Simone Ispa-Landa | Northwestern University (original) (raw)

Papers by Simone Ispa-Landa

Research paper thumbnail of Black masculinity

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Removing the Criminal Record from Public View: Low-Wage Labor and the Enactment of a Good Self

Research paper thumbnail of Students Bussed to Affluent Suburban Schools

Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. ... more Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. Using a rela-tional approach, I analyzed ethnographic and interview data from male and female black adolescents in Grades 8 through 10 enrolled in ‘‘Diversify,’ ’ an urban-to-suburban racial integration program (n = 38).1 Suburban students (n = 7) and Diversify coordinators (n = 9) were also interviewed. All the bussed students, male and female, were racially stereotyped. Yet as a group, the Diversify boys were welcomed in suburban social cliques, even as they were constrained to enacting race and gender in narrow ways. In contrast, the Diversify girls were stereotyped as ‘‘ghetto’ ’ and ‘‘loud’ ’ and excluded. In discussing these findings, the cur-rent study extends previous research on black girls ’ ‘‘loudness,’ ’ identifies processes of racialization and gen-dering within a set of wealthy suburban schools, and offers new theoretical directions for the study of racially integrated sett...

Research paper thumbnail of Men on the Margins of Family Life: Fathers in Russia

This reviews the latest research on fathering from every continent, from cultures representing ov... more This reviews the latest research on fathering from every continent, from cultures representing over 50 per cent of the world\u27s population. International experts on 14 societies and regions discuss cultural and historical influences, variations between and within cultures, and socio economic conditions and policies that impact fathering. Contributors from several disciplines provide reviews of the empirical data to help us gain an understanding of fathering worldwide. Over 1,000 studies on fathering published in languages other than English are made accessible to readers around the world. The cultures were selected based on availability of substantial research on fathering; representation of worldwide geography; a balance between large, middle, and small populations; and significance for a global understanding of fathering. Each chapter features personal case stories, photos, and maps to help readers create an engaging picture for each culture. Empirical evidence is blended with the authors\u27 expert opinions providing a comprehensive view of what it is like to be a father in each culture. The book opens by explaining theoretical and methodological underpinnings of research on fathers. The main chapters are then organized by world regions including Asia and the Middle East, Africa, North and South America, Europe, and Australia. The conclusions chapter integrates and compares all the chapters and makes suggestions for future research

Research paper thumbnail of Reciprocity, Truth-Telling, and Power in Qualitative Data Exchanges

Research paper thumbnail of Russian Preferred Self-Image and the Two Chechen Wars

Demokratizatsiya, Mar 22, 2003

Research paper thumbnail of Legitimizing Family Management: The Role of Adolescents' Understandings of Risk

Journal of Marriage and Family, 2016

Few studies use the kinds of rich qualitative data that permit the analyst to probe for the numer... more Few studies use the kinds of rich qualitative data that permit the analyst to probe for the numerous ways that contextual demands could explain adolescents' interpretations of the socialization processes within their families. Using inductive techniques, the author analyzed Black adolescents' (N = 64) interpretations of their parents' expectations and rules. Several findings emerged. First, agreeing with parents' assessments of risk was critical to participants' acceptance of family management. Second, participants legitimized their parents' practices as helping them avoid the risks of getting in trouble with the law, acquiring a disreputable identity, and failing to ascend the class ladder. Third, boys and girls legitimized different expectations and rules because they experienced and assessed risks in gender-specific ways. The author argues that adolescents bring an understanding of risk to bear on their interpretations of family life and uses these findings to develop a grounded concept of legitimizing parents' controlling practices. Adolescents and their parents differ in their views about where the limits of parental authority should be drawn. Indeed, across ethnicities,

Research paper thumbnail of “Once You Go to a White School, You Kind of Adapt”: Black Adolescents and the Racial Classification of Schools

Sociology of Education

Studies of when youth classify academic achievement in racial terms have focused on the racial cl... more Studies of when youth classify academic achievement in racial terms have focused on the racial classification of behaviors and individuals. However, institutions-including schools-may also be racially classified. Drawing on a comparative interview study, we examine the school contexts that prompt urban black students to classify schools in racial terms. Through Diversify, a busing program, one group of black students attended affluent suburban schools with white-dominated achievement hierarchies (n = 38). Diversify students assigned schools to categories of whiteness or blackness that equated whiteness with achievement and blackness with academic deficiency. Students waitlisted for Diversify (n = 16) attended urban schools without white-dominated achievement hierarchies. These students did not classify schools as white or black, based on academic quality. We assert that scholars may productively conceive of schools, not just individual students, as sites of potential racial classification. Furthermore, the racial classification of schools reinforces antagonism between black students attending ''white'' and ''black'' schools and perpetuates harmful racial stereotypes.

