Children, Families, and Communities Research

Pardee RAND students and faculty help provide solutions to the social welfare and economic challenges faced by children and families, vulnerable populations, and historically marginalized communities. RAND’s work in this area, including the Center to Advance Racial Equity Policy and the Center on Housing and Homelessness, aims to understand why people make the decisions they do and how individuals and communities can increase their resilience.

Student-Faculty Research Collaborations

Through project-based research and other experiential learning opportunities, students work with faculty mentors to obtain professional skills and tacit knowledge that courses alone cannot convey. Here are a few recent projects and their resulting research.

Evaluating WhyWeRise 2020 and 2021
WhyWeRise is a social marketing campaign focused on prevention of, and early intervention for, mental health challenges among Los Angeles County residents. Surveys by Ingrid Estrada-Darley (cohort '19) and Profs. Rebecca Collins and Nicole Eberhart suggest that this campaign reached a racially, culturally, and economically diverse group of county residents, fostered a feeling of support among those exposed to the campaign, and boosted residents' awareness of local resources.
Anti-Bias Education in U.S. Public Schools
Teaching students explicitly about issues of identity, diversity, equity, and bias can lead to positive outcomes. Ashley Woo (cohort '18), Prof. Julia Kaufman, and RAND colleagues found that nearly three in four K–12 teachers reported that they provide such anti-bias instruction, but more than half said that their school's or district's curriculum materials did not adequately address anti-bias topics.