Faculty Expert Profile

Stephanie DeLuca is interested in the way things like family, school, neighborhood and peers can affect outcomes of disadvantaged young people, primarily in adolescence and at the transition to adulthood. Her current research focuses on the sociological consideration of education and housing policy, and also the sociology of education, urban sociology, neighborhoods and social inequality.

She has researched the determinants of educational attainment, such as social class, high school courses, noncognitive skills and the timing of educational investments. She has studied the state of vocational education, and suggests that the "new" vocational education has potential to keep youth in school by engaging them with courses relevant for both work and college.

DeLuca is also studying transitions to work for young people who do not attend college and considering whether promoting college attendance for all is the best policy for students in America. She has done a lot of work to better understand the role of housing, neighborhood and social context on youth and family outcomes, and has studied residential mobility programs in places including Baltimore, Chicago and Seattle.