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Mission | History | Testimonials | Facilities | College Guidance & Acceptances
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Research & Publications
Ben Franklin Academy is unusual among secondary schools in that its faculty
are actively engaged in research and writing projects that contribute to a
body of knowledge that informs their curriculum and pedagogical methods.
Dr. Wood Smethurst continues to conduct research and to write books and articles addressing his varied research interests. These include:
- the prediction and prevention of school failure
- teaching children who have difficulty learning in school
- study skills and their relationship to academic performance
- home teaching: the role of the family in the development of reading and cognitive skills
- the nature, extent and the development of literacy in America and the world
Three recent books by Dr. Smethurst and BFA faculty member Dr. Ron Luckie are discussed in the Publications section of this web site.
Dr.
Martha Burdette's research is more directly focused on narrative development
in adolescents and what their life stories tell us about a student's success
or failure to thrive in school. The purpose of our current research is to identify
and reverse the factors leading to school failure. Just as there are identifiable
stages in reading readiness and development in younger children, we are finding
that there are similar stages of development in a young adult's ability to
comprehend and structure narrative. Dr. Burdette's study focuses particularly
on adolescent autobiography and adolescent-generated fictive narratives. Because
narrative abilities are so crucial to a young person's success in senior high
school, college and career, we believe that our research on the form and content
of autobiographies and fictive narratives may help us understand
more fully why so many students drop out of school before graduation and develop
teaching methods to address their needs.
In addition to BFA faculty members, our research team has beenaided by members of the Department of Anthropology at Emory University. Our faculty research committee meets regularly to discuss on-going work, conducted both at BFA and at other research institutions. Current research involves a cross-cultural study on autobiography.
Finally, BFA faculty and administration, in coordination with Dr. John Powell, our Curriculum Consultant, read widely in educational scientific, and cultural literature, and often make suggestions as for the inclusion of articles and books in our reading list.
