The Harvard EdCast
Episodes
The Pressure to Chase Prestige in College Admissions | Jeff Selingo
25 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
00:00 Why families fixate on elite colleges—and the rise of the “panicking class” 01:15 How rankings shape decisions (and why they mislead) 03:1...
What Mississippi Got Right About Reading | Kymyona Burk
18 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
0:25 — Why reading scores still struggle 2:15 — Rise of the science of reading 5:00 — Aligning leadership to drive reform 7:30 — Consistency a...
What Students Really Need from Sex Education | Shafia Zaloom
11 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
0:00 — Introduction 1:05 — The three types of sex education most people receive 3:20 — What comprehensive sexuality education actually means 5:1...
How Questions Can Transform Student-Centered Learning
04 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Harvard Graduate School of Education ProfessorKaren Brennan sees classrooms as magical spaces when we begin with curiosity, not just content. “When ...
Why Teachers Stay: What Research Reveals About Retention
25 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
When Doug Larkin and Suzanne Poole Patzelt set out to study the relationship between teacher pay and retention, what they found surprised them. “...
How to Disagree Better: Strategies for Constructive Conversations
18 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Disagreement is a part of everyday life, yet most of us avoid it whenever possible. Harvard Kennedy School Professor Julia Minson knows where and why ...
Civics at 250: Teaching Democracy in an Unfinished Nation
11 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As the United States approaches the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, how should schools teach this foundational document?Harvard ...
Understanding the Lives of Migrant Children in America
26 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With about one in four children in the U.S. now living in immigrant families, Harvard Associate Professor Gabrielle Oliveira argues that supporting th...
Race, Power, and the Making of America's Schools
19 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Looking back at the early history of U.S. education, Harvard Professor Jarvis Givens says we’ve long told the story in fragments: Native education i...
Is Education Research Becoming Partisan?
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Jal Mehta knows that education research matters – it has the power to shape schools, classrooms, and ...
How High-Impact Tutoring Is Reshaping Post-Pandemic Learning Recovery
05 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the wake of the pandemic, tutoring has become a central strategy for helping students recover academically but not all tutoring is created equal. L...
Can Universities Teach Us to Talk Again?
29 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In an era when many Americans believe the country is too divided to come back together, Tufts University political scientist Eitan Hersh believes high...
How Curiosity Can Unlock Learning for Every Child
22 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Curiosity is one of our most powerful, yet often overlooked, human drives, especially in education. Elizabeth Bonawitz, associate professor at the Har...
The Rural Promise: Pathways to Opportunity for Every Student
15 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dreama Gentry grew up in Appalachian Kentucky, in a community often defined by outsiders for what it lacked. But what she saw was strength, connection...
Teaching Students to Think Critically About AI
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When educators talk about artificial intelligence, the conversation often begins with excitement about its potential. But for Stephanie Smith Budhai a...
School Vouchers Explained: What the New Federal Program Means
01 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Congress has passed the nation’s first federal school voucher–style program, set to begin in 2027. Supporters call it a landmark expansion of pare...
Banning Cell Phones: Quick Fix or False Hope?
24 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Schools around the world are cracking down on student cell phones, with many turning to outright bans as a fix for distraction, bullying, or mental he...
What It Really Means to Be a Strategic Leader
11 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Strategic leadership may be one of the hardest — and most vital — skills for school leaders to master. Liz City, senior lecturer at the Harvard Gr...
Why Invest in Global Education Now
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the statistics on global education — millions of children, especially in low- and middle-income countries, are sp...
What Textbooks Teach Us — And What They Don’t
14 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Texas and California often appear to be worlds apart when it comes to politics and culture, but the education students are getting – as far as their...
The Words We Choose: How Language Shapes Children's Emotional Lives
30 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As a third-grade teacher, Lily Howard Scott noticed how she spoke to students impacted more than just their experience in the classroom. How teachers ...
How to Educate for Social Action
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To succeed in school, in life, and as contributors to a more equitable society, students must be able to recognize, analyze, and challenge systemic in...
Cybersecurity: The Greatest Threat Schools Aren’t Ready For
02 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In today’s digital landscape, schools face growing cybersecurity threats that can disrupt learning, compromise sensitive data, and leave administrat...
Empathy, Dignity, and Courageous Action in Schools
19 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How we see the world and interact with each other, especially whether we create welcoming environments of acceptance, does not always come naturally. ...
