Professor Dr. Tolani Britton

Biography

Tolani Britton uses quasi-experimental methods to explore the impact of policies on students’ transitions from secondary school to higher education, focusing on access and retention within higher education. Her recent work addresses the disproportionate increase in incarceration of Black males for drug possessions, examining how this has widened the gaps in college enrollment rates among different races and genders over time, particularly during critical legislative periods such as the passage of the Anti-Drug Act from 1986 to 1993 and the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act from 1995 to 2000. Professor Britton earned her doctorate from Harvard Graduate School of Education in Quantitative Policy Analysis in Education and has previous experience as a high school math teacher, college counselor in New York City public schools, and a policy analyst at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, France. Her academic credentials also include a Master of Arts in Economics from Tufts University, a Master of Arts in French Cultural Studies from Columbia University, and a Bachelor of Arts in both Economics and French Literature from Tufts University. Professor Britton has received numerous awards, including the 2023-2028 NSF CAREER Award and the 2023 Association for Education Finance and Policy Early Career Award. She has also held significant fellowships, such as the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2021. Her publications cover a range of topics within educational policy and the intersectionality of race and education.

Research Interests