Kri Burkander
Kri Burkander, a PhD candidate in the Educational Policy program at Michigan State University, has been awarded a $20,000 dissertation grant by the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Grants Program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation.
Burkander’s dissertation, “Culture, Class, and College: A Mixed Method Contextual Understanding of Undermatch,” is a study of low-income students’ transition from high school to college, exploring various influences on their college application and enrollment patterns.
The qualitative piece of her dissertation involved sample students in College Ambition Program schools—the program which Burkander credits for helping make her research possible.
In addition, Burkander is a graduate assistant to Hannah Distinguished Professor Barbara Schneider. Schneider currently serves as president of AERA.
Burkander’s was chosen by AERA’s Governing Board, amidst hundreds of submitted dissertation entries from across the nation.
As part of the award, AERA will cover Burkander’s travel and lodging expenses to the 2014 AERA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.