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Faculty
Solving the most complex challenges in education requires faculty who can work across disciplines. HGSE professors conduct rigorous research and turn discoveries into transformative policies and practices to make a meaningful impact.
Our faculty expertise includes assessment and measurement, cognitive development, early childhood development, the economics of education, education policy, families and community, global education, higher education, human development, leadership and change management, teaching and learning, literacy and language development, organizational behavior, psychology, sociology of education, and technology and media.
Brion-Meisels' research seeks to explore partnerships between youth and adults that support both individual and collective development. She is particularly interested in using Youth Participatory Action Research to investigate and reform student support efforts.
Shawn Ginwright‘s work focuses on trauma, healing, and empowering African American youth. His research and introduction of the concept of "healing-centered engagement" has been instrumental in reshaping the discourse surrounding youth development.
Nancy Hill is a developmental psychologist whose research focuses on parenting and adolescent development.
Josephine Kim is an internationally recognized counselor, educator, author, and speaker with expertise in mental health and illness, multicultural diversity, immigrant and third culture identity, school and community counseling, family engagement and parenting, and child/adolescent development.
As a holistic professional counselor and supervisor, Huan-Tang Lu has worked in various settings, including schools, universities, rehabilitation centers, and private practice. His clinical expertise encompasses common social-emotional learning challenges youth face.
Alexis Redding is a developmental psychologist who focuses on how to support young adults during the college years and the transition to the workforce.
Adriana Umana-Taylor's work seeks to apply developmental science to reduce ethnic-racial disparities in psychological and academic adjustment.
Richard Weissbourd directs the Making Caring Common project at HGSE. He focuses on moral and social development and the promotion of caring and ethical communities.
Peter Blair is an economist who focuses on the link between the future of work and the future of education, labor market discrimination, occupational licensing, and residential segregation.
Karen Brennan directs the Creative Computing Lab at HGSE and focuses on the design of learning experiences in K–12 computer science to cultivate agency.
Catherine Elgin is a philosopher who works at the intersection of epistemology, aesthetics and the philosophy of science. She focuses on how science and art embody and advance understanding and how education enables us to learn from both the sciences and the arts.
Raquel Jimenez conducts interdisciplinary scholarship that draws from the fields of education and cultural studies to consider how people engage with artmaking practices to make sense of shifting sociopolitical landscapes.
A historian of politics and social movements, Timothy McCarthy teaches about equity and justice, brave communication and leadership, and race, gender, and sexuality.
Louisa Penfold is co-chair of the Arts and Learning Concentration. Her research and practice focus on contemporary art, early childhood education, and play-based learning across schools, museums, and public spaces.
As a university leader and a researcher, Drew Allen focuses on using data and analysis to support strategic planning in higher education.
Kathryn Parker Boudett directs the Data Wise Project at HGSE and focuses on supporting educators in working together effectively to improve learning and teaching.
Nadine Gaab’s work focuses on developmental cognitive neuroscience, particularly in language-based learning disabilities and reading development.
Alejandro Ganimian's research employs randomized controlled trials to answer questions that are of interest to both economists and psychologists studying education.
Andrew Ho is a psychometrician whose research aims to improve the design, use, and interpretation of test scores in educational policy and practice.
Richard Light explores ways to improve the undergraduate experience, showing how higher education can innovate and support student success.
Pamela Mason focuses on the role of culturally sustaining pedagogy in promoting literacy achievement, literacy assessment, and the efficacy of reading specialists and literacy coaches.
Joe McIntyre's interests include applying methods from statistics to questions in education, especially around measuring student experiences and questions related to gender and education.
Victor Pereira's focus is on teacher preparation, developing new teachers, and improving science teaching and learning in middle and high school classrooms.
Bertrand Schneider's interests include the development of educational interfaces (e.g., tangible, multitouch, pen/paper based) for collaborative learning in formal and informal learning environments.
Paola Ucelli studies socio-cultural and individual differences in the language development of multilingual and monolingual students.
Martin West studies the role of government in K-12 education policy and the impact of policy on student learning and non-cognitive development.
Tina Grotzer is a cognitive and learning scientist who studies learning in formal and informal contexts, with a focus on science education.
