On the Ground is the official blog of the Institute of Human Development and Social Change (IHDSC).
Faculty, staff, and student contributors use Q&As, op-eds, research reports, and other accessible formats to provide practice-ready and policy-relevant information about research findings in the following four domains: education and child development; race, poverty, and inequality; health and well-being; and justice and welfare systems. The goal is to speak to all sides of the research-practice-policy divide. On the Ground also highlights how research, policy, and practice partnerships can address the many pressing social issues we face, both domestically and globally.
Recent Stories
Policies that harm or help?
Amid a rapidly evolving political landscape, undocumented immigrant youth face significant threats to their rights to safety and education. Dr. Sophia Rodriguez outlines how different policies can help or hinder undocumented students' access to education, and how now more than ever, support for schools and school-based personnel is critical.
Data Commons: Building Infrastructure for Peace Technology
As artificial intelligence reshapes global systems, ensuring its benefits reach conflict-affected and crisis-vulnerable populations requires deliberate infrastructure development. Data commons offer a pathway toward peace technology that serves rather than surveils, includes rather than excludes, and empowers rather than extracts.
Co-regulation Strategies in Schools: How Educators Can Support Students’ Learning
In this blog post, we share three core strategies: feeling thermometers, calm corners, and breathing strategies—that are typically used in schools to support both students’ ability to self-regulate and educators’ ability to co-regulate with their students.
Open-Source Data Package: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
Data from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) have provided critical information as to levels and trends in key areas of adolescent health and well-being nationally. To ensure continued access to such data, we developed an open-source data package that cleans and stores YRBSS data from 2015 to 2023.
Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Education for Students with Emotional Disabilities
The phrase “culturally responsive” is increasingly used within educational settings today – but what does it mean to be culturally responsive in school contexts, particularly for students with emotional disabilities (EDs)?
AI Across Sectors: Bridging Technology and Peacebuilding
On September 24th, NYU's Peace Research and Education Program (PREP) hosted an event that brought together experts from diverse fields to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence, global development, and peacebuilding.
How to Build Strong Family-School Partnerships
Building strong partnerships between families and schools is essential for fostering a consistent and supportive learning environment for students. In this blog post, Christine Park shares key strategies for creating a welcoming and collaborative relationship with families, and how to sustain these partnerships throughout the school year.
Top 10 Tips for Starting the School Year Strong
The beginning of the school year is a crucial time for teachers to set the tone for a successful academic year and journey, for students, families, school staff, and themselves. Check out our top 10 tips for starting the school year strong!
Beyond the Data: Humanizing Research through Photography
Photographing communities, particularly low income neighborhoods that are too often associated with negative stereotypes, come with the added responsibility of telling their authentic stories with compassion, strength, and beauty. In this blog, Hira Hasson pairs street photography with research to bring a new dimension to traditional research projects.
NYC’s Salary Transparency Law: What the Research Says
We spoke with Dr. Siwei Cheng, Associate Professor of Sociology in NYU’s School of Arts & Science and IHDSC faculty affiliate, about NYC's Salary Transparency Law's impact on labor market negotiations and improving equity in wage distributions in NYC for this On the Ground blog post.
Partnership Spotlight
Research Partnerships: Mentte Cedat and Dr. Anil Chacko
Mentte Cedat, a Mexico-based organization that works with adolescents and policy makers to prevent violence, partners with IHDSC affiliate and NYU Steinhardt Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology Dr. Anil Chacko. IHDSC sat down with them to discuss the work of Mentte Cedat and the benefits of their partnership.
Q&A: Young Women's Freedom Center and Dr. Shabnam Javdani
On the Ground interviewed Young Women's Freedom Center executive Director Jessica Nowlan and NYU Steinhardt professor Dr. Shabnam Javdani about the role of their research and partnership in working with girls, young women, and TGNC young people towards decriminalization, decarceration, abolition, and reimagining the juvenile justice system response.
Research Partnerships: IHDSC and Educational Alliance
IHDSC interviewed Drs. Erin Godfrey (director of IHDSC and associate professor of Applied Psychology at NYU Steinhardt) and Andrew Cavanagh (director of Research and Evaluation at Educational Alliance) to discuss the process of developing their research partnership.
Studying STEM in Sunset Park
IHDSC spoke with Dr. Natalie Brito and Sunset Spark — a Brooklyn-based non-profit— about their partnership, the importance of diverse and representative samples, and the benefit of conducting research in community-based settings.