Narrowing the Achievement Gap / Issues in Children's and Families' Lives (PDF)

Susan J. Paik is Associate Professor at the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University. Her research interests include urban and international studies, educational productivity, family-school partnerships, minority learning, research methods and evaluation. She has participated in education projects in Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, and the U.S, where she founded and directed a character-development program for inner city children and youth. Dr. Paik has presented her work at the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Oxford University in England, University of Cape Town in South Africa, University of Bologna in Italy, University of Oviedo in Spain as well as professional meetings in South America, Australia, Germany, and the U.S. She has been awarded Young Scholar by the Stanford University Hoover Institution Koret K-12 Task Force. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships, grants, including the AERA-NSF-IES grant, NIMH fellowship for prevention, Center for Urban Educational Research and Development (CUERD) fellowship, Chancellor's Service Award, Teaching Incentive Award, and Early Outreach Award for her dedication and service to inner city youth by the University of Illinois. Among many published articles, she is the author of a research monograph called Educational Productivity in South Korea and the United States published by the International Journal of Educational Research (IJER). She is the co-author of a booklet called Effective Educational Practices published by UNESCO and translated and disseminated to almost 150 countries. Dr. Paik is the editor of Advancing Educational Productivity: Policy Implications from National Databases. She has recently co-edited a special IJER journal issue on family-school partnerships.
Herbert J. Walberg was on the faculty of Harvard University and is now Emeritus University Scholar and Research Professor of Education and Psychology at

From the reviews:

"This volume is an important and impressive collection of scholarship that addresses one of the more intractable education problems of our times--ensuring that ALL children receive a quality education."
-- Gloria Ladson-Billings, Kellner Family Professor in Urban Education, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and 2005-2006 President of AERA

"A major contribution to the field, the book provides important insights into the schooling experiences of Latino, Black, and Asian Americans and offers implications for improving educational outcomes and well-being for ethnic minority groups. The in-depth analyses provided by the chapter authors should be of substantial appeal to a wide audience because of its interdisciplinary approach and orientation to theory, research, and practice."
--Stanley Sue, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Asian American Studies, University of California at Davis

"In considering the broad problems and in recommending solutions, the book provides breadth, concision, and unique organization… The ideas and recommendations in this book will certainly contribute to the national debate concerning how we face the challenge to help all our children learn well."
--Edmund W. Gordon, John M. Musser Professor of Psychology at Yale University, Richard March Hoe Professor of Education and Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University