Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research: Volume 40

Published annually since 1985, the Handbook series provides a compendium of thorough and integrative literature reviews on a diverse array of topics of interest to the higher education scholarly and policy communities. Each chapter provides a comprehensive review of research findings on a selected topic, critiques the research literature in terms of its conceptual and methodological rigor, and sets forth an agenda for future research intended to advance knowledge on the chosen topic. The Handbook focuses on a comprehensive set of central areas of study in higher education that encompasses the salient dimensions of scholarly and policy inquiries undertaken in the international higher education community. Each annual volume contains chapters on such diverse topics as research on college students and faculty, organization and administration, curriculum and instruction, policy, diversity issues, economics and finance, history and philosophy, community colleges, advances in research methodology, and more. The series is fortunate to have attracted annual contributions from distinguished scholars throughout the world.

Laura W. Perna is Vice Provost for Faculty, GSE Centennial Presidential Professor of Education, and Executive Director of the Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy (AHEAD) at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn). Her research uses various methodological approaches to identify how social structures, educational practices, and public policies promote and limit college access and success, particularly for groups that are underrepresented in higher education. Recent publications include Improving research-based knowledge of college promise programs (with Edward Smith, 2020, AERA), Taking it to the streets: The role of scholarship in advocacy and advocacy in scholarship (2018, Johns Hopkins University Press), and The Attainment Agenda: State policy leadership for higher education (with Joni Finney, 2014, Johns Hopkins University Press). She has served as President of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), Vice President of the Postsecondary Division of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and Chair of Penn’s Faculty Senate. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the Postsecondary National Policy Institute (PNPI) and previously served as a member of the Gates Commission on the Value of Postsecondary Education and the Board of Directors for the Institute for Higher Education Policy. Among other honors, she has received the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching from the University of Pennsylvania, Faculty Alumni Award of Merit from the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Association, Early Career Achievement Award from ASHE, Excellence in Public Policy in Higher Education Award from ASHE’s Council on Public Policy and Higher Education, Dr. Constance Clayton Education Award from the Philadelphia College Prep Roundtable, and Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. She is also a member of the National Academy of Education and a Fellow of AERA.