Elizabeth Stearns
Elizabeth Stearns
Professor, Department of Sociology
Professor, Public Policy Doctoral Program
Education:
PhD, North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2001
Research Interest:
Dr. Stearns’ primary research efforts revolve around issues of social inequality, especially how inequality is generated and maintained in the formal schooling system in the U.S. Much of the inequality that Dr. Stearns studies lies along racial and gender lines. Her research agenda has two main areas: (1) educational processes, both academic and non-academic, and (2) interracial relations in changing demographic contexts. She is a PI on a four-year NSF-funded study that examines the roots of disparities in students who pursue STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors in college.
Recent Publications:
- Stearns, E., Bottia, M. C., Giersch, J., Mickelson, R. A., Moller, S., Jha, N., & Dancy, M. (2020). Do relative advantages in STEM grades explain the gender gap in selection of a STEM major in college? A multimethod answer. American Educational Research Journal, 57(1), 218-257.
- Bottia, M. C., Stearns, E., Mickelson, R. A., Moller, S., & Jamil, C. (2020). The importance of community colleges in students’ choice to major in STEM. The Journal of Higher Education, 91(7), 1116-1148.
- Dancy, M., Rainey, K., Stearns, E., Mickelson, R., & Moller, S. (2020). Undergraduates’ awareness of White and male privilege in STEM. International Journal of STEM Education, 7(1), 52.
- Giersch, J., Kropf, M., & Stearns, E. (2020). Unequal returns to education: how female teachers narrow the gender gap in political knowledge. The Journal of Politics, 82(2), 781-785.
- Giersch, J., Bottia, M. C., Stearns, E., Mickelson, R. A., & Moller, S. (2021). The predictive role of school performance indicators on students’ college achievement. Educational Policy, 35(7), 1085-1115.
- Bottia, M. C., Jamil, C., Stearns, E., & Mickelson, R. A. (2022). Socioeconomic differences in North Carolina college students’ pathways into STEM. Teachers college record, 124(1), 30-61.
- Allen, D., Dancy, M., Stearns, E., Mickelson, R., & Bottia, M. (2022). Racism, sexism and disconnection: Contrasting experiences of Black women in STEM before and after transfer from community college. International Journal of STEM Education, 9(1), 20.
- Bottia, M. C., Mickelson, R. A., & Stearns, E. (2023). Racially diverse educational pathways and STEM college outcomes: A quantitative analysis of students in North Carolina. Science Education, 107(4), 964-998.
- Stearns, E., Mickelson, R., Bottia, M., Allen, D., Dancy, M., & Moller, S. (2024). How community college educations generate both science capital and science-specific transfer capital among low-Income white women majoring in STEM. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 1-21.
- Masjutina, S., & Stearns, E. (2025). A qualitative investigation of the influences of gender among low-socioeconomic status students’ motivations to study biology. International Journal of STEM Education, 12(1), 7.
- Stearns, E. (2025). Transferring institutions in different modalities: Lessons from undergraduates across stages of the covid-19 pandemic. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 27(2), 430-454.
- Masjutina, S., Stearns, E., & Bottia, M. C. (2025). An Analysis of Students Who Represent Missed Opportunity for Diversifying STEM Fields. Science Education.
- Mickelson, R. A., Allen, D., Bottia, M., Stearns, E., Dancy, M., & Moller, S. (2025). Pre-collegiate factors contributing to the choice of a chemistry major: the role of science capital. Chemistry Education Research and Practice.
Areas of Research and Teaching Expertise
Social Policy