How do formal structures and policies in education either combat or perpetuate historical systems of oppression and inequality? What are the implications for access and inclusion of historically marginalized groups? As a sociologist of international and comparative education, I answer this question from both a global and U.S. perspective. My research agenda broadly examines the transnational and historical sociology of organizational structures, policies, and leadership in education, especially as related to racial and gender inequality.
My dissertation investigates how higher education systems invoke and engage with categories of race and ethnicity through formal structures, integrating critical theories from ethnic and postcolonial studies with theories of organizational behavior. Additional projects extend along three main lines of inquiry: diversity and inequality in higher education; settler colonialism and racial capitalism in education; and the recursive relationship between organizations and education.
Throughout my work, I maintain an eye to policy applications as part of my dual goals of communicating work that is useful to practitioners and policymakers, as well as generating knowledge that works in service of more equitable education experiences. My CV contains a detailed list of research experiences.
Dissertation: “Race and the university: Examining cross-national, U.S., and intra-organizational trends”
- D’Apice, Hannah K. “Indigenous groups as objects versus subjects in global higher education: Comparing courses of study and policies for access in 500 universities worldwide.”
- D’Apice, Hannah K. “Diversity and interest convergence: Examining forms of ‘diversity’ structures and their relationship with outcomes for students of color in 234 U.S. colleges and universities.”
- D’Apice, Hannah K. “Racialized knowledge and racial triangulation: Two cases of Asian-American studies.”
Diversity and inequality in higher education
- D’Apice, Hannah K.*, Jieun Song*, and Christine Min Wotipka. 2024. “A milestone in pursuit of gender equality: Predicting first women presidents in U.S. higher education institutions, 1980–2018.” Sociology Compass, 18, 4, e13204. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13204 [*Equal contributions]
- D’Apice, Hannah K. and Christine Min Wotipka. “Contested diversity?: The institutionalization of LGBTQ-supportive structures in U.S. higher education.” Under journal review. (Draft available on request.)
- D’Apice, Hannah K., Kendall Cole, Abigail Kahn, and Eujin Park. “From commodification to transformation: Identifying structures and policies to ensure minoritized students’ thriving in higher education following Students for Fair Admissions.” Under review as an invited submission to Review of Research in Education. (Draft available on request.)
- Scott Smith, Daniel, Hannah K. D’Apice, and Christine Min Wotipka. “Predicting first women presidents in international higher education.” In preparation.
- D’Apice, Hannah K., and Christine Min Wotipka. “Overcoming the presidential color line: Predicting the first presidents of color in U.S. higher education institutions, 1980–2018.” In preparation.
Settler colonialism and racial capitalism in education
- D’Apice, Hannah K. “Global human rights, settler-colonialism, and inclusion of Indigenous groups in cross-national textbooks, 1950–2010.” Under journal review. (Draft available on request.)
- D’Apice, Hannah K.*, Tinesh Indrarajah*, and tavis d. jules. “Racial capitalism and education.” Book chapter in preparation for The Springer Handbook on the Business of Education, eds. Marcelo Parreira do Amaral, Sieglinde Jornitz, and S. Karin Amos. [*Equal contributions]
The recursive relationship between organizations and education
- Choi, Minju*, Hannah K. D’Apice*, Nadine Ann Skinner*, and Patricia Bromley. 2023. “World culture, education, and organization.” In The Oxford Handbook on Education and Globalization, eds. Xavier Dumay and Eric Mangez (p. 119–146). Oxford University Press. [*Equal contributions]
- Choi, Minju*, Hannah K. D’Apice*, and Nadine Ann Skinner*. 2021. “The rise of the organisational society in Canadian and US textbooks: 1836–2011.” Globalisation, Societies and Education, 19, 1: 7–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2020.1814700 [*Equal contributions]
Additional peer-reviewed publications
- D’Apice, Hannah K. and tavis d. jules. Forthcoming 2025. “Textual analysis in comparative and international education research.” In The Bloomsbury Handbook of Research Methods in Comparative and International Education, eds. Matthew A. M. Thomas, tavis d. jules, Robin Shields, and Michele Schweisfurth. Bloomsbury.
- D’Apice, Hannah K. and Patricia Bromley. 2023. “Climate change discourse in US history textbooks from California and Texas.” Environmental Education Research, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2023.2206595
Policy briefs
- D’Apice, Hannah K. 2024. “Disparities in higher education access and outcomes for underrepresented minority (URM), first-Gen/low-income (FLI), and rural students.” Stanford Center for Racial Justice.
- Cole, Kendall, Hannah K. D’Apice, Abigail J. Kahn, Eujin Park, and OiYan Poon. 2024. “Sustaining and building on diversity and equity efforts: A moral imperative in higher education post-SFFA.” Forthcoming with the Stanford Graduate School of Education Public Scholarship Collaborative. [Note: Authors contributed equally and are listed in alphabetical order.]
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