UJET members will provide forums and training to build collaboration between journalists and educators and to encourage public dialogue around the critical issues of media and education in Utah in order to accomplish the following goals.
UJET's overarching goal is to develop a public that is more informed about important educational issues.
UJET was formed in 2005 in response to a request from the Institute of Educational Inquiry to several university-public school partnerships across the nation. Each was invited to develop teams of media personnel and educators for the IEI research initiative titled Journalism, Education, and the Public Good. The IEI is an independent, nonprofit corporation with conceptual and administrative links to the Center for Educational Renewal (CER) in the College of Education at the University of Washington. The David O. McKay School of Education is part of a public school partnership that is affiliated with the CER. As such, staff within the McKay School facilitated the initial organization of UJET.
The Institute for Educational Inquiry is extensively involved in professional development programs that cover a wide range of educational issues that bring together PreK-12 districts, colleges of education, and university arts and science programs. The professional development programs of the IEI are diverse, including long-term programs to expand diversity in teaching and teacher education programs; to integrate the arts into the preparation of all elementary classroom teachers; to develop leadership skills of faculty within schools, colleges of education, and the arts and sciences; to establish greater understanding between journalists and educators; and others. For more information about IEI and the research initiative on journalism and education, please visit the IEI web site.