Position
Academic Background
Sample Courses   
Teaching Philosophy
Research & Interests   
Notable Academic Appointments & Awards
Publication Highlights   
Selected Scholarly Presentations

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• Professor of Sociology

Academic Background        

• Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York - Ph.D. in Sociology, 1975
• Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts - M.A. in Sociology, 1970 
• Fitchburg State College, Fitchburg, Massachusetts - B.S. in Education, 1962

• Social Research Methods
• Schools in American Society
• Introductory Sociology
• Computer Applications in Sociology
• The Uses of Sociology

Teaching Philosophy

There is no teaching style that is optimally effective for all students. Like just about everything else in life, students vary dramatically in both their ability and motivation.  My approach is to provide as many options for learning as are possible in a given course.  In short, I subscribe to the idea that "one size does not fit all" and I tailor my classes to allow students to participate in a variety of ways. Within this context, I hold very high expectations that all students in my classes will engage the learning process and strive for excellence. 

Research & Interests

My major area of specialization is the social organization of schools and the educational outcomes that are related to various types of school organization. For example, I am currently the Project Director for a large national study of public single sex and coeducational schools for at-risk children with a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. A second major area of interest for me is the gap in academic achievement between females and males. My research on the gender gap is focused on the origins of the gap in early schooling. 

Notable Academic Appointments and Awards

• Project Director (2003-2006), Single-Sex Schools: Characteristics and Effects. Three year study of single sex public schools funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Project Director (2000-2002), Male/Female Early Achievement and Development: Targeting the Birth of the Gender Gap Among Children in the Public Schools. Research grant from the American Educational Research Association and the National Science Foundation.
• Signatory, Amici Curiae Brief in The Supreme Court of the United States, No. 94-1941 and 94-2107, October Term, 1995.
• Postdoctoral Research Fellow (1979-1981), Department of Sociology, The Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland.  Program Title: Sociology of Human Development.
• National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowship at Brown University, 1979, Project Title:  "The Black American Experience: Insiders and Outsiders."
  

Publication Highlights

Books:

• Equality and Achievement: An Introduction to the Sociology of Education (2E). 2004. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Prentice Hall.
• Girls and Boys in School: Together or Separate. 1990. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University, 1990.
  

Journal and Book Articles:

• “Failing in School? Yes; Victims of War? No.” 2003. Sociology of Education, 76: 369-372.
• “Trends in Student Demography in Catholic Secondary Schools.” 2002. In James Youniss and John J. Convey (eds.) Catholic Schools at the Crossroads. New York: Teachers College Press.
• "The Effects of Sex-Grouped Schooling on Achievement: The Role of National Context." 1995.  Comparative Education Review, 39: 468-482. (with D. Baker and M. Schaub).
• "Single-Gender Schools: Outcomes for African and Hispanic Americans." 1994. in Aaron M. Pallas (ed.) Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization. 10: 177-206.
• "The Value of Attending a Women's College: Educational, Occupational, and Income Benefits." 1994. The Journal of Higher Education 65: 486-510.
• "Public and Catholic Schooling: The Effects of Gender Context Policy." 1985. American Journal of Education 93: 518-540.

Selected Scholarly Presentations and Activities

• “The Gender Gap from Kindergarten to College.”  Invited paper presented at the Harold W. McGraw Annual Seminar for Reporters New to the K-12  Beat.”  Hechinger Institute on Education  and the Media. Teachers College, Columbia University, July 23, 2005.
• “The Future of Single Sex Schools.”  Paper presented by invitation of the Educational Policy Forum, Library of Congress, October 8, 2004.
• “The Emergent Problems of Boys in Schools and the Potential of Single-Sex Schools.”  Paper presented by invitation at the International Symposium on Male and Female Education in the Third Millennium, Universidad Complutence de Madrid, Spain, September 28, 2001.
• "Achievement and Equity in Catholic and Public Schools: Gender Gap Comparisons 1972-1992."  Paper presented by invitation of the Institute for Educational Initiatives, University of Notre Dame, 1998.
• "Development Education Pays for Itself and More!" 1995.  Development Education Conference.  U.S. Agency for  International Development, Baltimore, MD, October, 1995  (with J. Sarkar, K. Santilli, M. Cubarrubia).
• "The Case for Single-Gender Schooling." By invitation at a workshop sponsored by the United States Department of Education, March 1992.  

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