Education
Dr. Margaret Beier examines determinants of success in educational and work environments. In particular, she focuses on 1) improving educational experiences and outcomes for all students by focusing on barriers to success, and 2) helping all workers with continuous learning and development so they can remain productive and engaged throughout their working lifespan.
Dr. Tony Brown's research investigates how racism contributes to education and wealth disparities, and the failure of schools and universities to ensure students' upward mobility.
Professor Flávio Cunha's most recent research program focuses on human capital formation in early childhood. His current research focuses on public policy innovation to increase school readiness among disadvantaged children. As a Texas Policy Lab project, Cunha is conducting research to improve access to high-quality childcare in Harris County. Additionally, Cunha has been working with the State Government of Ceara in Brazil to implement and evaluate a home visitation program designed to reduce child abuse and neglect.
Dr. Simon Fischer-Baum’s research focuses on the cognitive and neural mechanisms of written language. He is currently studying how braille is read and written by students who are blind and by their teachers, who are typically sighted, to investigate some of the factors that underlie low rates of braille literacy among blind students.
Dr. Yinghua He studies education policies, especially, those governing school choice and college admissions. He has developed empirical methods to investigate the determinants of student preferences over schools from data on school application and admissions; these methods enable researchers to evaluate/predict the effects of various education policies, including affirmative action, expansions of schools choice, and investments in schools.
Dr. Chase Lesane-Brown’s research examines racial identity development and the process, content, and consequences of race socialization among black children. For example, she has investigated whether and when race socialization messages improve black children’s academic performance.
Dr. Ruth Lopez Turley focuses on research-practice partnerships, which connect education research directly with local education agencies in an effort to improve equity and close achievement gaps.
Dr. Melissa Marschall researches education policy, with a focus on school choice, parent involvement, language instruction policy, and most recently, newcomer programs and refugee resettlement.
Dr. Fred Oswald- Evaluating college admissions tests and systems for their fairness in terms of diversity, equity, and inclusion (associated with past research with ACT and College Board, new board work with ETS)
Dr. Anna Rhodes research examines the intersection of families’ school and residential choices, exploring the role of housing, neighborhood, and school contexts on children’s educational opportunities and outcomes.