Rural Education Research in the United States

Gwen C. Nugent, PhD
Dr. Gwen Nugent is a Research Professor at the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools in the College of Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. With a background in cognitive psychology and K-12 instruction, she has over 30 years of experience in the design, production, and evaluation of mediated instruction. She coordinates STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) development and research projects, with a focus on teacher professional development and the use of technology to improve student learning. As part of the National Center for Research in Rural Education, she served as principal investigator for the Coaching Science Inquiry in Rural Schools project, which examined how professional development and follow-up coaching influenced teachers' knowledge and implementation of guided scientific inquiry.

Gina M. Kunz, PhD
Dr. Gina M. Kunz is a Research Associate Professor and Assistant Director at the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She is a licensed psychologist for children and adolescents with a background in school psychology. She has served in many roles in large-scale federally funded research and has led numerous professional development workshops and training sessions for pre-service and active professionals in the areas of school psychology and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education. As a Co-Principal Investigator of the National Center for Research on Rural Education (R2Ed) and Director of Rural Outreach and Coordination, she served as a Co-Principal Investigator for the Coaching Science Inquiry in Rural Schools research project. She also served as a Co-Principal Investigator for the Conjoint Behavior Consultationin Rural Communities study.
Susan M. Sheridan, PhD
Dr. Susan M. Sheridan directs the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and directed the National Center for Research on Rural Education (R2Ed). As a George Holmes University Professor of educational psychology at UNL, she has conducted research on family-school partnerships and early intervention for more than 25 years. Sheridan has published more than 100 books, chapters and journal articles, having authored papers that were recognized as the year's best by School Psychology Review and Journal of School Psychology. She has earned more than $50 million in federal grants, most notably for randomized trials of family-school partnership interventions, early childhood education, and related studies. Sheridan was recently bestowed the Senior Scientist Award for career accomplishments by Division 16 (School Psychology) of the American Psychological Association.
Todd A. Glover, PhD
Todd A. Glover is an Associate Research Professor in the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology at Rutgers University. He has been a PI or Co-PI of multiple largescale, federally-funded randomized trials investigating the efficacy of school-based interventionsfor at-risk or underserved students. As Co-PI of the National Center for Research on Rural Education (R²Ed), Dr. Glover has had extensive experience forging research partnerships with schools. His research and scholarly writing in journals and chapters and editorship/co-editorship of books focuses on integrating evidence-based interventions and high quality professional development into systems of support for students in school settings.

Lisa L. Knoche, PhD
Dr. Knoche is a Research Associate Professor at the Nebraska Centerfor Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She also serves as the director of the center's Nebraska Early Childhood Research Academy. Knoche is an applied developmental psychologist with expertise in the design, development, and evaluation of early childhood interven-tion and prevention programs to support healthy development in young children and support family engagement in early learning. Dr. Knoche is particularly experienced in issues of implementation science, including measurement of fidelity across systemic levels, and she is interested in identifying and supporting effective professional development strategies for early childhood professionals. She has extensive experience in implementing collaborative research programs with educational partners.