Archived News – June 2015
Jun
30
2015
June 29, 2015
Congregation size has an impact on how people view the reasons for racial inequality in America, according to a new study by researchers at Baylor University and the University of Southern California. Those who attend very large congregations do not tend to attribute social divisions between blacks and whites to discrimination, but to something other than structural failings in society. Kevin Dougherty, Ph.D., and Jerry Z. Park, Ph.D., associate professors of sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, co-authored "Congregational Size and Attitudes toward Racial Inequality among Church Attendees in America," published in the journal Religions. (Terry Goodrich, assistant director of Baylor Media Communications, pitched and placed this story. She covers sociology research and faculty.)
Congregation size has an impact on how people view the reasons for racial inequality in America, according to a new study by researchers at Baylor University and the University of Southern California. Those who attend very large congregations do not tend to attribute social divisions between blacks and whites to discrimination, but to something other than structural failings in society. Kevin Dougherty, Ph.D., and Jerry Z. Park, Ph.D., associate professors of sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, co-authored "Congregational Size and Attitudes toward Racial Inequality among Church Attendees in America," published in the journal Religions. (Terry Goodrich, assistant director of Baylor Media Communications, pitched and placed this story. She covers sociology research and faculty.)
Jun
30
2015
June 29, 2015
This article mentions a 2013 Baylor study of 389 U.S. congregations that had attracted and retained people from diverse races and ethnic groups. But even in churches with a nearly perfect three-way ethnic split – with the largest racial group making up 35 percent of the congregation – members of “out-groups” felt they didn’t belong. The study was led by sociologist Brandon C. Martinez, a doctoral candidate in the College of Arts & Sciences, and published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. (Terry Goodrich, assistant director of Baylor Media Communications, pitched the story about the study to national media outlets when it was released. She covers sociology research and faculty.)
This article mentions a 2013 Baylor study of 389 U.S. congregations that had attracted and retained people from diverse races and ethnic groups. But even in churches with a nearly perfect three-way ethnic split – with the largest racial group making up 35 percent of the congregation – members of “out-groups” felt they didn’t belong. The study was led by sociologist Brandon C. Martinez, a doctoral candidate in the College of Arts & Sciences, and published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. (Terry Goodrich, assistant director of Baylor Media Communications, pitched the story about the study to national media outlets when it was released. She covers sociology research and faculty.)
Jun
29
2015
June 28, 2015
Students tend to learn and perform better in an informal environment, says Kevin Dougherty, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, who reshaped "test days" in his class into “learning celebrations.” Students scored better during the celebrations — which included balloons, streamers, treats, music and multiple-choice questions featuring other students — than did students who took standard-style exams in previous semesters. Dougherty’s essay was published in “Teaching/Learning Matters.” (Terry Goodrich, assistant director of Baylor Media Communications, pitched and placed this story. She covers sociology research and faculty.)
Students tend to learn and perform better in an informal environment, says Kevin Dougherty, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, who reshaped "test days" in his class into “learning celebrations.” Students scored better during the celebrations — which included balloons, streamers, treats, music and multiple-choice questions featuring other students — than did students who took standard-style exams in previous semesters. Dougherty’s essay was published in “Teaching/Learning Matters.” (Terry Goodrich, assistant director of Baylor Media Communications, pitched and placed this story. She covers sociology research and faculty.)
Jun
26
2015
WACO, Texas (June 26, 2015) — A Baylor sociologist who reshaped “test day” in his class — transforming it with balloons, streamers, treats and music — found that students in “learning celebrations” scored higher than students who took standard-style exams in previous semesters.