School of Education faculty member named William T. Grant Foundation Scholar

Eve Tuck, associate professor in the School of Education, was one of five researchers selected for the 2015 William T. Grant Foundation Scholars Program, a prestigious and competitive award that invests in research to advance theory, policy and practice related to children’s issues in the United States.

Tuck’s research proposal, “Deferred Action and Post-Secondary Outcomes: The Role of Migrant Youth Settings in Effective and Equitable Policy,” was subject to an intense evaluation that narrowed a field of roughly 65 scholar applicants down to five.

“This is a top-notch group of early-career academics,” said Vivian Tseng, vice president for program at the William T. Grant Foundation. “They are tackling important questions facing young people in order to inform future education, family, and immigration policies.”

Tuck will receive funding to execute a five-year plan of research into how new White House deferred action policies are impacting the children of migrant workers and their educational opportunities and outcomes. Her study will examine the effects of a mobile migrant lifestyle on regional youths whose families’ pursuit of seasonal agricultural work means constant relocation and enrollment in new schools.

“Because the policy landscape is changing so quickly, now is a good time to start a five-year project,” Tuck said. “There’s very little empirical research that’s being done on the experiences of migrant families in the Hudson Valley. What’s happening among these families is quite unique, and I think what we could learn from them has the potential to be very useful to broader conversations about education and the migrant experience.”

The William T. Grant Foundation Scholars Program is distinguished by its support of new research practices and tools, and for her study Tuck will make use of PhotoVoice, a unique methodology that will enable the young participants to document their experiences by taking photos and videos, and then to work with Tuck to develop narratives to stand alongside the images.

“Using images helps to get at the complexity of these lives,” Tuck said. “It’s not just the photographs on display that are important, but the process through which young people work together to create a companion articulation of why they chose a certain image to express what’s happening in their world.”

Tuck noted the institutional support she received throughout the long process of applying for this award, and offered thanks to Carrie Corti and the Office of Sponsored Programs, Maryellen Whittington-Couse, director of Mid-Hudson Migrant Education Tutoring and Support Services, and Michael Rosenberg, dean of the School of Education.

She will also receive support from two project mentors: Leigh Patel, associate professor at Boston College, and Mary Eunice Romero-Little, associate professor at Arizona State University.

More information about the 2015 William T. Grant Foundation Scholars Program awardees, about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and about PhotoVoice is available online.