Aprile Benner Named a 2011 NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellow

Aprile Benner, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Population Research Center and the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences (HDFS) at the University of Texas at Austin, has been named to receive a 2011 National Academy of Education (NAEd)/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship.

The NAEd advances the highest quality education research and its use in policy formulation and practice.

Benner’s award-winning project, “School Demographics, Marginalization, & Academic Progress,” will examine whether, why, and when students at the racial/ethnic and socioeconomic margins of their schools are more likely to struggle both socioemotionally and academically.

Focusing on the development of low-income and minority youth, Benner’s research examines the intersection of environment and life course, investigating how social contexts influence school transition experiences and developmental competencies in adolescence.  The question at the core of Benner’s research program: What are the continuities and changes in the social, emotional, and cognitive growth and maturation of young people?

“She is a superstar,” notes Deborah Jacobvitz, HDFS department chair. “She has transformed our understanding of the interrelations among adolescents’ friendships, ethnic background, and academic performance. Her work has critical implications for developing social policies to help children in America achieve their potential.”

Benner received her Ph.D. in psychological studies in education from the University of California, Los Angeles and currently holds a postdoctoral fellowship with the Population Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin. Benner will join the faculty of HDFS as an assistant professor in September, 2011.

Each of the twenty fellows will receive $55,000 for a period of up to two years to pursue critical research projects in education.

Since 1986, NAEd has administered the postdoctoral fellowship program with funding from the Spencer Foundation. Since the program’s inception, more than 680 current and former fellows, including many of today’s strongest education researchers, have been awarded the prestigious fellowship.