Scholars from UCR’s School of Education have received two $75,000 grants from the Spencer Foundation to support research focused on improving social-emotional learning for immigrant students and advancing racial equity in teacher education.

Led by assistant professor Eui Kyung Kim,  one of the funded projects will focus on social-emotional learning, or SEL, among Korean adolescents who are new to the U.S. — a growing but often overlooked population in U.S. schools. Her study is titled “The Cultural Mismatch Theory of Inequality: Social Emotional Learning among Korean Newcomer Immigrant Adolescents.” It will explore how cultural differences between home and school environments affect students’ ability to adjust socially and emotionally.

Kim will apply the Cultural Mismatch Theory of Inequity, which purports that educational inequality arises when students’ cultural values and practices differ from those promoted in schools. Her research will examine the SEL values and skills of Korean newcomer immigrant adolescents to establish a more inclusive framework that recognizes and embraces diverse SEL skills and practices. 

“This grant is deeply personal, reflecting my journey as a Korean immigrant whose own social-emotional competences were often misunderstood or dismissed,” Kim said. “It provides a crucial opportunity for schools to examine whether their structural norms and practices truly uplift the strengths and assets of minoritized students and to refine the SEL lens they used to understand and support their students.” 

The second grant, awarded to professor Rita Kohli and associate professor Uma Jayakumar, will fund their project, “Advancing a Healthy Racial Climate in Teacher Education.” Their research will address the racial climate in teacher education programs across the United States.

Although more than half of public school students are students of color, nearly 80% of teachers are white, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Research suggests that a diverse teaching workforce improves educational outcomes for students of color and has benefits for the academic engagement of all students, yet many teacher candidates of color face racial barriers in training programs.

The study will examine ten teacher education programs nationwide. By analyzing curricula, faculty demographics, peer interactions, and field placements, the research will assess how well programs support or marginalize candidates of color and what barriers they face. The goal is to develop recommendations to improve racial literacy within teacher education and promote a more inclusive learning environment for prospective teachers.

“Our study seeks to understand how programs can systemically shift to foster a healthier racial climate in teacher education and support the growth of a diverse teaching force,” Kohli said.

The Spencer Foundation is based in Chicago and has been funding education research since 1971. It is the only national foundation focused exclusively on education research. It supports education research training, broadens the diversity of scholars in the field, strengthens the impact of education research, and works to make educational research more accessible to the public.