Overview
The Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s highly ranked public School of Education is one of the first and most productive education research centers in the world. It has assisted 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.
WCER is an incubator for advances in education policy and practice. It provides services and resources for UW–Madison researchers, graduate students and their collaborators, as well as educators, funders and communities locally and around the world.
The center empowers its researchers to lead innovative projects and effective teams to advance education in the state, nation and world by:
- providing a research home for approximately 140 grant-funded projects and their staffs, including 65 faculty members from the School of Education and 13 other departments
- generating more than $65 million of revenue in awards and services annually
- attracting more than $800 million to UW–Madison in grant funds since its founding
- employing approximately 500 people, including more than 100 graduate students
- distributing educational services and products globally
The center’s varied research has influenced educational policy and practice from preschool through doctoral programs.
WCER is best known for contributing to cognitive psychology, mathematics and science education, destigmatizing daycare and developing classroom materials that have been used around the world, most recently for teachers of English language learners.
The values that the work and people of WCER strive to uphold are:
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.
