Shantá R. Robinson’s research interests include the role of social identity in marginalized students’ educational experiences, aspirations, and outcomes; empirical investigations of marginalized student achievement and underachievement; inequities in the distribution of educational resources; and the history, culture, and social organization of K-12 educational institutions. Her most recent work focuses on the educational experiences and occupational aspirations of adolescents experiencing homelessness.
While Robinson’s research is framed for scholarly outlets, its purpose is to assist school members—teachers, administrators, and community leaders—in living up to the grand potential of public education: to identify, support, and make possible the capabilities and promise of every student, irrespective of the student’s familial background, neighborhood, or other social location. Her scholarly work can be read in International Studies in Sociology of Education, The High School Journal, and Review of Research in Education. Her musings regarding her scholarly work can be found at InsideHigherEd.com.
Robinson holds a BA in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and an MA in public administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She earned her PhD in educational studies at the University of Michigan, where she specialized in the sociology of education, qualitative methodologies, and issues of race, class, and access in secondary schooling. She began her professional career as a high school history teacher in Charlotte, NC.