doi:10.1598/rrq.41.2.2.
  40. ↑ Neuman S. B.; Celano D. (2004). "Save the Libraries!". Educational Leadership. 61: 82–85.
  41. ↑ Elaine Meyers & Harriet Henderson. "Overview of Every Child Ready to Read @ your library" (PDF). Oregon.gov. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  42. ↑ Neuman S. B. (1996). "Children engaging in storybook reading: The influence of access to print resources, opportunity, and parental interaction". Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 11: 495–513.
  43. ↑ Neuman S. B.; Celano D.; Fischer R. (1996). "The children's literature hour: A social-constructivist approach to family literacy". Journal of Literacy Research. 4: 499–523.
  44. ↑ Neuman, S. B., & Roskos, K.(Eds.).(1998). Children achieving: Best practices in early literacy.Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
  45. 1 2 Neuman, S. B., Roskos, K., Wright, T. S., & Lenhart, L. (2007). Nurturing knowledge: Building a foundation for school success by linking early literacy to math, science, art, and social studies. New York: Scholastic Inc.
  46. ↑ Neuman S. B.; Roskos K. (1997). "Literacy knowledge in practice: Contexts of participation for young writers and readers". Reading Research Quarterly. 32: 10–32. doi:10.1598/rrq.32.1.2.
  47. ↑ Roskos, K., & Neuman, S. (2001). Environment and its influences for early literacy teaching and learning. In S. B. Neuman and D. K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of Early Literacy Research (Vol. 1, pp.281-294). NY: The Guilford Press.
  48. ↑ Neuman, S. B., & Roskos, K. (2005). Whatever happened to developmentally appropriate early literacy practice? Young Children, 60, 22-26.
  49. ↑ Neuman S. B.; Roskos K. (2005). "The state of state prekindergarten standards" (PDF). Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 20: 125–145. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2005.04.010.
  50. ↑ Neuman S. B.; Roskos K. (1993). "Access to print for children of poverty: Differential effects of parent mediation and literacy-enriched play settings on environmental and functional print tasks". American Educational Research Journal. 30: 95–122. doi:10.3102/00028312030001095.
  51. ↑ Neuman, S.B., Coople, C., & Bredekamp, S. (1998). Learning to read and write: Developmentally appropriate practices for young children. Washington, DC: NAEYC. http://www.naeyc.org/about/positions/pdf/PSREAD98.pdf
  52. ↑ Neuman S. B.; Roskos K. (2005). "The state of state pre-kindergarten standards". Early Childhood Research Quarterly. 20: 125–145. doi:10.1016/j.ecresq.2005.04.010.
  53. 1 2 Neuman, S. B. (2006). N is for nonsensical. Educational Leadership, 28-31.http://www-personal.umich.edu/~sbneuman/pdf/nisfornonsense.pdf
  54. ↑ Neuman S. B. (2003). "From rhetoric to reality: The case for high-quality prekindergarten programs" (PDF). Phi Delta Kappan. 85: 286–291. doi:10.1177/003172170308500408.
  55. 1 2 3 Neuman, S. B. (2008). Changing the odds for children at risk: Seven essential principles of programs that break the cycle of poverty. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
  56. 1 2 Neuman, S. B. (2008). Educating the other America: Top experts tackle poverty, literacy, and achievement in our schools. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Company.
  57. ↑ http://www.umich.edu/~rdytolrn/projectgreatstart/pgsindex.html
  58. ↑ http://www.reading.org/Resources/AwardsandGrants/research_feitelson.aspx

External links

Media, interview and blog links

2Fbrowse%2Fsearch.jsp%3Fquery%3Dneuman%26c1%3DCONTENT30%26c2%3Dfalse%22%3EAll+Results+%3C%2Fa%3E Early Childhood Today interview with Susan Neuman and Sue Bredekamp (NAEYC) on Learning to Read, April 2006

Early literacy and education links

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