Our research projects combine basic research, the development of methodologies for the study of diverse families and youth, the training of graduate students and post-docs, dissemination of research findings via traditional scholarly outlets (journals, books, and scholarly lectures), presentations to educators and policy makers, as well as systematic media outreach.
Active Projects
Re-Imagining Migration
Co-Founders: Carola Suárez-Orozco & Marcelo Suárez-Orozco
An organization created to foster understanding and the successful inclusion of migrant youth across the globe. By providing resources and training to educators, we equip them to engage the children of migration and their peers to learn from one another in reflective learning environments. The goal of our work is to empower students to become ethical, engaged, and active civic participants in our interconnected world. Click here for more information.
Systematically Examining Teacher Enactments of Bias with MET Data Funded by the Spencer Foundation
Principal Investigator: Carola Suárez-Orozco, Ph.D.
To date, we know little about the nature of bias in primary and secondary classrooms—how it unfolds, the frequency of occurrence, its targets, under what circumstances, and its potential effects on classroom climate. The aim of this research is to systematically bring conceptual clarity to several potential forms of classroom enactments of bias including: classroom sanctioning (positive & negative); relationships (enhancing & detracting interactions); instruction (engaging & unengaging); as well as cultural responsiveness.
National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE)
Principal Investigator: Robert Teranishi, Ph.D.
The National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE) identifies and examines key issues affecting Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) access and success in U.S. higher education.
The UndocuScholars Project
Co-Principal Investigators: Robert Teranishi, Ph.D. & Carola Suárez-Orozco, Ph.D.
This national survey focused on the college experiences of undergraduate UndocuScholar students. Its goals were to expand knowledge about the range of UndocuScholars’ experiences in order to challenge false assumptions and damaging misperceptions, and to use this knowledge to better inform on-campus practice and services as well as local and national public policy.
Archived Projects
Disrupting Narratives of Social Exclusion for Immigrant Children & Youth
Authors: Carola Suárez-Orozco, Ph.D., Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, Ph.D., & Robert Teranishi, Ph.D.
The project was made possible with funding from the Ford Foundation. We wish to thank Adam Strom (from Facing History and Ourselves), Minas Michikyan, Janet Cerda, Olivia Osei-Twumasi, Edwin Hernández, & Cynthia Alcantar for their thoughtful feedback to iterations of this Report.
Pathways to Opportunities: Promising Practices for Immigrant Children, Youth & Their Families
Authors: Carola Suárez-Orozco, Ph.D., Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, Ph.D., & Robert Teranishi, Ph.D.
In this report, we consider promising practices for addressing the challenge of integrating immigrant children, youth, and their families into their new societies. Mass migration is touching every corner of the earth. For some countries, the story of immigration is as old as their founding; for others, the experience of receiving large numbers of foreigners is entirely novel. Immigrant populations vary dramatically across countries in their number and proportion and in their geographical, national, ethnic, religious, and linguistic origins. At the same time, there is a convergence of experience among various nation-states, as the steady flow of migrants across borders and into the institutional and social structures of society demands a public response.
Longitudinal Immigrant Student Adaptation (LISA) Study
Co-Principal Investigators: Carola Suárez-Orozco, Ph.D. & Marcelo Suárez-Orozco, Ph.D.
This large scale, interdisciplinary, longitudinal, and comparative study, funded by the National Science Foundation, W.T. Grant Foundation, and Spencer Foundation, clarifies the relationships between immigration, family life and education by addressing the various ways in which schools and other institutions are changing the lives of newcomer immigrant youth. This data set has been the foundation of many publications (including Harvard University Press’ Learning a New Land: Immigrant Students in American Society) as well as numerous scholarly articles and dissertations.
