/ Educational Opportunities, Equity, & Attainment

Educational Opportunities, Equity, & Attainment

Our work in this domain focuses on students' ability to access and succeed in educational settings. We examine the dynamic interactions among teachers, students, and subject matter. We collaborate with educational systems to improve learning opportunities and equity.We study large-scale patterns of attainment and document variations in level of access for particular groups. We support the creation of systems and interventions to facilitate student equitable access to college and persistence to graduation.

We strive to improve access to STEM undergraduate programs for minoritized students. At the intersection of K-12 and higher education, our work in the national STEM PUSH Network is testing innovative ways to increase the number of underrepresented minoritized students in STEM undergraduate courses. We consider how critical consciousness, anti-racist beliefs and behaviors, and racial and gender identity develop and support learning and educational achievement. Because motivation and identity are critical for successful learning, we study non-cognitive predictors of educational attainment as well. Our work in Biology and Physics classrooms at Pitt has shown the efficacy of social belonging interventions to address common attainment gaps among gender and racial group lines.

Read more about LRDC's Commitment to Equity.