Candid conversations with giants of education scholarship

Maybe you’ve heard of the TV show, “Inside the Actors Studio”? The show, hosted by James Lipton, airs on Bravo. The premise: A one-on-one interview with Lipton featuring actors, writers, directors and other entertainment figures discussing their craft.

“I used to watch that show,” Professor Audrey Amrein-Beardsley says, adding, “and I thought, how cool would it be to highlight the icons in education in the same way?” With the help of her mentor, David Berliner, Regents Professor Emeritus and research professor, and the support of former MLFTC Dean Mari Koerner, Amrein-Beardsley created Inside the Academy of Education.

Amrein-Beardsley says, “The main goal was to give access to people who would normally not have access to these icons in education — in terms of their personal histories, professional histories and research histories, and the impact they’ve had on the field of education via their scholarship.”

Each member of Inside the Academy is selected from a pool of over 200 education scholars in the National Academy of Education. Berliner was the first guest interviewed by Amrein-Beardsley in 2009 and since then she’s interviewed 25 more education scholars. More than 250 people attended Berliner’s interview, which was held at ASU. But because members are sprinkled all over the United States, the Inside the Academy team now travels to members to conduct the interviews, typically completing two interviews per year.

“We talk about personal histories, what inspired the honorees in school, their family backgrounds, funny and inspirational stories related to education, their professional expertise and key impacts on the education profession,” Amrein-Beardsley says.

“It’s really special and dear to my heart to honor these people and help their legacies live on,” says Amrein-Beardsley.

See Inside the Academy of Education’s new website and watch the videos of the honorees.