WCER, established in 1964 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's highly ranked public School of Education, is one of the first and largest university-based education research and development centers in the world. WCER's researchers and staff work to make teaching and learning as effective as possible for all ages and all people.
Our center has helped scholars and practitioners develop, submit, conduct, and share grant-funded education research for more than 50 years.
WCER's mission is to improve educational outcomes for diverse student populations, impact education practice positively and foster collaborations among academic disciplines and practitioners.
At WCER, all employees share five fundamental organizational values. These values guide the purpose and quality of our work:
- Innovation and Excellence. Continuous improvement is a driver for excellence. We innovate and improve in our work to advance education through leading research and development.
- Equitable Education. Equitable education is essential to a healthy society. We aim to reverse imbalances and injustices in education through our work.
- Affirming and Increasing Diversity. Individual differences and group diversity inspire creative and equitable outcomes. We actively affirm and seek to increase such diversity in our center.
- Healthy Workplace. The well-being of our workplace enhances success for all. We commit to a workplace based on mutual respect and transparency.
- Partnering Across Differences. Diverse backgrounds and expertise improve the quality of our work. We collaborate across disciplines, methodologies, organizations, and communities to strengthen our research and development outcomes.
WCER's Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison and WCER. Individual differences and group diversity inspire creative and equitable outcomes. WCER actively affirms values and seeks to increase diversity in our everyday interactions, practices, and policies.
WCER's Strategic Goals:
- Identify the knowledge, skills, and awareness of positionality needed to integrate DEI into the center's daily operations.
- Improve and expand the center's services equitably to students, academic and university staff, and faculty.
- Use problem solving, experimentation, learning from diverse experiences, and efficient transfer of knowledge to achieve our mission.
- Promote high-quality, community-connected local, state, national and international research on education.
- Expand and diversify sources of funding for research.
For more information and news about our center, please go to https://wcer.wisc.edu/