Empowering Engagement: Creating Learning Opportunities for Students from Challenging Backgrounds

Clarence Ng, Ph.D., is Associate Professor and the Research Director of Learning, Learner Diversity and Reforming Classroom Practices at the Learning Sciences Institute Australia, Australian Catholic University. Clarence's core research areas include literacy engagement, motivation and learning, pedagogies and classroom practices. His current research aims at developing effective instructional practices to promote disadvantaged students' literacy engagement and their learning of higher-order literacy skills. Clarence's research in these areas has won funding support from the Australian Research Council and the Department of Education, Queensland. He has published widely in these fields. His recent books, published by Springer, are Reforming Learning and Teaching in Asia-Pacific Universities (2016) and Improving Reading and Reading Engagement in the 21st Century (2017).

Brendan Bartlett, Ph.D., is Chair Professor of Education, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University. Brendan is a Gellibrand Scholar, UNICEF Fellow, King Mongkut Medallist, award holder of the Rotary International Certificate for Significant Achievement in Education and of the Australian Learning and Teaching Council for services to Education. His current research aims at providing clearer understanding and help to children and youth moving through important contexts in their lives. He has major research accomplishments with BoysTown on reconnecting youth with histories of chronic transition failure from school to employment and/or further studies. His work on top-level structuring has been used in Australia and the United States' whole-of-school strategic learning programs, in text mining systems and in statewide assessment of students' reading and writing achievement.

Stephen N. Elliott, Ph.D., is an educational psychologist and the Mickelson Foundation Professor in the Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics at Arizona State University. Steve has collaborated with numerous colleagues and students to author hundreds of research articles, books, and chapters focusing on ways to improve the social and academic performance of students at risk or with disabilities. He is also the author of several widely used assessments of children's social emotional skills and academic enabling behaviors. Over the past 40 years, his contributions to psychology and education have earned him recognition as a Fellow in the American Educational Research Association and Senior Scientist in the American Psychological Association.