Dr. Carla O Connor

Biography

Carla O’Connor is a professor at the University of Michigan's Marsal Family School of Education, where she also serves as the Director of Academic Programs for Wolverine Pathways. Her academic background includes a Master’s and Ph.D. in Education from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor’s degree in English from Wesleyan University. Her research focuses on areas such as African American achievement, cultural studies, urban education, and ethnographic methods. O’Connor’s work critically examines how Black identity is constructed across various contexts and influences educational outcomes. She explores the perceptions of opportunity among Black individuals and how social spaces shape academic orientations. Additionally, she investigates the resilience of Black educational experiences amid vulnerability shaped by social and institutional forces. O’Connor has published in reputable journals, including the American Educational Research Journal and Sociology of Education, and she co-edited the book "Acting White: Reframing the Debate on Black Student Achievement". She is a founding member of the NSF-sponsored Center for the Study of Black Youth in Context and has conducted significant studies on race and family-school relations in diverse educational settings.

Research Interests

Experience