NHSEB Impact Study
2023-2024 NHSEB Impact Study
After some promising early data collection last year, we’re excited to announce that for the 2023-2024 academic year, the Parr Center for Ethics will be conducting a new study to investigate how participating in the National High School Ethics Bowl affects students’ intellectual and interpersonal traits. We thank you in advance for your consideration and participation, and for your help in learning more about the traits and dispositions our activity fosters. Official communications about the study for participants will be handled by one of the project leaders, Dr. Michael Vazquez (michael.vazquez@unc.edu).
Please complete this form to indicate your interest in the study.
About/FAQ
Who can participate in the Impact Study?
Any high school student in the United States who is at a school that participates in the National High School Ethics Bowl, regardless of whether those students are themselves involved with the program. We hope to recruit groups of students, whether that is NHSEB teams, teams from another extracurricular club or activity, or an entire classroom.
What does participation look like?
Participation involves completing four online surveys (about 5-20 minutes), completed at two-week intervals between October and December. These can be completed in class or on participating students’ own time. The study design requires two groups of students at each school: some NHSEB-participating students and some non-NHSEB students. Teachers may recruit both groups individually or by partnering with other teachers—whichever is most convenient. Students will need parental permission to participate. Our parental consent form can be completed online and shared with students well in advance of administering the first survey.
The timeline will be:
- Survey 1: October 13
- Survey 2: October 27
- Survey 3: November 10
- Survey 4: November 24
Why should my students participate in this research?
This study is a simple way to help the Parr Center improve the National High School Ethics Bowl and advance its mission. In addition, thanks to new financial support from the John Templeton Foundation, we are pleased to be able to offer participation incentives. One designated teacher at each participating school will receive a $125 gift card. In addition, we can offer $8 per participating student, intended to sponsor a pizza party (or other celebratory activity) for those students.
How can I get involved?
Please complete this form to indicate your interest in the study, or email our Study Coordinator, Michael Vazquez. You may also reach out to us with any questions or concerns you may have about the study design, student participation, etc.
We are grateful to the Intellectual Humility Science project at Georgia State University and the John Templeton Foundation for their generous support for this study.
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Team
Michael Prinzing, Ph.D. // Project Co-Lead PI & Consulting Research Scientist
Michael Prinzing is a philosopher and scientist who studies human flourishing. That is, his research integrates empirical and philosophical methods, with the aim of better understanding what it means to be well and live a good life. Michael received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2022 and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Baylor University. Along with others at the Parr Center, Michael is organizing a quasi-experimental study to investigate how philosophy outreach programs might promote intellectual and civic virtues.
Michael Vazquez, Ph.D. // Project Co-Lead PI & Director of Outreach
Michael Vazquez is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Director of Outreach at the Parr Center for Ethics. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania and specializes in ancient philosophy and the philosophy of education. He is committed to forging lasting, democratic, and collaborative partnerships between the academy and the community, and to cultivating the philosophical voices of people of all ages. In addition to the Executive Committee of the National High School Ethics Bowl, he serves on the Public Philosophy Committee of the American Philosophical Association (APA) and the Academic Advisory Board of the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO). He is also a lecturer in Penn’s Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.
Kaitlyn Burnell, Ph.D. // Winston National Center on Technology Use, Brain and Psychological Development
Kaitlyn Burnell is a Research Assistant Professor with the . She received her Ph.D. in Psychological Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas, with a concentration in developmental psychology. Her research adapts a developmental focus to study how adolescents and emerging adults use digital technologies, including social media and smartphones. Kaitlyn’s research examines the associations between digital technology use and a wide array of psychosocial outcomes, including well-being and mental health, body image, and risky behavior such as substance use. She has a special interest in applying cutting edge methodological approaches to study these linkages, such as the use of passive sensing, eye-tracking, and observational coding.
Alex Richardson, Ph.D. // Director, National High School Ethics Bowl
Alex Richardson has been Director of the National High School Ethics Bowl since 2019. A philosopher working at the intersections of ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of education, Alex is an award-winning teacher and an advocate for public and pre-college philosophy pedagogy. His research interests are varied, but as of late concern issues in moral and civic education. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2021, where he wrote a dissertation on the liberal virtue of civility and its role in the non-ideal politics of democratic societies like our own. In addition to his work at the Parr Center, Alex teaches in the Department of Philosophy at Elon University. Alex also serves on Boards of Directors for the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics and Ethics Bowl Canada.
UNC IRB Study #23-2010. For more information, contact irb_questions@unc.edu.