Research paper thumbnail of Indefinite Punishment and the Criminal Record: Stigma Reports Among Expungement-Seekers in Illinois*

Criminology, 2016

Although criminal records in the United States are more publicly accessible than ever before, we ... more Although criminal records in the United States are more publicly accessible than ever before, we lack knowledge about how record-bearers seek to overcome the negative consequences associated with a visible criminal record as they apply for jobs, housing, and financial aid. Furthermore, although criminal histories record all arrests-and not just those that result in conviction-researchers have yet to compare how those with more extensive versus minor criminal records cope with criminal record stigma. We present interview data from a comparative study of expungement-seekers (N = 53) who have petitioned the courts to remove their criminal records from public view. One group had extensive criminal records (46 percent); the other group had more minor criminal records (54 percent). Several key findings emerged. First, both groups of participants tried, but failed, to persuade potential employers and landlords to overlook the criminal record. They also faced restricted educational opportunity. Second, participants in both groups expressed distress that criminal justice contact could follow them throughout their lives, subjecting them to ongoing stigma. However, those with extensive versus minor criminal records offered different rationales explaining why the visible criminal record history unfairly burdened them. Implications for reintegration theory and policy are discussed. * The authors presented this article at the 69th annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology and at the Human Development & Social Policy Colloquium at Northwestern University. We are grateful to the Crime Lab at the University of Chicago for supporting this research through a postdoctoral position held by the second author during data collection. We thank Rosemary Gartner, Gary Fine, Heather Schoenfeld, Chana Teeger, Mesmin Destin, Elizabeth Debraggio, and Jonathan Guryan for constructive feedback on previous drafts, as well as Eric Brown and Morgan Purrier for their help with data collection.

Research paper thumbnail of Gender, Race, and Justifications for Group Exclusion

Sociology of Education, 2013

Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. ... more Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. Using a relational approach, I analyzed ethnographic and interview data from male and female black adolescents in Grades 8 through 10 enrolled in ‘‘Diversify,’’ an urban-to-suburban racial integration program ( n = 38).1Suburban students ( n = 7) and Diversify coordinators ( n = 9) were also interviewed. All the bussed students, male and female, were racially stereotyped. Yet as a group, the Diversify boys were welcomed in suburban social cliques, even as they were constrained to enacting race and gender in narrow ways. In contrast, the Diversify girls were stereotyped as ‘‘ghetto’’ and ‘‘loud’’ and excluded. In discussing these findings, the current study extends previous research on black girls’ ‘‘loudness,’’ identifies processes of racialization and gendering within a set of wealthy suburban schools, and offers new theoretical directions for the study of racially integrated settings.

Research paper thumbnail of RACE, GENDER AND EMOTION WORK AMONG SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

Researchers have highlighted how gendered associations of femininity with emotional labor can com... more Researchers have highlighted how gendered associations of femininity with emotional labor can complicate professional women's attempts to exercise managerial authority. However, current understandings of how race and gender intersect in professional women's emotional labor remain limited. We draw on 132 interviews from eight white women and 13 women of color who are novice principals. White women began the principalship wanting to establish themselves as emotionally supportive leaders who were open to others' influence. They viewed emotional labor as existing in tension with showing authority as a leader. Over time, however, most white women reported adopting more directive practices. By contrast, women of color reported beginning the principalship with a more directive, take-charge leadership style. They viewed emotional labor and authority as part of a blended project and did not talk about these two aspects of leadership as existing in tension. Over time, their self-reported leadership style changed little. We analyze our findings in light of recent theorizing about gender and intersectionality.

