Who we are
The Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), established in 1964, is one of the first and largest university-based education research and development centers globally. WCER's researchers and staff work to make teaching and learning as effective as possible for all ages and all people.
WCER at the University of Wisconsin–Madison's highly ranked public School of Education is one of the world's first and most productive education research centers. Our center has helped scholars and practitioners develop, submit, conduct, and share grant-funded education research for more than 50 years.
WCER is an incubator for advances in education policy and practice. It provides services and resources for UW–Madison researchers, graduate students, collaborators, educators, funders, and communities locally and worldwide.
Our Mission
WCER's mission is to improve educational outcomes for diverse student populations, impact education practice positively and foster collaborations among academic disciplines and practitioners.
Our Values
At WCER, all employees share five fundamental organizational values. We take pride in these values guiding the purpose and quality of our work and interactions within ourselves and our outside stakeholders.
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.
WCER's Commitment to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW–Madison and The Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER). Individual differences and group diversity inspire creative and equitable outcomes. WCER actively affirms values and seeks to increase diversity in our everyday interactions, practices, and policies.
Our center is conscious of inequities in the field of education and how these disproportionately harm the most marginalized members of our society – including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) individuals, people from poor and working-class backgrounds, people with disabilities, women, and LGBTQ people. We firmly believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do. Hence, we strongly encourage applications from people with these identities or members of other marginalized groups.
For more information and news about our center, please go to https://wcer.wisc.edu/