My dissertation examines the implementation of K-12 Ethnic Studies in California, focusing on how teacher preparation programs, teachers, and students navigate reforms that reshape organizational norms and the larger purposes of schooling. I am particularly interested in how institutional change unfolds through everyday moments of interpretation, negotiation, and decision-making.
In my broader work, I combine in-depth qualitative methods (including interviews, case studies, and classroom-based field observations) with large-scale administrative data analysis to examine how school structures shape educational inequality. I am also interested in the intersections between schools and other social institutions, particularly in relation to discipline, governance, and the ways young people experience authority across institutional settings.
Amy Gong Liu 