Research Interests
Soojin Oh Park
Dr. Soojin Oh Park is an assistant professor in Learning Sciences & Human Development at the University of Washington (UW) College of Education. Dr. Park’s interdisciplinary scholarship employs qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods approaches to address critical gaps in the scholarship of early childhood education (ECE) and parenting through three interconnected strands of research: 1) examining the role of family literacy engagement on the early language and literacy development of Dual Language Learners (DLLs); 2) amplifying culturally grounded parenting practices for schools and policies to build on what families do, as opposed to what they lack; and integrating the first two strands to inform 3) equity-driven improvements of early learning programs, policies, and systems to better serve historically marginalized communities. Across her research, teaching, and service, Dr. Park strives to think critically about the roots and mechanisms of inequities that reproduce social stratification, along with racial and ethnic disparities, from the earliest years of life, and to collaborate with families and communities to cultivate the thriving of children’s linguistic and cultural repertoires within and beyond schools. Dr. Park is a Principal Investigator on two research projects: FAMILY (Fathers And Mothers Investing in the Learning of Young Children) and BASECAMP (Bolstering Asian Students in Early Childhood by Advancing Multilingual Pedagogies).
- Outstanding Research Paper Award, Korean American Educational Research Association & the Embassy of Republic of Korea in the USA
- Distinguished Paper Award, Washington Educational Research Association.
- Best Article of the Year Award, Journal of School Psychology
- SRCD Federal Policy Fellowship.
- Emerging Scholar Fellowship, National Research Center on Hispanic Children and Families.
- Julius B. Richmond Fellowship, Harvard Center on the Developing Child.
- Teaching Fellowship, Harvard University.
- Dean's Education Fellowship, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
- Klingenstein Summer Fellowship, Teachers College, Columbia University.
Strand 1: Family Literacy Engagement & Culturally Sustaining Multilingual Pedagogy of Emergent Bilingual Children
- Park S. O., & Xu, C.* (2024). Parental attitudes and practices of Chinese immigrant families supporting emergent bilingual children’s Heritage Language Maintenance (HLM). International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 30(2), 99-130. http://dx.doi.org/10.18023/ijece.2024.30.2.005
- González, A. P.*, & Park S. O. (2024). Culturally responsive assessment of multilingual learners: Preschool teachers’ (re)construction of pedagogical possibilities towards justice (Issue No. 12). AERA Bilingual Education Research SIG Research Brief.
- Park, S. O. (2023). Transforming a cemetery into a garden of languages: A justice-oriented, family-centered framework for cultivating early bilingualism and emergent biliteracy. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 24(2), 97-123. https://doi.org/10.1177/14639491231169762
- Capotosto, L., Kim, J. S., Burkhauser, M., Park, S. O., Mulimbi, B., Donaldson, M., & Kingston, H. C. (2017). Family support of third-grade reading skills, motivation, and habits. AERA Open, 3(3), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858417714457
- Weiland, C., McCoy, D., Grace, E., & Park, S. O. (2017). Natural window of opportunity? Low-income parents’ responses to their children’s impending kindergarten entry. AERA Open, 3(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858416681509
- Snow, C. E., & Oh, S. S. (2010). Assessment in early literacy research. In S. B. Neuman and D. K. Dickinson (Eds.), Handbook of Early Literacy Research. (Vol. 3, pp. 375-395). New York: Guilford Press.
- Afolabi, K. P., Bocala, C., DiAquoi, R., Hayden, J. M., Liefshitz, I., & Oh. S. S. (Eds.) (2011). Education for a Multicultural Society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press. [equal authorship]
Strand 2: Parenting in the Context of Culture, Immigration, Race/Ethnicity, and Class
- Park, S. O. (forthcoming). Survivance and counternarratives of families of color: Enduring inequities and advancing intersectionally just family engagement in early childhood. In M. Varghese, A. Elfers, M. Plecki, & A. Rajendran (Eds.), Transformative Disruption: Statewide Collaborations Envisioning Educational Justice
with and for Students, Educators, and Communities of Color. New York: Teachers College Press. - Park, S. O., & Yoshikawa, H. (2017). Contemporary immigration policy and early childhood development. In E. Votruba-Drzal and E. Dearing (Eds.), Handbook of Early Childhood Development Programs, Practices, and Policies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
- Oh, S. S. & Yoshikawa, H. (2012). Examining spiritual capital and acculturation across ecological settings: Developmental implications for children and youth in diverse immigrant families. The Impact of Immigration on Children’s Development, 77-98. https://doi.org/10.1159/000331029
- Oh, S. S., & Cooc, N. (2011). Immigration, Youth and Education: Editors’ Introduction. Harvard Educational Review, 81(3), 397-407. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.81.3.w310738k22303n37
Strand 3: Improving Early Childhood and Parenting Programs, Policies, and Systems through Equitable Family-School-Community Collaborations
- Park, S. O., Joseph, G. E., Hertzog, N. B., Conkling, T., Hassairi, N., Moricet, M., Olsen-Phillips, C., Holm Tobin, E., Branson-Thayer, M., & Halverson, T. (forthcoming). Data to prove or improve?: A cross-case analysis of state prekindergarten quality improvement through Research-Practice Partnerships. International Journal of Early Childhood Education, 31(1).
- Park, S. O., & Hassairi, N.* (2021). What predicts legislative success of early care and education policies?: Applications of machine learning and natural language processing in a cross-state early childhood policy analysis. PLoS ONE 16(2): e0246730.
- Warren, M. R., Park, S. O., & Tieken, M. C. (2016). The formation of community engaged scholars advancing equitable policy and practice: A collaborative approach to doctoral training in educational research. Harvard Educational Review, 86(4), 233-260. https://doi.org/10.17763/0017-8055.86.2.233
- Schindler, H. S., Kholoptseva, J., Oh, S. S., Yoshikawa, H., Shonkoff, J. P., Duncan, G. J., & Magnuson, K. (2015). Maximizing the potential of early childhood education to prevent externalizing behavior problems: A meta-analysis. Journal of School Psychology, 53(3), 243-263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2015.04.001
- Britto, P. R., Yoshikawa, H., Ponguta, L. A., Reyes, M., Oh, S. S., Dimaya, R., Nieto, A. M., & Seder, R. (2014). Strengthening systems for integrated early childhood development services: Cross-national analyses of governance. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1308, 245-255. https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nyas.12365
- Catone, K., Chung, C. K., & Oh, S. S. (2011). An appetite for change: Building relational cultures for educational reform and civic engagement in Los Angeles. In M. R. Warren, K. L. Mapp, and the Community Organizing and School Reform Project (Eds.), A Match on Dry Grass: Community Organizing as a Catalyst for School Reform, (Chapter 3, pp. 66-98). New York: Oxford University Press. [equal authorship]
Grants awarded
2023-2025 Co-PI (PI David Knight), Developing New Leaders and Growing the Field of Early Childhood Policy. Early Childhood Policy in Institutes of Higher Education.
2021-2023 Co-PI (PI Holly Schindler), Center for Early Childhood Policy and Equity. The Buffett Early Childhood Fund and Heising-Simons Foundation.
2019-present PI, The Fathers and Mothers Investing in Learning of Young Children (FAMILY) Study. University of Washington College of Education.
2019-2020 Faculty Collaborator (PIs: Manka Varghese, Marge Plecki, Ana Elfers), A Roadmap to Reducing Barriers to Educational Injustice in Washington State. Washington Education Association.
2017-2020 Co-PI (PI Gail Joseph), Cultivating Research-Policy-Practice Partnerships for Improving Prekindergarten Quality. Gates Foundation.
