"Rather than use religion to indoctrinate, Scott’s research argues, faith-based groups represent ways public schools can tap into a deeper connection to the communities and people educators are attempting to serve."
Ryan Nagelhout, writer at the Communications and Engagement office at Harvard Graduate School of Education, writers about the two recent partnerships between Harvard Graduate School of Education’s (HGSE) Leadership Initiative for Faith and Education (LIFE) with the Wheatley Institute, and Grove Collective Foundation.
Irvin Scott, founder and faculty director of LIFE, was instrumental to the project, acting both as a researcher and event moderator. He and his research partner Bryant Jensen, Wheatley Affiliated scholar and professor in the Department of Teacher Education at Brigham Young University, examined how faith in the form of family or personal religious practices, faith and education partnerships, and educator religiosity can impact student success in K-12.
A second report, which Scott co-wrote with Nicole Baker Fulgham and J.B. Schramm from Grove Collective Foundation, examined existing partnerships between faith communities and public schools in nine southeastern states to measure their prevalence and influence on "the public education ecosystem".