The Sustainable Education Research Initiative (SustainableED) recently held its inaugural conference on Brown University’s campus, bringing together attendees from universities, nonprofits, and policy organizations across the country. The event marked a major milestone for the initiative, which launched less than a year ago with a mission to advance rigorous, policy-relevant research at the intersection of education and climate change.
The conference convened academic researchers from a range of disciplines alongside practitioners, policymakers, and nonprofit leaders, demonstrating the cross-sector collaboration that SustainableED was designed to foster.
“Interest in the conference far exceeded our expectations," said Matthew Kraft, SustainableED Founder and Professor of Education and Economics at Brown. "This just affirms to me that researchers are eager to build a scholarly community that is focused on generating evidence-based insights for advancing sustainable schools that benefit students and the planet.”
Research From Across the Country
The morning opened with a keynote conversation between Professor Kraft and SustainableED Senior Advisor Laura Schifter of the Aspen Institute. A second keynote conversation in the afternoon featured Hunter Gehlbach of Johns Hopkins University and Samantha Kane, a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Annenberg Institute.
Three lightning round sessions throughout the day showcased original research from scholars at institutions including Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, UC San Diego, Penn, Boston University, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, among others. Presentations ranged in topic from the effects of air and noise pollution on student outcomes to climate literacy curriculum, classroom heat modeling, and the relationship between environmental policy and youth eco-citizenship.
Between lightning rounds, four breakout sessions invited attendees into conversations on resilient school buildings, green economy workforce pathways, extreme weather impacts, and sustainable programs in higher education.
Looking Ahead
Professor Kraft shared, “We have already begun to hear back from attendees about new collaborations that have emerged from the conference. Research that helps schools to adapt to increasing climate and environmental pressures and contributes to collective efforts to create a more sustainable future is essential. SustainableED aims to be a core catalyst for cutting-edge research in this field.”
SustainableED’s core goals are to conduct original research, build connections across sectors, and develop resources for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. The conference brought all three together in a single day.
For more on the initiative's founding and research agenda, see Sustainable Education Research Initiative: Bridging Education and Climate Change, Empowering Schools.