Research paper thumbnail of Bussed to Affluent Suburban Schools Gender , Race , and Justifications for Group Exclusion : Urban Black Students

Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. ... more Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. Using a relational approach, I analyzed ethnographic and interview data from male and female black adolescents in Grades 8 through 10 enrolled in ‘‘Diversify,’’ an urban-to-suburban racial integration program (n = 38). Suburban students (n = 7) and Diversify coordinators (n = 9) were also interviewed. All the bussed students, male and female, were racially stereotyped. Yet as a group, the Diversify boys were welcomed in suburban social cliques, even as they were constrained to enacting race and gender in narrow ways. In contrast, the Diversify girls were stereotyped as ‘‘ghetto’’ and ‘‘loud’’ and excluded. In discussing these findings, the current study extends previous research on black girls’ ‘‘loudness,’’ identifies processes of racialization and gendering within a set of wealthy suburban schools, and offers new theoretical directions for the study of racially integrated settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Hybrid Femininities: Making Sense of Sorority Rankings and Reputation

Gender & Society

Gender researchers have only recently begun to identify how women perceive and explain the costs ... more Gender researchers have only recently begun to identify how women perceive and explain the costs and benefits associated with different femininities. Yet status hierarchies among historically white college sororities are explicit and cannot be ignored, forcing sorority women to grapple with constructions of feminine worth. Drawing on interviews with women in these sororities (N = 53), we are able to capture college women’s attitudes toward status rankings that prioritize adherence to narrow models of gender complementarity. Sorority chapters were ranked according to women’s perceived heterosexual appeal to elite men. Women believed that top-ranked sororities conferred social power whereas middle- and bottom-ranked sororities offered greater freedom from policing over members’ bodies, fashion, and socializing. However, middle- and bottom-ranked sororities sometimes sought to rise in the rankings. When this occurred, existing members were marginalized, and a new pledge class with a gr...

Research paper thumbnail of The Gender Revolution on Greek Row

Contexts

How has the gender revolution impacted the campus Greek world? Interviews with women in sororitie... more How has the gender revolution impacted the campus Greek world? Interviews with women in sororities from the 1970s and today point to both continuity and change. Citing their sexism and segregation of white and wealthy students, alumna of sororities at elite universities have begun social movements to abolish the Greek system.

Research paper thumbnail of Reading routines: strategies of recall in graduate education

Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education

Purpose This study aims to explore how graduate students in the social sciences develop reading a... more Purpose This study aims to explore how graduate students in the social sciences develop reading and note-taking routines. Design/methodology/approach Using a professional socialization framework drawing on grounded theory, this study draws on a snowball sample of 36 graduate students in the social sciences at US universities. Qualitative interviews were conducted to learn about graduate students’ reading and note-taking techniques. Findings This study uncovered how doctoral students experienced the shift from undergraduate to graduate training. Graduate school requires students to adopt new modes of reading and note-taking. However, students lacked explicit mentorship in these skills. Once they realized that the goal was to enter an academic conversation to produce knowledge, they developed new reading and note-taking routines by soliciting and implementing suggestions from advanced doctoral students and faculty mentors. Research limitations/implications The specific requirements of...

Research paper thumbnail of Principals in Urban Schools Under Pressure: Relations With Parents in the Era of Test-Based Accountability

Urban Education

We conducted an inductive analysis of 166 interviews from a longitudinal study of 26 Chicago Publ... more We conducted an inductive analysis of 166 interviews from a longitudinal study of 26 Chicago Public School principals. Test-based accountability pressures played a visible role in principals’ views of and relations with parents. Some principals reported banning parents from classrooms based on the need to protect instructional time to raise test scores; others thought more parental involvement would help their school reach its academic goals. Viewing principals in urban schools as street-level bureaucrats who have discretion in how they implement policy demands offers a way to understand variation in principals’ decisions about parent involvement.

Research paper thumbnail of Persistently Harsh Punishments Amid Efforts to Reform: Using Tools From Social Psychology to Counteract Racial Bias in School Disciplinary Decisions

Educational Researcher

In response to concerns about overly harsh and racially inequitable school discipline, schools ha... more In response to concerns about overly harsh and racially inequitable school discipline, schools have introduced disciplinary reforms. However, even in schools where these reformative programs are present, many students continue to be subject to developmentally inappropriate discipline and striking racial gaps in disciplinary outcomes persist. Teachers’ implicit racial bias likely contributes to racial disparities in school discipline. In this article, I highlight two social psychological skills—perspective-taking and individuating—that have been found to reduce the effects of implicit bias in nonschool settings. I suggest that if developed in educators, these social psychological skills could also help reduce racial disparities in school discipline. I discuss implications for future research and policy.

