UNG professor’s research mentioned in Washington Post

Dr. Jameson Brewer had an anecdotal idea that connections rather than qualifications were dictating the honorees on Forbes magazine’s annual “30 Under 30” education lists.

“As a researcher, that doesn’t carry much weight,” the University of North Georgia (UNG) assistant professor of education said. “You have to have empirical evidence.”

Brewer sought to find that evidence, and the results of a social network analysis showing a strong link between honorees and judges for the “30 Under 30” education lists were published July 2 in the Education Policy Analysis Archives journal.

The Washington Post also published a story on the issue and a summary of the work written by Brewer and fellow researchers Nicholas D. Hartlep from Metropolitan State University and Ian Scott at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“What we found is that being selected for the Under 30 award in education has less to do with training or experience in education and everything to do with being connected to the judges and their respective, and likewise connected, organizations seeking to deregulate and privatize schooling in the United States,” the trio wrote in The Washington Post.

They suggested a similar approach to the medical “30 Under 30” list would rightfully cause major concerns.

“While that is clearly unthinkable, we must ask ourselves why such a thing is so readily acceptable in education, and why efforts to de-skill teaching and privatize schools is lauded,” they wrote in The Washington Post.