Faculty Bios

Grace Kao

Professor of Sociology and Asian American Studies
Research Associate, Population Studies Center
Research Affiliate, Center for East Asian Studies

Grace Kao received her Ph.D. in sociology from The University of Chicago in 1997, A.M. in sociology from The University of Chicago in 1992, and A.B. in sociology (highest honors) and Oriental Languages (Chinese Literature) from the University of California, Berkeley in 1990. She works on race, ethnic, and immigrant variation in educational achievement among youth in the United States. She plans to extend this work to China and has planned collaboration with Prof. Emily Hannum (also in sociology at Penn). Currently, she is PI on a R01 grant from NICHD to examine interracial romance and friendship among adolescents, and is also currently PI on grants from The Spencer Foundation (to examine parent-child relationships in immigrant households), and Population Aging Research Center at Penn (to examine household composition and intergenerational exchange in Asian American households). She also specializes on Asian Americans and has a courtesy appointment in the Asian American Studies Program. Recently, she has published, Kao, Grace. Forthcoming 2003."Parental Influences on the Educational Outcomes of Immigrant Youth." International Migration Review. (Scheduled for Vol. 37, No. 2) and Kao, Grace. 2002. "Race and Ethnic Differences in Parental College Aspirations for Youth." Research in Sociology of Education: Schooling and Social Capital in Diverse Cultures (Edited by Bruce Fuller and Emily Hannum). 13: 85-104.

Grace Kao
3718 Locust Walk
Department of Sociology
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6299

Tel: (215) 898-9060
Fax: (215) 573-2081 or (215) 898-2124
E-mail: grace2@pop.upenn.edu
Web site: http://www.ssc.upenn.edu/soc/faculty/gkao.htm