Research paper thumbnail of Believing in a Positive Future as a Form of Stigma Resistance: Narratives of Denied Expungement-Seekers

Research paper thumbnail of Race, Gender, and Emotion Work among School Principals

Gender & Society

Researchers have highlighted how gendered associations of femininity with emotional labor can com... more Researchers have highlighted how gendered associations of femininity with emotional labor can complicate professional women’s attempts to exercise managerial authority. However, current understandings of how race and gender intersect in professional women’s emotional labor remain limited. We draw on 132 interviews from eight white women and 13 women of color who are novice principals. White women began the principalship wanting to establish themselves as emotionally supportive leaders who were open to others’ influence. They viewed emotional labor as existing in tension with showing authority as a leader. Over time, however, most white women reported adopting more directive practices. By contrast, women of color reported beginning the principalship with a more directive, take-charge leadership style. They viewed emotional labor and authority as part of a blended project and did not talk about these two aspects of leadership as existing in tension. Over time, their self-reported lead...

Research paper thumbnail of Racial and Gender Inequality and School Discipline: Toward a More Comprehensive View of School Policy

Social Currents

Researchers often examine how a single policy is implemented, without considering the role that o... more Researchers often examine how a single policy is implemented, without considering the role that other policies and programs may play in how that policy is understood and enacted. For instance, current scholarship on school discipline rarely considers that in many schools, multiple disciplinary channels coexist. For example, to counter harsh and racially disproportionate punishment in schools, many school districts have established restorative justice programs. However, restorative justice programs are frequently introduced into schools that also maintain more authoritarian practices, including the presence of police officers with the power to arrest students. In other words, rather than supplanting punitive practices, restorative justice practices tend to coexist with them. In this article, I describe how the coexistence of these two different channels for dealing with student misbehavior could deepen race and gender disproportionality in punishment. In so doing, I sketch a program ...

Research paper thumbnail of Black masculinity

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Removing the Criminal Record from Public View: Low-Wage Labor and the Enactment of a Good Self

Research paper thumbnail of Students Bussed to Affluent Suburban Schools

Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. ... more Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. Using a rela-tional approach, I analyzed ethnographic and interview data from male and female black adolescents in Grades 8 through 10 enrolled in ‘‘Diversify,’ ’ an urban-to-suburban racial integration program (n = 38).1 Suburban students (n = 7) and Diversify coordinators (n = 9) were also interviewed. All the bussed students, male and female, were racially stereotyped. Yet as a group, the Diversify boys were welcomed in suburban social cliques, even as they were constrained to enacting race and gender in narrow ways. In contrast, the Diversify girls were stereotyped as ‘‘ghetto’ ’ and ‘‘loud’ ’ and excluded. In discussing these findings, the cur-rent study extends previous research on black girls ’ ‘‘loudness,’ ’ identifies processes of racialization and gen-dering within a set of wealthy suburban schools, and offers new theoretical directions for the study of racially integrated sett...

Research paper thumbnail of Men on the Margins of Family Life: Fathers in Russia

This reviews the latest research on fathering from every continent, from cultures representing ov... more This reviews the latest research on fathering from every continent, from cultures representing over 50 per cent of the world\u27s population. International experts on 14 societies and regions discuss cultural and historical influences, variations between and within cultures, and socio economic conditions and policies that impact fathering. Contributors from several disciplines provide reviews of the empirical data to help us gain an understanding of fathering worldwide. Over 1,000 studies on fathering published in languages other than English are made accessible to readers around the world. The cultures were selected based on availability of substantial research on fathering; representation of worldwide geography; a balance between large, middle, and small populations; and significance for a global understanding of fathering. Each chapter features personal case stories, photos, and maps to help readers create an engaging picture for each culture. Empirical evidence is blended with the authors\u27 expert opinions providing a comprehensive view of what it is like to be a father in each culture. The book opens by explaining theoretical and methodological underpinnings of research on fathers. The main chapters are then organized by world regions including Asia and the Middle East, Africa, North and South America, Europe, and Australia. The conclusions chapter integrates and compares all the chapters and makes suggestions for future research

