Texas Tech University

Outreach & Research

Where Research Leads. Policy Moves. Practice Transforms.

Where Research Leads, Policy Moves, and Practice Transforms

The Texas Tech University College of Education is recognized for its groundbreaking scholarship on the educator workforce and its extensive portfolio of sponsored projects totaling millions of dollars in funding. Faculty engage in close collaboration with schools, communities, agencies, and organizations to conduct research that informs policy and advances educational practice. Supported by a dedicated team of research and grant specialists, this work underscores the College’s leadership in strengthening learning outcomes, expanding workforce capacity, and building a professional, high-quality educator workforce and educational system across the communities it serves.

Our Impact

Outreach & Research Map

We work at the intersection of knowledge and action, ensuring that what we discover doesn’t sit on a shelf but instead informs the decisions of leaders and practitioners. Our goal is to expand opportunity, improve well-being, and create lasting impact for children, families, and schools in and beyond our West Texas community.

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Our Research Centers

The College of Education's many research centers working alongside faculty teams have been highly successful in securing competitive grants from federal and state agencies as well as leading foundations, including the National Science Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the Charles Butt Foundation, and the Texas Education Agency. These centers serve as engines of innovation and collaboration, leveraging external funding to conduct rigorous research that responds directly to the needs of schools, districts, and communities. Through this work, we ensure that groundbreaking scholarship translates into policies and practices that strengthen educational systems and improve learning in our partners’ communities.

The Burkhart Center for Autism Education and Research

Our mission is to increase the quality of life for individuals with autism and their families by providing services, preparing educators, and conducting research

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Center for Advocacy in Teacher Leadership for Youth and Schools with Technology (CATALYST)

CATALYST is an education research and evaluation center that supports and advocates for rural teachers and schools by providing research-based professional development services for the continuous improvement of teaching and learning via teacher leadership, emerging technology use, and novel cross disciplinary, multidisciplinary, and interdisciplinary K-12 curricular interventions.

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Center for Innovation in E-Learning (CIEL)

The CIEL provides various services to enhance and support excellence in teaching and learning in an online environment by employing the theory and practice in the instructional technology discipline.

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Center for Innovative Research in Change, Leadership, and Education (CIRCLE)

The Center for Innovative Research in Change, Leadership, and Education seeks to engage in collaborative research and practical application partnerships which generate nuanced and comprehensive understandings of the role leadership can play in the elimination of persistent inequities in public education (nationally and internationally) and in the development of a more just and caring global society.

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U.S. PREP National Center

The University-School Partnerships for the Renewal of Educator Preparation National Center (U.S. PREP) is a coalition for reformed teacher preparation beginning with universities and parter school districts in six south and southeastern population centers.

Learn More About U.S. PREP National Center

The Virginia Murray Sowell Center for Research and Education in Sensory Disabilities

The Sowell Center promotes quality research to address the academic and social needs of school-age students with visual impairments and provides public service to assist local, national and international constituencies.

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Outreach & Engagement

Principal Fellows Partnership Program

The federally funded Principal Fellows Partnership Program is an alliance between the National Institute of Excellence in Teaching, Texas Tech University Educational Leadership Program, and school districts partners to prepare highly effective teachers in this competitive non-traditional program for a school leader career (i.e. Assistant Principal or Principal).

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TEXAS Fellowship

Service Learning in the College of Education

External Funding Support

Faculty in the College of Education benefit from comprehensive proposal development and compliance services provided by the Texas Tech University Office of Research Services (ORS). Complementing these university-wide resources, the College offers specialized grant support services tailored to the distinctive needs of educational researchers. Through this dual support structure, faculty are positioned to secure external funding, advance high-quality scholarship, and successfully manage sponsored projects from inception to completion.

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University Resources

Contacts

Alexander Wiseman

Texas Tech’s College of Education is home to some of the most dedicated and high caliber education researchers in the field. In close partnership with schools, families, and community stakeholders, we’re addressing the most pressing challenges in education and delivering solutions that matter. The impact of this work is felt locally, regionally, and nationally as we shape the future of education through rigorous research and meaningful collaboration.

— Alex Wiseman, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research, Outreach & Engagement