Grace Kao is Professor of Sociology, Education, and Asian American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where she has taught since 1997. She received her Ph.D. (1997) in Sociology from The University of Chicago, A.M. (1992) in Sociology from The University of Chicago, and A.B. (1990) in Sociology and Oriental Languages (Chinese Literature) from the University of California, Berkeley. This site is in progress - thanks for your patience!
Educational Outcomes of Adolescents
Along for the Ride : Best Friends' Resources and Adolescents' College Completion (with Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng and Jessica McCrory Calarco), American Educational Research Journal (2013)
Research on social capital in education rarely considers how the resources students can access through...
Bearing the Burden of Whiteness: The Implications of Racial Self-Identification for Multiracial Adolescents' School Belonging and Academic Achievement (with Ruth Burke), Ethnic and Racial Studies (2013)
Previous literature on racial self-identification among multiracials demonstrates that self-identification differs by context. Moreover, among...
Is there a (transracial) adoption achievement gap? A national longitudinal analysis of adopted children's educational performance (with Elizabeth Raleigh), Children and Youth Services Review (2013)
In one of the first longitudinal population-based studies examining adopted children's educational achievement, we analyze...
Educational Achievement of Immigrant Adolescents in Spain: Do Gender and Region of Origin Matter? (with Elizabeth Vaquera), Child Development (2012)
This study explores the educational achievement of immigrant youth in Spain employing data from 3...
Educational Outcomes of Young Children
Is there a (transracial) adoption achievement gap? A national longitudinal analysis of adopted children's educational performance (with Elizabeth Raleigh), Children and Youth Services Review (2013)
In one of the first longitudinal population-based studies examining adopted children's educational achievement, we analyze...
Do Immigrant Minority Parents Have More Consistent College Aspirations for Their Children? (with Elizabeth Raleigh), Social Science Quarterly (2010)
Assessing the Private Safety Net: Social Support among Minority Immigrant Parents (with Kristin Turney), The Sociological Quarterly (2009)
Barriers to School Involvement: Are Immigrant Parents Disadvantaged? (with Kristin Turney), Journal of Educational Research (2009)
Less Bang for the Buck? Cultural Capital and Immigrant Status Effects on Kindergarten Academic Outcomes (with Elizabeth Lee), Poetics (2009)
Interracial Relations
Bearing the Burden of Whiteness: The Implications of Racial Self-Identification for Multiracial Adolescents' School Belonging and Academic Achievement (with Ruth Burke), Ethnic and Racial Studies (2013)
Previous literature on racial self-identification among multiracials demonstrates that self-identification differs by context. Moreover, among...
Do You Like Me as Much as I Like You? Friendship Reciprocity and Its Effects on School Outcomes among Adolescents (with Elizabeth Vaquera), Social Science Research (2008)
Does Higher Socioeconomic Status Increase Contact Between Minorities and Whites? An Examination of Interracial Romantic Relationships among Adolescents (with Hongyu Wang), Social Science Quarterly (2007)
Friendship Choices of Multiracial Adolescents: Racial Homophily, Blending, or Amalgamation? (with Jamie M. Doyle), Social Science Research (2007)
Do Asian and Hispanic Adolescents Practice Panethnicity in Friendship Choices (with Kara Joyner), Social Science Quarterly (2006)
Racial Identity
Bearing the Burden of Whiteness: The Implications of Racial Self-Identification for Multiracial Adolescents' School Belonging and Academic Achievement (with Ruth Burke), Ethnic and Racial Studies (2013)
Previous literature on racial self-identification among multiracials demonstrates that self-identification differs by context. Moreover, among...
Stability and Change in Racial Identities of Multiracial Adolescents (with Ruth Burke), Multiracial Americans and Social Class: The Influence of Social Class on Racial Identity (2010)
Are Racial Identities of Multiracials Stable? Changing Self-Identification among Single and Multiple Race Individuals (with Jamie M. Doyle), Social Psychology Quarterly (2007)
The Implications of Choosing “No Race” on the Salience of Hispanic Identity: How Racial and Ethnic Background Intersect among Hispanic Adolescents (with Elizabeth Vaquera), The Sociological Quarterly (2006)
The Salience of Racial and Ethnic Identification in Friendship Choices Among Hispanic Adolescents (with Elizabeth Vaquera), Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences (2006)
Migrants in China
Who Goes, Who Stays, and Who Studies? Gender, Migration, and Educational Decisions among Rural Youth in China (with Yilin Chiang and Emily C. Hannum), Gansu Survey of Children and Families Papers (2012)
Little is known about what affects the decision to migrate in China, despite the estimated...
Do Mothers in Rural China Practice Gender Equality in Educational Aspirations for Their Children? (with Yuping Zhang and Emily C. Hannum), Gansu Survey of Children and Families Papers (2007)
More than 2 decades of economic reforms have brought great improvements in the quality of...
Do Mothers in Rural China Practice Gender Equality in Educational Aspirations for Their Children? (with Yuping Zhang and Emily Hannum), Comparative Education Review (2007)
Migrants in Mexico
Impact of Temporary Labor Migration on Schooling among Mexican Children, The World of Child Labor: An Historical and Regional Survey (2009)
The Impact of Temporary Labor Migration on Mexican Students’ Educational Aspirations and Performance (with William Kandel), International Migration Review (2001)
Shifting Orientations: How U.S. Labor Migration Affects Children’s Aspirations in Mexican Migrant Communities (with William Kandel), Social Science Quarterly (2000)
Migrants in Spain
Educational Achievement of Immigrant Adolescents in Spain: Do Gender and Region of Origin Matter? (with Elizabeth Vaquera), Child Development (2012)
This study explores the educational achievement of immigrant youth in Spain employing data from 3...