Research paper thumbnail of Reciprocity, Truth-Telling, and Power in Qualitative Data Exchanges

Research paper thumbnail of Russian Preferred Self-Image and the Two Chechen Wars

Demokratizatsiya, Mar 22, 2003

Research paper thumbnail of Legitimizing Family Management: The Role of Adolescents' Understandings of Risk

Journal of Marriage and Family, 2016

Few studies use the kinds of rich qualitative data that permit the analyst to probe for the numer... more Few studies use the kinds of rich qualitative data that permit the analyst to probe for the numerous ways that contextual demands could explain adolescents' interpretations of the socialization processes within their families. Using inductive techniques, the author analyzed Black adolescents' (N = 64) interpretations of their parents' expectations and rules. Several findings emerged. First, agreeing with parents' assessments of risk was critical to participants' acceptance of family management. Second, participants legitimized their parents' practices as helping them avoid the risks of getting in trouble with the law, acquiring a disreputable identity, and failing to ascend the class ladder. Third, boys and girls legitimized different expectations and rules because they experienced and assessed risks in gender-specific ways. The author argues that adolescents bring an understanding of risk to bear on their interpretations of family life and uses these findings to develop a grounded concept of legitimizing parents' controlling practices. Adolescents and their parents differ in their views about where the limits of parental authority should be drawn. Indeed, across ethnicities,

Research paper thumbnail of “Once You Go to a White School, You Kind of Adapt”: Black Adolescents and the Racial Classification of Schools

Sociology of Education

Studies of when youth classify academic achievement in racial terms have focused on the racial cl... more Studies of when youth classify academic achievement in racial terms have focused on the racial classification of behaviors and individuals. However, institutions-including schools-may also be racially classified. Drawing on a comparative interview study, we examine the school contexts that prompt urban black students to classify schools in racial terms. Through Diversify, a busing program, one group of black students attended affluent suburban schools with white-dominated achievement hierarchies (n = 38). Diversify students assigned schools to categories of whiteness or blackness that equated whiteness with achievement and blackness with academic deficiency. Students waitlisted for Diversify (n = 16) attended urban schools without white-dominated achievement hierarchies. These students did not classify schools as white or black, based on academic quality. We assert that scholars may productively conceive of schools, not just individual students, as sites of potential racial classification. Furthermore, the racial classification of schools reinforces antagonism between black students attending ''white'' and ''black'' schools and perpetuates harmful racial stereotypes.

Research paper thumbnail of Indefinite Punishment and the Criminal Record: Stigma Reports Among Expungement-Seekers in Illinois*

Criminology, 2016

Although criminal records in the United States are more publicly accessible than ever before, we ... more Although criminal records in the United States are more publicly accessible than ever before, we lack knowledge about how record-bearers seek to overcome the negative consequences associated with a visible criminal record as they apply for jobs, housing, and financial aid. Furthermore, although criminal histories record all arrests-and not just those that result in conviction-researchers have yet to compare how those with more extensive versus minor criminal records cope with criminal record stigma. We present interview data from a comparative study of expungement-seekers (N = 53) who have petitioned the courts to remove their criminal records from public view. One group had extensive criminal records (46 percent); the other group had more minor criminal records (54 percent). Several key findings emerged. First, both groups of participants tried, but failed, to persuade potential employers and landlords to overlook the criminal record. They also faced restricted educational opportunity. Second, participants in both groups expressed distress that criminal justice contact could follow them throughout their lives, subjecting them to ongoing stigma. However, those with extensive versus minor criminal records offered different rationales explaining why the visible criminal record history unfairly burdened them. Implications for reintegration theory and policy are discussed. * The authors presented this article at the 69th annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology and at the Human Development & Social Policy Colloquium at Northwestern University. We are grateful to the Crime Lab at the University of Chicago for supporting this research through a postdoctoral position held by the second author during data collection. We thank Rosemary Gartner, Gary Fine, Heather Schoenfeld, Chana Teeger, Mesmin Destin, Elizabeth Debraggio, and Jonathan Guryan for constructive feedback on previous drafts, as well as Eric Brown and Morgan Purrier for their help with data collection.

