Dr. Annette Lareau

Biography

Annette Lareau is a sociologist who studies family life, focusing particularly on social class differences in family life and the relationships families have with institutions. She has explored critical issues within family-school relationships, cultural logic of child rearing, and the processes by which parents decide where to send their children to school. Her notable works include 'Home Advantage' and 'Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, Family Life'. She examines the hurdles that refugee families face as they seek upward mobility in America. Lareau joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 2008 and has previously worked at the University of Maryland, College Park, Temple University, and Southern Illinois University. She has received various grants from the Spencer Foundation and the National Science Foundation and has been an active member of the American Sociological Association, serving as chair of the Education Section and as president in 2014. Lareau's current research, 'Families and Money', uses qualitative methods to understand the complexities faced by families with high net worth, with funded research from the National Science Foundation and Russell Sage Foundation.

Research Interests