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NORC at the University Chicago

Barbara Schneider

Pronouns: She/Her

Senior Fellow
The Bridge at NORC
Barbara’s research focuses on how the social contexts of schools and families influence adolescents’ academic and social well-being as they move into adulthood.

Barbara is a senior fellow at NORC and is the John A. Hannah Chair and University Distinguished Professor in the College of Education and Department of Sociology at Michigan State University. She is also the principal investigator of the College Ambition Program (CAP), a study that tests a model for promoting a college-going culture in high schools that encourages students to pursue STEM careers. She is also the principal investigator of Crafting Engagement in Science Environments, an international high school study that tests the impact of Project Based Learning on student academic, social and emotional factors in science classes.

Barbara has published 19 books and more than 100 articles and reports on family, social contexts of schooling and sociology of knowledge. Her latest book Learning Science: The Value of Crafting Engagement in Science Environments (2020). She is the past President of the American Educational Research Association, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the National Academy of Education, and, most recently, was elected to the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. She received an Honorary Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Helsinki in 2017.

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Expertise

Education

PhD

Northwestern University

MS

National Louis University

BS

National Louis University

Appointments & Affiliations

John A. Hannah University Distinguished Professor

Michigan State University

Fellow

American Association for the Advancement of Science; National Academy of Education; Finnish Academy of Science and Letters

Honors & Awards

Doctor of Philosophy | 2019

University of Helsinki

President | 2014

American Educational Research Association