WEB NEWS RELEASE
Human
Development Professor Judith Torney-Purta
Honored with Prestigious 2005 Decade of Behavior
Research Award
(COLLEGE
PARK, MD. - April 2005) -- The Decade of Behavior
initiative has named Professor Judith Torney-Purta,
Ph.D., Department of Human Development, College
of Education, University of Maryland, as one of
five recipients of its 2005 Research Award
The
Decade of Behavior initiative has named Professor
Judith Torney-Purta, Ph.D., Department of Human
Development, College of Education, University of
Maryland, as one of five recipients of its 2005
Research Award. The Decade of Behavior is the project
of a consortium of 70 professional associations
in the behavioral and social sciences, including
the American Psychological Association, American
Political Science Association, and the National
Communication Association.
The consortium designated the 2000-2010 decade as
the Decade of Behavior to advance its overall goals
and to highlight how behavioral and social science
research provides insight and solutions to pressing
social concerns. As an extension of this goal, the
consortium works to educate the public, policy-makers,
educators, and scientists about the importance of
behavioral and social science research. The annual
awards are designed to illustrate how rigorous,
high-quality research impacts public policy. Nominations
for the annual awards are made only by a professional
association, not by individuals. Torney-Purta was
nominated by the American Psychological Association
(APA).
"The College of Education congratulates Dr.
Torney-Purta on this award and acknowledges her
highly regarded research contributions to the field
of civic education and impact on public understanding
of the education process," said Edna Mora Szymanski,
Dean, College of Education. "We are fortunate
she is part of our college faculty and are pleased
her work is being recognized by her peers and colleagues."
The
particular focus for the 2005 research awards is
"The Promotion of Democracy."
The 2005 Research Award commends Torney-Purta's
research on adolescents' political knowledge and
attitudes for meeting the consortium's highest standards
for rigor, while at the same time it recognizes
her efforts to bring her research results to bear
on public policy in the area of civic education.
While
noting Torney-Purta's decades-long dedication to
research on the political socialization of children
and adolescents, the national awards committee focused
on her research with the International Association
for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement, and
its IEA Civic Education Study. She served as the
International Steering Committee Chair of this decade-long
study in which 140,000 adolescents from 29 countries
were tested on their knowledge of civic topics and
surveyed about their political attitudes and engagement.
"I
was especially gratified that my award explicitly
recognized the importance of psychological research
conducted with young people in guiding schools'
policy and practice," said Torney-Purta. She
noted that developmental and educational psychologists
are sometimes left out of debates about strengthening
democracy.
"As
researchers, we have much to contribute about ways
of engaging young people more meaningfully in their
classrooms, schools, communities, and nation,"
Torney-Purta said.
Quality
research was only one of the two major criteria
for the award. The other was the application of
research results to public policy. Consultations
with the National Center for Learning and Citizenship
at the Education Commission of the States (Denver)
as well as with CIRCLE (Center for Information and
Research on Civic Learning and Engagement) in the
University of Maryland School of Public Affairs
are among the policy-related activities Professor
Torney-Purta has undertaken.
William
A Galston, professor and interim dean of the University
of Maryland School of Public Policy, noted the significance
of Torney-Purta's research.
"Professor
Torney-Purta persisted through the 1970s and 1980s
when work to promote democracy through the civic
education of youth was nearly invisible," Galston
said. "Now that the issue of education for
democracy has returned to the front burner, both
the research community and democratic publics of
many nations are fortunate to be able to profit
from her lifetime of academic expertise and civic
commitment."
To
symbolize the desired linkage between research and
public policy, the Decade of Behavior was launched
in 2000 in Washington, in a Congressional meeting
room, with members of Congress and the educational
establishment present and actively endorsing the
project. The 2005 awardees will further the purposes
of the Decade of Behavior through presentations
at a Congressional briefing on May 23rd beginning
at 10:30 a.m. and events within their respective
sponsoring associations.
The
other recipients of the 2005 Research Award are
Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson (University of Pennsylvania),
Dr. James Gibson (Washington University), Dr. Sharyn
O'Halloran and Dr. David Epstein (Columbia University),
and Dr. William Clark (UCLA).
-end-
Note
to media:
To learn more about the Decade of Behavior consortium,
visit: www.decadeofbehavior.org
Additional information on Dr. Torney-Purta's work
on the IEA Civic Education Study
is available at: www.wam.umd.edu/~iea/For more information
on the College of Education, visit: www.education.umd.edu
or contact
Deborah Hudson, Assistant Dean of External Relations,
at: dmhudson@umd.edu.
