Dr. Judith Warren

Biography

Judith Warren is a sociologist whose research focuses on teachers' work and careers within organizational policy contexts of teaching, and teachers’ professional development. Her work investigates policies, resources, and support that constrain teacher learning in both formal professional development and informal workplace settings. She was among the earliest scholars to establish the importance of school-level workplace cultures, collegial ties, and professional norms that support teacher learning and school improvement. Over the decades, she has employed ethnographic and discourse analysis methods to delve into the collaborative dynamics that differentiate robust and generative teacher work groups from less productive ones. Her recent study explored teachers’ work at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and culminated in the co-authored book "Going Distance: Teaching Profession Post-COVID World," reflecting on the challenges and adaptations in education during the pandemic. Warren is a Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where she has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. Although she remains active in research, she has retired from full-time teaching and advising and is no longer accepting new PhD students.

Research Interests