Reducing Stress in Schools
05 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Post-pandemic schools are still feeling the aftershocks—socially, emotionally, and politically – say educators and co-authors Mathew Portell and T...
How the History of Black and Native Education Can Inform Our Future
19 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Eve L. Ewing wants people to talk, not just about how American schools started, but also how that can inform the future of schools, especially for Bla...
Unpacking the DoEd: What Do They Actually Do?
06 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The U.S. Department of Education has been a subject of political debate since its creation in 1980. “It's the one whose status has been most tenuou...
Want a Better School? Invest in the People
27 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to making an impact on school outcomes, Harvard Professor Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell says we often overlook the power of relationships with...
Portraits of a Better High School Graduate
20 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Andrew Tucker says the growing adoption of Portraits of a Graduate in K-12 education is a way to address gaps in education and prepare students to thr...
How Schools Make Race
13 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Laura Chávez-Moreno says bilingual education inadvertently creates boundaries around Latinx identity by gathering Spanish-speaking students together....
The Untold Truths of the Superintendency
06 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The superintendent’s role is challenging and always evolving but too often educators step into this leadership position not fully prepared for what’...
Think You're Creative? Think Again
30 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Edward Clapp wants education to shift from a traditional, individualistic view of creativity toward a participatory, socially distributed perspective....
The Problem Schools are Ignoring
23 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Sexual misconduct by school employees is more prevalent than many of us want to believe, according to Charol Shakeshaft, a distinguished professor in ...
Fixing Childcare in America
16 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Elliot Haspel believes universal childcare can happen in America, especially because it affects everyone across red and blue lines. Haspel, senior fel...
Boys & the Crisis of Connection
09 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Drawing from her research and interviews with boys over the past three decades, Niobe Way, a professor of developmental psychology at New York Univers...
The Impact of AI on Children's Development
02 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The explosion of artificial intelligence exposed many benefits and challenges for children interacting with AI, especially in educational and social c...
Teaching the Election in Politically-Charged Times
25 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The 2024 Election is anything but easy to teach in a classroom today where fears range from community backlash, restrictive state policies, and job ...
Summer Unplugged: Navigating Screen Time and Finding Balance for Kids
17 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As millions of students prepare for summer vacation, many parents may worry about endless time spent on the screen. Michael Rich, pediatrician and Dir...
Reshaping Teacher Licensure: Lessons from the Pandemic
10 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
With looming threats of high teacher turnover rates during COVID-19, Olivia Chi, an assistant professor at Boston University, wanted to study how the ...
Discipline in Schools: Why Is Hitting Still an Option?
03 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
While most schools in the United States do not report using corporal punishment – the use of pain as punishment -- it still impacts tens of thousand...
Combatting Chronic Absenteeism through Family Engagement
27 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Family engagement plays a pivotal role in combatting chronic absenteeism.The number of students who are chronically absent – missing 10% or more of ...
Getting to College: FAFSA Challenges for First Gen Students
20 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For many first-generation college students, the dream of pursuing a college degree is often accompanied by financial uncertainty and adversities that ...
Why Math is the Greatest Equalizer in School
13 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Math has a problem when it comes to equitable learning. The way math is taught and how students are tracked is part of the issue, according to Kentaro...
Why Emotional Intelligence Matters for Educators
06 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Janet Patti and Robin Stern joined forces decades ago when they recognized the crucial role of emotional intelligence for school leaders. How educator...
Meddling Moms: The Movements Making Change in Public Schools
28 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past few years, a battle is taking place on many school grounds – one being driven by mothers that is inevitably shaping the future of scho...
Independent Play Key to Countering Children’s Declining Mental Health
21 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In a world increasingly dominated by structured routines and adult supervision, renowned psychologist Peter Gray is not surprised that children’s me...
Navigating Literacy Challenges, Fostering a Love of Reading
14 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
How do we teach children to love reading amidst the ongoing debates surrounding literacy curriculums and instructional methods, and the emphasis on st...
The Cultural Power of Report Cards
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Questions about the power of report cards led high school history teacher Wade Morris to dig deep into how these pieces of paper came to carry so much...
Brightening Schools' Futures with Solar Innovation
22 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When school finances were looking dire, Michael Hester, superintendent of Batesville Public Schools in Arkansas, saw an opportunity to get creative. I...