Noah Heller focuses on developing effective approaches to practice-based teacher education, teacher leadership and learning, and mathematics pedagogy.
In her research and teaching, Monica Higgins focuses on leadership development and organizational change, as well as helping entrepreneurial organizations grow.
Matt Miller oversees course and curriculum planning, support of initiatives for innovation in learning and teaching, and other ongoing academic priorities at the Ed School. He is committed to inclusive, evidence-based processes of deliberation and improvement in higher education settings.
Francesca Purcell is a specialist in higher education policy and practice, with expertise on topics including college completion, student transfer, and developmental education.
Mandy Savitz-Romer is an expert on school counseling and the conditions that are critical to effective practice, and she writes and speaks extensively on college and career readiness.
Joe Blatt is an expert in children's media, interested in the effects of media content and technology on development, learning, and civic behavior.
An expert in global education, Fernando Reimers focuses his work on building an understanding of how to educate children so they can thrive in the 21st century.
Laura Schifter teaches courses on federal policy and special education and is an expert on climate change and education.
Elizabeth Bonawitz bridges cognitive development and computational modeling, focusing on the basic science theories of learning with a goal of informing educational practice.
Liao Cheng is interested in understanding human development across cultures and its implications for education. She has published books on the intersection of education, psychology, and philosophy.
Paul Harris is interested in the early development of cognition, emotion, and imagination in children.
Charles Nelsons research includes developmental cognitive neuroscience, early experience on brain and behavioral development, and the effects of early biological insults and psychosocial adversity among typical children as well those at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.
Meredith Rowe's research focuses on young children's literacy and vocabulary development, particularly as it is influenced by communication between children and their caregivers.
Jon Star is an educational psychologist who studies children's learning of mathematics in middle and high school, particularly algebra. Star's current research explores the development of flexibility in mathematical problem solving.
Susan Dynarski is an economist whose research focuses on understanding and reducing inequality in education.
Professor Thomas Kane's work has spanned both K-12 and higher education, covering topics such as the design of school accountability systems, teacher recruitment and retention, financial aid for college, race-conscious college admissions and the earnings impacts of community colleges.
Jaein Lee's research interests focus on institutional practices and supports for first-generation low-income immigrants and students of color, with special focus on undocumented immigrant students.
Bridget Long is an economist who focuses on the transition from high school to higher education and beyond, examining the impact of affordability and academic preparation on student outcomes.
Sebastian Munoz-Najar is a sociologist of science who uses computational linguistics and network analysis to study the ebb and flow of research agendas.
Julie Reuben studies the history of American education, focusing on the intersection of culture, politics, and society and the development of educational institutions.
Stephanie Jones focuses on the effects of poverty and exposure to violence on children’s development and assesses the impact of social-emotional learning interventions.
Junlei Li's research and practice focuses on understanding and empowering human relationships across developmental contexts.
Jacqueline Zeller's clinical interests focus on self-care and systems of care — including prevention and intervention efforts in schools and promoting resiliency in children. She has worked as a therapist in a variety of settings, including residential and day treatment centers, outpatient clinics, and schools.
Gabrielle Oliveira’s research is on immigration and mobility — how people move, adapt, and parent across borders, with expertise that merges anthropology and education.
As director of the Center on the Developing Child, Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D., is using the science of early childhood development to drive innovation in policy and practice, with the goal of transforming life outcomes for disadvantaged children and reducing the consequences of early adversity.
Candice Bocala explores the connections between educator learning and organizational conditions that support collaborative work.
Jennifer Cheatham focuses on leading for equity and transformational change in urban school districts, with expertise that includes creating instructional coherence and cultivating strong teams.
Sarah Dryden-Peterson focuses on connections between education and community development, specifically the role of education in building peaceful societies.
Aaliyah El-Amin's interests include liberatory education models, social justice schooling, critical pedagogy and youth participatory action research.
Jarvis Givens studies the history of American education, African American history, and the relationship between race and power in schools.
Houman Harouni's work combines psychology, philosophy, political economy, and pedagogy to addresses the potential of institutions for maintaining or changing social relations.
HGSE librarian and head of Gutman Library, Alex Hodges’ research and teaching focuses on the integration of information and critical literacies into K-12 and post-secondary curricula.
