Sophia Catsambis
Associate Professor of Sociology
Queens College and CUNY Graduate Center
Office: Powdermaker Hall 233G
Phone: (718) 997-2801
Fax: (718) 997-2820
Email: sophia.catsambis@qc.cuny.edu
Born in Greece, Sophia Catsambis received her B.A. in Sociology from Deree College in Athens, and continued her studies at New York University where she received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology. Since 1988, she holds the position of Assistant Professor of Sociology, Queens College, City University of New York where she teaches graduate courses in Educational Research and Sociological Theory, and undergraduate courses in Gender and Education and the Sociology of Education. At the CUNY Graduate Center, she has taught courses in statistics and analysis of longitudinal data.
Sophia Catsambis has received research awards from the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the City University of New York Research Foundation. She currently serves as a research associate at the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR), Johns Hopkins University. Her work has been reported in various national educational newspapers and has been published in Sociology of Education, Journal of Research on Adolescence, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Research in Sociology of Education and Socialization. In addition, she has extensively presented at the annual conferences of the American Sociological Association and the American Educational Research Association.
Dr. Catsambis’ research agenda aims to expand knowledge of the interrelationships of gender, race/ethnicity, and social class as they affect equal educational opportunities. She brings equity issues into the arena of educational research through the analysis of major longitudinal survey data. Sophia Catsambis focuses on issues that include: the efficacy of public and private schooling, factors influencing participation and achievement in mathematics and science, the effects of secondary school tracking, and the effects of parental involvement on children’s secondary education.
Education
Ph.D New York University, Department of Sociology, June 1988.
M.A. New York University, Department of Sociology, June 1980.
B.A. Deree College, Department of Sociology, Athens, Greece, February 1978.
Research and Teaching Interests
Sociology of Education, Social Stratification, Gender Inequality, Research Methodology, Statistics.
Selected Publications
“Higher Education and Social Stratification,” in Education and Sociology: An Encyclopedia, David L. Levinson, A. R. Sadovnik and P. W. Cookson (Editors), New York: Garland Publishing, forthcoming, Spring 1999
“To Track or not to Track: The Social Effects of Gender and Ability Grouping” (Sophia Catsambis, Lynn Mulkey, and Robert Crain), Journal for Research in Education and Socialization, 1999, Vol. 12, pp. 135-163.
“Expanding Knowledge of Parental Involvement in Secondary Education: Its Effects on High School Academic Success.” Center for the Education of Students Placed at Risk, Johns Hopkins University, report #27, Fall 1998.
“Parental Involvement in Students’ Education: Changes from Middle Grades to High School” (Sophia Catsambis and Janet E. Garland), Center for the Education of Students Placed at Risk, Johns Hopkins University, Report #18 1997.
“Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Science Education in the Middle Grades,” Journal of Research in Science Teaching, Vol. 32, No. 3, 1995: 243-257.
“The Path to Math: Gender and Racial-Ethnic Differences in Mathematics Participation from Middle School to High School,” Sociology of Education, Vol. 67, No. 3, 1994: 199-215, reprinted in Gender, Culture and Ethnicity, L. A. Pepleau, S. Chapman DeBro, R. C. Veniegas, and P. L. Taylor (Eds), Mayfield publishing, 1998: 102-119.
“Differential Asset Conversion: Class and Gendered Pathways to Selective Colleges,” (Caroline Hodges Persell, Sophia Catsambis, and Peter W. Cookson), Sociology of Education, Vol. 65, No.3, July 1992: 208-225.
“Mother’s Employment and Children’s Achievement: A Critique,” (Barbara Heyns and Sophia Catsambis), Sociology of Education, Vol. 59, No. 3, July, 1986: 140-151.