Research paper thumbnail of Gender, Race, and Justifications for Group Exclusion

Sociology of Education, 2013

Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. ... more Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. Using a relational approach, I analyzed ethnographic and interview data from male and female black adolescents in Grades 8 through 10 enrolled in ‘‘Diversify,’’ an urban-to-suburban racial integration program ( n = 38).1Suburban students ( n = 7) and Diversify coordinators ( n = 9) were also interviewed. All the bussed students, male and female, were racially stereotyped. Yet as a group, the Diversify boys were welcomed in suburban social cliques, even as they were constrained to enacting race and gender in narrow ways. In contrast, the Diversify girls were stereotyped as ‘‘ghetto’’ and ‘‘loud’’ and excluded. In discussing these findings, the current study extends previous research on black girls’ ‘‘loudness,’’ identifies processes of racialization and gendering within a set of wealthy suburban schools, and offers new theoretical directions for the study of racially integrated settings.

Research paper thumbnail of RACE, GENDER AND EMOTION WORK AMONG SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

Researchers have highlighted how gendered associations of femininity with emotional labor can com... more Researchers have highlighted how gendered associations of femininity with emotional labor can complicate professional women's attempts to exercise managerial authority. However, current understandings of how race and gender intersect in professional women's emotional labor remain limited. We draw on 132 interviews from eight white women and 13 women of color who are novice principals. White women began the principalship wanting to establish themselves as emotionally supportive leaders who were open to others' influence. They viewed emotional labor as existing in tension with showing authority as a leader. Over time, however, most white women reported adopting more directive practices. By contrast, women of color reported beginning the principalship with a more directive, take-charge leadership style. They viewed emotional labor and authority as part of a blended project and did not talk about these two aspects of leadership as existing in tension. Over time, their self-reported leadership style changed little. We analyze our findings in light of recent theorizing about gender and intersectionality.

Research paper thumbnail of Bussed to Affluent Suburban Schools Gender , Race , and Justifications for Group Exclusion : Urban Black Students

Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. ... more Relational theories of gender conceptualize masculinity and femininity as mutually constitutive. Using a relational approach, I analyzed ethnographic and interview data from male and female black adolescents in Grades 8 through 10 enrolled in ‘‘Diversify,’’ an urban-to-suburban racial integration program (n = 38). Suburban students (n = 7) and Diversify coordinators (n = 9) were also interviewed. All the bussed students, male and female, were racially stereotyped. Yet as a group, the Diversify boys were welcomed in suburban social cliques, even as they were constrained to enacting race and gender in narrow ways. In contrast, the Diversify girls were stereotyped as ‘‘ghetto’’ and ‘‘loud’’ and excluded. In discussing these findings, the current study extends previous research on black girls’ ‘‘loudness,’’ identifies processes of racialization and gendering within a set of wealthy suburban schools, and offers new theoretical directions for the study of racially integrated settings.

Research paper thumbnail of Hybrid Femininities: Making Sense of Sorority Rankings and Reputation

Gender & Society

Gender researchers have only recently begun to identify how women perceive and explain the costs ... more Gender researchers have only recently begun to identify how women perceive and explain the costs and benefits associated with different femininities. Yet status hierarchies among historically white college sororities are explicit and cannot be ignored, forcing sorority women to grapple with constructions of feminine worth. Drawing on interviews with women in these sororities (N = 53), we are able to capture college women’s attitudes toward status rankings that prioritize adherence to narrow models of gender complementarity. Sorority chapters were ranked according to women’s perceived heterosexual appeal to elite men. Women believed that top-ranked sororities conferred social power whereas middle- and bottom-ranked sororities offered greater freedom from policing over members’ bodies, fashion, and socializing. However, middle- and bottom-ranked sororities sometimes sought to rise in the rankings. When this occurred, existing members were marginalized, and a new pledge class with a gr...

Research paper thumbnail of The Gender Revolution on Greek Row

Contexts

How has the gender revolution impacted the campus Greek world? Interviews with women in sororitie... more How has the gender revolution impacted the campus Greek world? Interviews with women in sororities from the 1970s and today point to both continuity and change. Citing their sexism and segregation of white and wealthy students, alumna of sororities at elite universities have begun social movements to abolish the Greek system.