Meira Levinson is a normative political philosopher who works at the intersection of civic education, youth empowerment, racial justice, and educational ethics.
Mary Grassa O'Neill is a specialist in school and district management and leadership, professional development for principals, and leading for equity and diversity.
Ebony Perouse-Harvey's main research interests and teaching practice center around the creation of professional development that supports both special and general educators in recognizing the impact of the intersectionalities of race, class, gender, and (dis)ability in their classrooms and special education practices during the referral, support, and transition phases of the special education process.
Carola Suárez-Orozco directs the Immigration Initiative at Harvard and focuses her work on young people's experience of immigration.
As an ethnic studies instructor, Christina "V" Villarreal's research explores enactments of humanizing pedagogies, racial literacy, and radical healing.
Hadas Eidelman focuses on special education policy, developmental process, and data analysis and statistical methods.
James Kim is an expert on literacy intervention and experimental design. He generates policy-relevant research that is aimed at supporting struggling readers.
Nonie Lesaux focuses on promoting the language and literacy skills of children from diverse linguistic, cultural and economic backgrounds.
Dana Charles McCoy's work focuses on understanding the ways that poverty-related risk factors in children's home, school, and neighborhood environments affect the development of their cognitive and socioemotional skills in early childhood.
Luke Miratrix is a statistician who explores how to best use modern statistical methods in applied social science contexts.
Catherine Snow is an expert on language and literacy development in children, focusing on how oral language skills are acquired and how they relate to literacy outcomes.
Ying Xu's research stands at the intersection of education, psychology, and human-computer interaction, focusing on the design and evaluation of technologies that promote language and literacy development, STEM learning, and wellbeing for children and families.
James Honan's research and teaching interests include financial management of nonprofit organizations, organizational performance measurement and management, and higher-education administration.
A policy expert who served as the Secretary of Education for Massachusetts, Paul Reville is founder and director of the Education Redesign Lab at HGSE.
Emiliana Vegas focuses her research and practice on improving educational opportunity in developing countries.
Frank Barnes is faculty director of the Doctor of Education Leadership Program. He has over 30 years experience as an educator, researcher, and organizer. As a chief accountability officer, he led turnaround efforts for large public school districts, including Boston Public Schools and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Ebony Bridwell-Mitchell’s research is on leadership, management, and organizations, exploring how organizational factors affect the success of public school reform.
Carrie Conaway is an expert on strategic planning in education, data and resource use, evidence-based decision making, and connections between research and practice.
Heather Hill studies policies and programs to improve teaching quality. Research interests include teacher professional development and instructional coaching.
Karen Mapp's research and practice focus is on the cultivation of partnerships among families, community members, and educators that support student achievement and school improvement.
Jal Mehta is a sociologist who focuses on how to remake the American system of education, with emphasis on the professionalization of teaching and on developing purpose for both children and adults.
Melanie Rucinski studies K-12 education policy with a focus on teacher labor markets and inequality in education.
Eric Taylor studies the economics of education, with a particular interest in employer-employee interactions between schools and teachers hiring and firing decisions, job design, training, and performance evaluation.
Through work on strategy, instructional improvement, and the future of learning, Liz City develops leaders with the skills, imagination, and collaboration necessary to build and re-build systems that serve each and every child well.
A former teacher, principal, assistant superintendent, chief academic officer, and foundation leader, Irvin Scott's focus is on education leadership and faith-based education.
David Dockterman supports, develops, and implements research-driven innovative practices to tackle challenging educational problems.
Angela Jackson's research focuses broadly on the economics of workforce development, education, and labor markets.
Phil Capin's research focuses on improving reading instruction and assessment for children, particularly those with or at risk for reading disabilities.
Vesall Nourani’s research explores the roles of knowledge and learning in economic activity across sub-Saharan Africa.
Bianca Baldridge focuses on community-based education and critical youth work practice, examining the confluence of race, class, and gender and their impact on educational reforms.
Judith Block McLaughlin’s work focuses on leadership and governance in higher education.
A teacher and a teacher educator, Eric Shed focuses on history and civics instruction and how to develop civically minded students.
Danielle Allen is a political theorist who has published broadly in democratic theory, political sociology, and the history of political thought.