Talking to Kids When the World Feels Scary
15 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A rise in mass shootings and growing tensions surrounding the Israel-Hamas War are just a couple things that children are likely hearing about – reg...
Higher Education's Resistance to Change
08 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Higher education is one of the few industries that has changed little in the past few decades. Harvard Visiting Professor Brian Rosenberg believes the...
How to Raise Grateful Children
01 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to raise a grateful child? Developmental scientist and psychologist Andrea Hussong from the University of North Carolina at Chapel H...
Unveiling the Invisible: Pro-Asian American and Intersectional Perspectives in the Classroom
25 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Tony DelaRosa doesn’t think teachers can wait for policy mandating the inclusion of all races – especially Asian American and Pacific Islanders (A...
The Case for Early Dyslexia Screening
18 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Harvard Associate Professor Nadine Gaab wants to see the whole system surrounding children and reading development change – starting in utero. Earli...
What it Takes to Change a School
11 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Changing a school can be challenging, but possible when you have a group of folks committed to making change, says Justin Cohen. He is a writer and ac...
The Future of DEI in Higher Education
04 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Supreme Court’s decision to end race conscious admissions and -- actions taking place in many states to curb diversity, equity, and inclusion (D...
Get on Board with AI
27 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how we work with implications for the future. A recent study, conducted by edX Founder Anant Agarwa...
The Power of Out-of-School Learning
12 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The field of out-of-school learning time is vast and supports 10 million children a year. Despite this, the programs are often viewed as glorified bab...
Where Have All the Students Gone?
05 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When the pandemic hit, Stanford Economist Thomas Dee knew it was important to track enrollment as a means of understanding what children are experienc...
HBCUs, Higher Ed, and Democracy’s Future
29 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
John Silvanus Wilson Jr. believes higher education institutions have something to learn from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) that ...
To Weather the "Literacy Crisis," Do What Works
22 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The pandemic challenged literacy development and outcomes for many students but that doesn’t mean America is currently in a literacy crisis. Harvard...
Creating Trans Inclusive Schools
15 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Melinda Mangin stresses the importance of creating welcoming gender inclusive environments -- regardless of whether anyone in your school identifies a...
How to Support Your Child’s Digital Life
08 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
When it comes to navigating a child’s digital life, there are many challenges facing today’s parent, says Katie Davis. While an overemphasis is of...
A Crisis of Belonging
01 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Social psychologist Geoff Cohen says a crisis of belonging is destroying us. One in five Americans suffers from chronic loneliness. Young people are s...
What Do Immigrant Students Need? It Isn't Just ELL
22 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Educators need to do more to address the basic social emotional needs of immigrant children if they are to advance in learning, says Harvard Professor...
Parental Rights or Politics?
15 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Parental rights movements have gained much momentum in recent years with huge potential to impact the future of public education. University of Massac...
Educating in a World of Artificial Intelligence
08 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Despite growing concerns about generative artificial intelligence, like ChatGPT, in education, Harvard's Chris Dede isn't overly worried. As a researc...
Equality or Equity?
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Longtime educator Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade thinks schools have been focused on equality for too long and need to fundamentally rethink it. He says equal...
Humanizing Education Through Hip-Hop
23 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Mostly everyone has had some connection to hip-hop, especially students today, according to Harvard Lecturer Aysha Upchurch. It's more than just rap m...
The Case for Anti-Oppressive Social Studies in Elementary School
16 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many elementary schools around the nation have little time or support to focus on social studies. It may explain why we see topics like Thanksgiving r...
Empowering Schools to Take Climate Action
09 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Harvard Lecturer Laura Schifter wants more schools taking climate action. Schools are major contributors to climate issues in ways that educators and ...
Making Up the Difference in Math
02 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The latest National Assessment of Educational Progressed showed big declines in students' math performance -- in some cases as low as 20 years ago. Th...
The Nature of Imagination
26 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Children's imaginations are complicated and impressive, says Harvard Professor Paul Harris. Yet, often times, when we watch children pretending, we wr...
The Superintendency and Culture Wars
19 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The upcoming election has the potential to greatly shift the landscape many superintendents are working in around the nation. The work of superintende...
How White Parents Challenged Ethnic Studies
12 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What can happen when parents challenge a curriculum? How can movements against curriculums take hold? There's a lot more to it than you might think, a...
