Rebecca A. Maynard
Graduate Group Affiliations
Contact information
University of Pennsylvania
Graduate School of Education
3700 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Graduate School of Education
3700 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 215-898-3558
Fax: 215-573-2241
Fax: 215-573-2241
Email:
rmaynard@gse.upenn.edu
rmaynard@gse.upenn.edu
Education:
B.A. (Economics)
University of Connecticut, 1971.
Ph.D. (Economics)
University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1975.
Permanent linkB.A. (Economics)
University of Connecticut, 1971.
Ph.D. (Economics)
University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1975.
Description of Research Expertise
Areas of Expertise
Education and social welfare policy
Economics of education
Experimental and qualitative research methods
Research synthesis methods
Professional Biography
Dr. Maynard is a leading expert in the design and conduct of randomized controlled trials in the areas of education and social policy, and she has conducted influential methodological research demonstrating empirically the limitations of quasi-experimental research designs. In recent years, Dr. Maynard has been a leader in the development and application of methods for conducting systematic reviews of evidence on program effectiveness, with a focus on their application to education, including serving on the technical review team during the design and development of the What Works Clearinghouse and being active in the development work that led to the guidelines for the Campbell Collaboration. For the past four years, she has directed the University of Pennsylvania’s Predoctoral Training Program in Education Sciences, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education — a program that supports 20 Ph.D. students from Arts and Sciences, Business, and Education.
Research Interests and Current Projects
Dr. Maynard recently completed a manuscript (with Saul Hoffman) on the costs of teen childbearing and was co-author on an Institute of Education Sciences Practice Guide on turning around chronically underperforming schools. She is currently principal investigator for a study of distributed leadership training and professional support, funded by the Annenberg Foundation, a study of the 21st Century Skills Project, funded by the William Penn Foundation; and a demonstration of innovative strategies to promote self sufficiency among low-income adults, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In addition, she is co-authoring a hands-on graduate-level text on designing and conducting randomized controlled trials in education (with support from the Institute of Education Sciences) and maintains an active agenda of comparative research in education with an emphasis on the U.S. and Asian and Middle Eastern countries.
Dr. Maynard will be on leave from Penn GSE starting in June 2010 to serve as Commissioner of the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance for the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.
Selected Publications
Hoffman, S., & Maynard, R.: The study, the context, and findings in brief. Kids Having Kids: Economic Costs and Social Consequences of Teen Pregnancy. S. Hoffman & R. Maynard (eds.). Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute Press, Page: 1-24, 2008.Maynard, R., & Hoffman, S.: The costs of adolescent childbearing. Kids Having Kids: Economic Costs and Social Consequences of Teen Pregnancy. S. Hoffman & R. Maynard (eds.). Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute Press, Page: 359-402, 2008.
Dong, N., Maynard, R., & Perez-Johnson, I.: Averaging effect sizes within and across studies of interventions aimed at improving child outcomes. Child Development Perspectives 2(3): 187-197, 2008.
Herman, R., Dawson, P., Dee, T., Greene, J., Maynard, R., Redding, S., & Dawson, M.: Turning Around Chronically Low-Performing Schools. IES Practice Guide. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, 2008.
Amato, P., & Maynard, R.: Decreasing nonmarital births and increasing marriage to reduce poverty. The Future of Children. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University, 17(2), Fall 2007.
Herman, R., Boruch, R., Powel, R., & Mayard, R.: Overcoming the challenge: A response to Alan Schoenfeld’s “What Doesn’t Work" American Education Research Journal 2007.
Perez-Johnson, I., & Maynard, R.: The case for early targeted interventions to prevent academic failure. Peabody Journal of Education 82(4): 589-616, 2007.
Maynard, R., & Wilcox, B.: Conducting Field Experiments of Setting-level Policies and Practices. New York: William T. Grant Foundation Annual Report, 2007.
Maynard, R. : Presidential address: Evidence-based decision making: What will it take for the decision makers to care? Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 25(2): 1-17, 2006.