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Simone Ispa-Landa

Associate Professor of Human Development and Social Policy and Associate Professor of Sociology
Simone Ispa-Landa

IPR Fellow

Research Areas:
Education and Human Development, Race, Poverty, and Inequality

PhD, Harvard University, 2011

Simone Ispa-Landa is an Associate Professor in Human Development and Social Policy at Northwestern University. She also holds the position of Associate Professor of Sociology and is a faculty fellow at Northwestern's Institute for Policy Research. Ispa-Landa's publications cover topics of race and gender inequality and peer status hierarchies in educational settings. She employs qualitative methods to delve into the issues of isolation, exclusion, and violence in K-12 and higher education environments, exploring students’ and teachers’ lived experiences of social policies and potential avenues for change.

Her recent projects include partnership-oriented, engaged studies that focus on high school discipline and student attendance. Her projects have been funded by the Spencer Foundation, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. 

Currently, Ispa-Landa is working on a book project that examines accountability policy, race, and gender inequality at a suburban high school. This book is under contract with the University of California Press. She was recently elected as the Incoming Chair of the Sociology of Education section of the American Sociological Association (ASA). In addition, she is a contributing member of several editorial boards, including Sociology of Education, Gender & Society, and AERA Open.

Current Research

Ispa-Landa’s research encompasses two interrelated projects situated at the intersection of the sociology of education and multidisciplinary approaches to race and gender inequality.

Connecting Students with Teachers. The first project stems from a collaborative partnership with a school district that aims to enhance opportunities for students of color to connect with teachers and thrive in a school district that serves a highly diverse and unequal community. This collaboration has led to a forthcoming book with the University of California Press and a parallel study on student attendance and sense of belonging within the district.

Social Aspects of College. The second project delves into the social dimensions of college life, especially its impact on female-identifying students. It examines the interplay of race and gender in peer dynamics, incidents of party rape, and the complexities of elite youth party cultures.

Selected Publications

Ispa-Landa, S. and S. Thomas. 2023. Navigating the risks of party rape in historically White Greek life at an elite college: Women’s accounts. Sociology of Education 96(3): 169–89. 

Ispa-Landa, S. and M. Oliver. 2020. Hybrid femininities: Sorority rankings and reputation. Gender & Society 34(6): 893–921. 

Ispa-Landa, S. and S. Thomas. 2019. The emotional context of the principal role: Race, gender, and emotion work among school principals. Gender & Society 33(3): 387–409. 

Ispa-Landa, S. 2018. Persistently harsh punishments amid efforts to reform: Using tools from social psychology to counteract racial bias in school disciplinary decisions. Educational Researcher 47(6): 384–90.  

Ispa-Landa, S. and C. Loeffler. 2016. Indefinite punishment and the criminal record: Stigma reports among expungement-seekers in Illinois. Criminology 54(3): 387–412. 

Ispa-Landa, S. 2016. Legitimizing family management: The role of adolescents' understandings of risk. Journal of Marriage & Family 78(2): 516–30. 

Ispa-Landa, S. and J. Conwell. 2015. "Once you go to a white school, you kind of adapt": Black adolescents and the racial classification of schools. Sociology of Education 88(1): 1–19. 

Ispa-Landa, S. 2013. Gender, race, and justifications for group exclusion: Urban black students bussed to affluent suburban schools. Sociology of Education 86(3): 218–33.