Leading in the Aftermath of Gun Violence
05 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What does it mean to be a school leader when the unimaginable happens? Frank DeAngelis, retired principal of Columbine High School, knows the answer f...
The Complex World of Teens and Screens
28 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Harvard Researchers Carrie James and Emily Weinstein give the low-down on teens' behavior online. As part of a multiyear study, they surveyed more tha...
The COVID Catch-up Challenge
20 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Many school districts are beginning to see pandemic learning losses greater than they imagined. It’s time to figure out what to next, says Harvard P...
Why We Need Asian American History in Schools
13 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Stewart Kwoh believes education is the best tool to fight back against ongoing anti-Asian American violence and damaging stereotypes. As co-executive ...
How We Can Better Support Refugees in Education
06 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Harvard Professor Sarah Dryden-Peterson knows that we can do a lot better for the nearly 30 million refugees in the world. As an expert on refugee edu...
What Global Innovations Changed Education During the Pandemic
30 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A silver lining of the pandemic, says Harvard Professor Fernando Reimers, was the push for education to innovate. Through the pandemic, Reimers set ou...
Creating Educational Spaces Full of Joy and Justice
23 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Juliana Urtubey, the 2021 National Teacher of the Year recipient, knows firsthand the importance of valuing all parts of a student’s identity. As a ...
What it Takes to Be a Great University
16 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Harvard Professor Dick Light has visited 260 college campuses talking to administrators, faculty, and students to figure out what sets a great univers...
Will Teachers Stay or Will They Go?
09 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since the start of the pandemic, education has grappled with a looming threat of teacher shortages and a mass exodus of teachers. Elizabeth Steiner, a...
Is the College Enrollment Decline Really a Crisis?
02 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For the past decade, college enrollments have steadily been on the decline. The pandemic appears to have accelerated such drops with reports of more t...
What is Happening with Critical Race Theory in Education?
23 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When Gloria Ladson-Billings set out in the 1990s to adapt critical race theory from law to education, she couldn’t have predicted that it would beco...
How Remote Learning Negatively Affected Children and Why it Matters
16 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Before the pandemic hit, Harvard Professor Stephanie Jones and Lecturer Emily Hanno were already tracking young children's development as part of th...
How to Be a Social Justice Parent and Raise Compassionate Kids
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Many parents want to raise kind and compassionate children, but in today's world it can be difficult to figure out how. Traci Baxley, an associate pro...
Why Have College Completion Rates Increased
08 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What is driving an increase in college completion rates? It's not student characteristics or higher student enrollments, says Jeff Denning, an associa...
Getting Back to Education in Developing Countries
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
COVID has challenged many education systems worldwide. This is especially true for developing countries that faced significant learning issues prior t...
Giving Thanks in the Classroom
24 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Math class doesn't seem the likely place to practice gratitude, but Michael Fauteux discovered that it had the power to change it. While teaching a 9t...
Embracing the Whole Student, Being Ratchetdemic
17 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Christopher Emdin wants schools to embraces a whole student's identity. For far too long, public education has been stuck where it was not designed fo...
How Climate Change is Taught in America
10 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
What are children learning about climate change in American schools? That question set award winning journalist Katie Worth to uncover how climate cha...
Learning from Mistakes in Kindergarten
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Mistakes are supposed to be part of learning. However, Maleka Donaldson knows how we convey mistakes and respond to them as educators can significantl...
Reclaiming Higher Ed for All Students
27 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Higher education needs major change and reinvention to provide more opportunity and social mobility for everyone. This is what Paul LeBlanc hopes to s...
The Need for School Nurses
20 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The school nurse's job encompasses much more than you'd think. Even before COVID, the school nurse was the "health hub" of the school. Yet 25.2% of sc...
The State of School Boards
13 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
It's a contentious time to be a school board member in America. Michael Casserly, a strategic adviser for the Council of the Great City Schools, refle...
What Summer School Can and Can't Do
21 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There's a lot of conversation in education about how to use this summer to make up for lost academic time in COVID. But depending on the student and t...
Raising Addiction-Free Kids
14 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Jessica Lahey wondered how to keep kids from developing addictions to drugs and alcohol. She thought about it in her job as an educator at an inpatien...
Lessons on Leading During COVID
07 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
DC Public School Chancellor Lewis Ferebee was making strides on student academic gains, growing enrollments and creating the positive environment that...