New resource on structural racism and rigorous models of social inequity
Feb 27, 2023
To better understand and address structural racism, it is important to consider historical and contemporary policies as well as other structural factors that affect people’s health and well-being across the life course, along with strategies for measuring those factors. A new interactive resource…
Race matters in COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, research finds
Jul 27, 2022
Hispanic and Black Americans have suffered higher rates of hospitalization and death from COVID-19 than white Americans. A new Penn State study analyzed data collected when COVID-19 vaccines first became available to determine whether these racial and ethnic disparities are related to vaccine…
Faculty receive SSRI funds to explore students’ participation
Nov 22, 2021
The Flemming CEED Center faculty members and faculty members from Penn State recently received funding from the Penn State Social Science Research Institute’s (SSRI) "Reducing Social Disparities" initiative. The research team was awarded a grant for the project titled "An Investigation of Factors…News Topics: Social JusticeRacial Disparities
Penn State announces the formation of a new Center for Racial Justice
Sep 30, 2021
As part of ongoing efforts to address the challenges of racism, racial bias and community safety that persist in our nation, Penn State has announced the formation of a new Center for Racial Justice. The center, as part of the initiatives outlined by Penn State President Eric J. Barron in a letter…
Getting racial equity research into the hands of policymakers
Sep 17, 2021
Racial inequities are enduring and pervasive problems in the US that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and contribute to poor public health outcomes. For instance, studies have found that working from home is only possible for 1 in 5 Black people (U.S. Dept of Labor Statistics) and…
Why Social Science? Because It Can Become a Tool to Dismantle White Supremacy
Jul 28, 2020
By Kenneth Prewitt, PhD, President, American Academy of Political and Social Science and Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs, Columbia University The 1966 Coleman Report was our nation’s first big social science project. It gathered and analyzed data from 600,000 students, 60,000 teachers and 4,…
Uncovering racial disparities in mortgage markets
Jul 27, 2020
Discrimination can take many forms, and a Penn State researcher along with his coauthors are finding new ways to uncover it. Brent Ambrose, Jason and Julie Borrelli Faculty Chair in Real Estate in the Smeal College of Business at Penn State and director of the Penn State Institute for Real Estate…
Categorical inequalities between Black and white students are common in US schools—but they don’t have to be
Feb 24, 2020
By Kenneth Shores, Ha Eun Kim, and Mela Still for Brookings The Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) reports large, persistent gaps between Black and white students on educational outcomes such as school suspensions, uptake of AP classes, assignment to special education and gifted and talented…
Eliminating smoking and obesity could affect racial health disparities
Mar 12, 2019
Obesity and smoking are the two leading causes of preventable deaths in the U.S., yet their full impact on health disparities is still being uncovered. Michelle Frisco, associate professor of sociology and demography and Social Science Research Institute co-funded faculty member at Penn State, is…
Children’s race, not disability status, may predict more frequent suspension
Jan 23, 2019
Suspension is one way schools discipline students, but the high number of and disparities in suspensions in the U.S. has sparked controversy and policy debate. New research, led by Paul L. Morgan, Harry and Marion Eberly Fellow, professor of education and demography, and director of Penn State’s…
SSRI Spotlight: Ericka Weathers
Dec 5, 2018
As a current assistant professor within the Department of Education Policy Studies, Ericka Weathers uses quasi-experimental methodologies to examine the impact of structural inequality on educational opportunities and outcomes in topic areas such as school finance, school discipline, academic…
Why Social Science? - Because It Can Challenge Conventional Wisdom
Aug 29, 2018
By Olugbenga Ajilore, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics, University of Toledo Social science research provides evidence that helps us understand the drivers of social problems. A lot of times, this evidence is in contrast to the conventional wisdom and may on the face of it seem…
Research on racial disparities in disability identification cited by the Brookings Institution
Apr 9, 2018
Three Penn State researchers and their colleague replicated an earlier but provocative study that found that minority children are less likely to be identified as having disabilities as they attend U.S. schools. Their work is now being cited in a new analysis by the Brookings Institution, which…
Black, Hispanics less likely to drink tap water, more likely to buy bottled
Feb 25, 2018
Black and Hispanic U.S. adults are half as likely as whites to drink tap water and more than twice as likely to drink bottled water, according to a recent Penn State analysis. The findings also support past research that indicates that minorities and more vulnerable populations have a higher…News Topics: WaterRacial Disparities
Morgan's study named fourth most read in Educational Researcher
Jan 11, 2018
The American Educational Research Association (AERA) recently announced their most read education research articles of 2017. Paul Morgan, director of the Center for Educational Disparities Research and professor of education, and his research team had the fourth most read study in the publication…