A Child Trends Pilot Study to Develop a Strategic Approach for the Effective Communication of IES Research

This project is jointly funded by the National Center for Special Education Research and the National Center for Education Research.

1. Development of news videos based on IES-funded research. The research team will leverage the Child Trends News Service (CTNS) project, which currently reaches tens of millions of people across the country through local TV news. In partnership with IES, Child Trends and Ivanhoe Broadcast News (IBN) will choose 24 IES research studies for local TV news reports. IBN will produce 60-second reports based on these studies and disseminate them to TV stations across the country. Reports will be produced in English and in Spanish. Of the 24 selected studies, 12 will also be produced in long-form (90 second) reports that will include soundbites from interviews IBN conducts with the principal investigators from the IES studies.
2. Assessment of video messaging. To design messages that address parents' and teachers' educational needs, the project team will conduct focus groups to examine how parents and teachers interact with the videos, the utility of the content, and what else these audiences might need to help them apply the research-based information to support children's education. This research will provide guidance for future video productions as well as changes on viewer attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors associated with the videos.
3. Survey of parents and teachers. The research team will conduct surveys of representative samples of general education and special education teachers and parents to help inform the strategy needed to successfully communicate IES research to this target audience. Specifically, they will explore teachers' and parents' primary sources of information related to education as well as identify their key interests and informational needs.