Research paper thumbnail of Reading routines: strategies of recall in graduate education

Studies in Graduate and Postdoctoral Education

Purpose This study aims to explore how graduate students in the social sciences develop reading a... more Purpose This study aims to explore how graduate students in the social sciences develop reading and note-taking routines. Design/methodology/approach Using a professional socialization framework drawing on grounded theory, this study draws on a snowball sample of 36 graduate students in the social sciences at US universities. Qualitative interviews were conducted to learn about graduate students’ reading and note-taking techniques. Findings This study uncovered how doctoral students experienced the shift from undergraduate to graduate training. Graduate school requires students to adopt new modes of reading and note-taking. However, students lacked explicit mentorship in these skills. Once they realized that the goal was to enter an academic conversation to produce knowledge, they developed new reading and note-taking routines by soliciting and implementing suggestions from advanced doctoral students and faculty mentors. Research limitations/implications The specific requirements of...

Research paper thumbnail of Principals in Urban Schools Under Pressure: Relations With Parents in the Era of Test-Based Accountability

Urban Education

We conducted an inductive analysis of 166 interviews from a longitudinal study of 26 Chicago Publ... more We conducted an inductive analysis of 166 interviews from a longitudinal study of 26 Chicago Public School principals. Test-based accountability pressures played a visible role in principals’ views of and relations with parents. Some principals reported banning parents from classrooms based on the need to protect instructional time to raise test scores; others thought more parental involvement would help their school reach its academic goals. Viewing principals in urban schools as street-level bureaucrats who have discretion in how they implement policy demands offers a way to understand variation in principals’ decisions about parent involvement.

Research paper thumbnail of Persistently Harsh Punishments Amid Efforts to Reform: Using Tools From Social Psychology to Counteract Racial Bias in School Disciplinary Decisions

Educational Researcher

In response to concerns about overly harsh and racially inequitable school discipline, schools ha... more In response to concerns about overly harsh and racially inequitable school discipline, schools have introduced disciplinary reforms. However, even in schools where these reformative programs are present, many students continue to be subject to developmentally inappropriate discipline and striking racial gaps in disciplinary outcomes persist. Teachers’ implicit racial bias likely contributes to racial disparities in school discipline. In this article, I highlight two social psychological skills—perspective-taking and individuating—that have been found to reduce the effects of implicit bias in nonschool settings. I suggest that if developed in educators, these social psychological skills could also help reduce racial disparities in school discipline. I discuss implications for future research and policy.

Research paper thumbnail of Believing in a Positive Future as a Form of Stigma Resistance: Narratives of Denied Expungement-Seekers

Research paper thumbnail of Race, Gender, and Emotion Work among School Principals

Gender & Society

Researchers have highlighted how gendered associations of femininity with emotional labor can com... more Researchers have highlighted how gendered associations of femininity with emotional labor can complicate professional women’s attempts to exercise managerial authority. However, current understandings of how race and gender intersect in professional women’s emotional labor remain limited. We draw on 132 interviews from eight white women and 13 women of color who are novice principals. White women began the principalship wanting to establish themselves as emotionally supportive leaders who were open to others’ influence. They viewed emotional labor as existing in tension with showing authority as a leader. Over time, however, most white women reported adopting more directive practices. By contrast, women of color reported beginning the principalship with a more directive, take-charge leadership style. They viewed emotional labor and authority as part of a blended project and did not talk about these two aspects of leadership as existing in tension. Over time, their self-reported lead...

Research paper thumbnail of Racial and Gender Inequality and School Discipline: Toward a More Comprehensive View of School Policy

Social Currents

Researchers often examine how a single policy is implemented, without considering the role that o... more Researchers often examine how a single policy is implemented, without considering the role that other policies and programs may play in how that policy is understood and enacted. For instance, current scholarship on school discipline rarely considers that in many schools, multiple disciplinary channels coexist. For example, to counter harsh and racially disproportionate punishment in schools, many school districts have established restorative justice programs. However, restorative justice programs are frequently introduced into schools that also maintain more authoritarian practices, including the presence of police officers with the power to arrest students. In other words, rather than supplanting punitive practices, restorative justice practices tend to coexist with them. In this article, I describe how the coexistence of these two different channels for dealing with student misbehavior could deepen race and gender disproportionality in punishment. In so doing, I sketch a program ...