Meet our Researchers: In Conversation with Professor Prashant Loyalka
Meet our Researchers: In Conversation with Professor Prashant Loyalka
We sat down with Professor Loyalka to learn more about his journey to Stanford, his passion for international comparative education and his advice for aspiring young researchers.
Professor Prashant Loyalka joined the Rural Education Action Program (REAP) over a decade ago, long before the Stanford Center on China’s Economy and Institutions (SCCEI) came into existence. Currently an integral member of SCCEI, REAP and Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, Professor Loyalka’s journey at Stanford began long before he was called “Professor”. We sat down with him to learn more about how he came to be a leading expert on international comparative education and his advice for aspiring young researchers.
The Journey to Becoming a Researcher
Q: What inspired you to pursue getting a PhD and becoming a professor and researcher?
A: I had the privilege of studying as an undergraduate and graduate student at Stanford. When I was studying for my PhD at the Graduate School of Education at Stanford, I had the chance to learn about and start conducting large-scale in-the-field studies that could have policy implications for the education systems of different countries. I continued this work as a faculty in a think tank in Beijing that was established by Peking University and the Ministries of Finance and Education in China. I later started working with the Rural Education Action Program at Stanford and have been fortunate since to work with a great team of collaborators that does cutting-edge research on education and health issues in China. Throughout, I have been profoundly grateful to be able to work on social and economic issues that touch people’s everyday lives. I get to see the inspiring efforts of parents, teachers, school administrators, policymakers, and nonprofits to improve the lives of children, especially disadvantaged children, all across the world and interact with these different stakeholders to learn about what might be most effective in improving education quality and equity.
Exploring Education as a Source of Transformation
Q: Your research primarily focuses on inequalities in the education of children and improving the quality of education received by children and youth in multiple countries including China, India, Russia, and the United States. What motivated you to focus on this area of research and these regions? What excites you about your research?
A: I was able to live in China for more than ten years and regard the many friends I have made there as family. I have also had the chance to form deep and lasting relationships with the people of India, Russia, and, of course, the United States. Yet, no matter the place, I am so excited by this area of research because education is about transformation, about bringing forth the vast potential of children and directing that towards the betterment of society. Children are a priceless treasure. The fact that I get to think about what can help individual kids find the gems in their hearts and minds is a real privilege.
I also think about the idea that what local communities decide to do or not do with regards to children determines the character of future society. So I am excited to understand effective ways that communities can bring out these capacities and direct them towards positive ends. Because education is so important for social mobility and social and economic opportunity, I am excited to understand how this can be done for all children and not just a portion of the society.
Read the SCCEI China Brief based off of Professor Loyalka's paper, "Skill Levels and Gains in University STEM Education in China, India, Russia and the United States", published in Nature Human Behaviour.
A New Approach: Meditation to Improve Well-being and Learning
Q: Can you share a bit about a future or upcoming study you hope to conduct on China?
A: I’m embarking on a new project with a team of researchers that aims to improve the well-being and learning of middle school students in China through mindfulness meditation. In today’s rapidly-changing world, young people face unique academic, social, and emotional challenges. Youth in a number of countries face mental health challenges on an unprecedented scale. And, as many of us know, poor mental health impacts academic progress and physical health, and can leave lasting imprints on young people’s lives. But one of the exciting interventions researchers are just beginning to explore is how mindfulness meditation may alleviate these pressures and improve student outcomes. Our study proposes using a randomized control trial to evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness meditation in improving student well-being and learning in China.
More specifically, we plan to randomly select and assign 200 classes of grade 7 and 8 students in China to one of two treatment arms: (a) treatment, receiving a short daily mindfulness meditation session, and (b) control, receiving no meditation session. The groups will be compared on standardized test scores in mathematics after the intervention, as well as on measures of anxiety, mindfulness, and well-being. To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first large-scale experimental evaluation of the impact of a mindfulness meditation intervention on middle school students’ mental and emotional health and learning. We’re hoping the results will be used to inform educational policymakers, scholars, and the larger public about the potential for integrating meditation into school curricula, as well as the ability to do this at scale and cost-effectively.
Advice for Aspiring Researchers
Q: Lastly, do you have any advice to give to a young researcher just beginning to explore pursuing research as a career?
A: I think it is important for a young researcher to learn to read the reality of the local context that they are studying. This means living and working in the area they are trying to study or at least engaging deeply with those involved in education (students, parents, teachers, administrators, etc.) on the ground. Based on that reading of reality, and in consultation with friends on the ground, the young researcher should then identify the problems and possible solutions to those problems. This will help them identify research questions that can gradually comprise a research agenda. Then I think it is important, in a humble posture of learning, to conduct research in a mode of action and reflection, continually updating your understanding of the problems in education and ways that communities and policymakers can use to address the problems. A young researcher that is always in the humble mode of continual learning will, I think, have a rich and rewarding research career.
Professor Prashant Loyalka’s journey and contributions to education research are founded in a well of genuine caring and are inspiring to current and future researchers alike. His dedication to improving education systems and addressing inequalities ensures that his work incites change and impacts countless children's lives worldwide.
