Research

My scholarship focuses on the structure of social policies and educational institutions and the implications of these for social, economic, and racial inequality. My research agenda seeks to understand how inequality comes about and how the tools of sociology and public policy can be used to address or ameliorate it. My broad interest in inequalities has yielded collaboration with diverse, interdisciplinary communities of scholars on conventional academic research, on translational research, and on research partnerships (working with practitioners, publics, and policymakers) that both generate knowledge and pursue solutions in local contexts. Across this full body of work, I focus on integrating insights from relational and social theorists into the empirical study of inequalities. A defining feature of my approach to the study of inequality is the use of a relational lens that focuses not only on the unequal distribution of goods or resources, but also on the relations and relational mechanisms that yield unequal outcomes.

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

Bruch, Sarah K., Janet C. Gornick, and Joseph van der Naald. 2023. “Poverty Reduction through Federal and State Policy Mechanisms: Variation Over Time and Across the U.S. States.” Social Service Review 97(2): 270-319.

Gordon, Colin and Sarah K. Bruch. 2020. “Home Inequity: Race, Wealth, and Housing in St. Louis since 1940.” Housing Studies 35:7, 1285-1308

Bruch, Sarah K., Aaron Rosenthal, and Joe Soss. 2019. “Unequal Positions: A Relational Approach to Racial Inequality Trends in the U.S. States, 1940-2010.” Social Science History 43(1): 159-184

Bruch, Sarah K. and KaLeigh K. White. 2018. “Politics, State Discretion and Retrenchment in Safety Net Provision: Evidence from the USA in the Post-Welfare Reform Era” Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy, and Society

Bruch, Sarah K. and Joe Soss. 2018. “Schooling as a Formative Political Experience: Authority Relations and the Education of Citizens.” Perspectives on Politics 16(1) 36-57.

Bruch, Sarah K., Marcia K. Meyers, and Janet C. Gornick. 2018. “The Consequences of Decentralization: Inequality in Safety Net Provision in the Post-Welfare Reform Era.” Social Service Review 92(1):3-35.

  • Winner of the 2019 Breul Memorial Prize for Best Article published in SSR in previous year.
  • Featured in Inequality Matters LIS Newsletter, April 2019.
  • Used as basis of West Coast Poverty Center Dialogue #7, Variation in State Safety Net Provision.

Gamoran, Adam and Sarah K. Bruch. 2017. “Educational Inequality in the United States: Can We Reverse the Tide?” Journal of Education and Work 30(7): 777-792.

Hanselman, Paul, Jeffrey Grigg, Sarah K. Bruch, and Adam Gamoran. 2016. “The Consequences of Principal and Teacher Turnover for School Social Resources.” Research in the Sociology of Education 19: 49-89.

Hanselman, Paul, Sarah K. Bruch, Adam Gamoran, and Geoffrey D. Borman. 2014. “Threat in Context: School Moderation of the Impact of Social Identity Threat on Racial/Ethnic Achievement Gaps.” Sociology of Education 87(2): 106-124.

  • Awarded the Alan C. Kerckhoff Award from the Research Committee on Social Stratification (RC28), of the International Sociological Association.
  • Featured in Education Week.

Hannon, Lance, Robert DeFina, and Sarah K. Bruch. 2013. (equal authorship) “The Relationship Between Skin Tone and School Suspension for African Americans.” Race and Social Problems 5(4): 281-295.

  • Featured in the New York Times, Colorlines, and The Society Pages.

Bruch, Sarah K., Myra Marx Ferree, and Joe Soss. 2010. “From Policy to Polity: Democracy, Paternalism, and the Incorporation of Disadvantaged Citizens” American Sociological Review 75(2): 205-226. [online supplement]

  • Featured in Best, Joel. Social Problems 2nd Edition, and in Stanford Social Innovations Review.
  • Honorable Mention for the Genevieve Gorst Herfurth Award.

Turley, Ruth, Matt Desmond, and Sarah K. Bruch. 2010. “Unanticipated Consequences of a Positive Parent-Child Relationship.” Journal of Marriage and Family 72: 1377-1390.

  • Featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Berger, Lawrence M., Kristen S. Slack, Jane Waldfogel, and Sarah K. Bruch. 2010. “Caseworker Perceived Caregiver Substance Abuse and Child Protective Services Outcomes.” Child Maltreatment 15(3): 199-210.

Berger, Lawrence M., Sarah K. Bruch, Elizabeth I. Johnson, Sigrid James, and David Rubin. 2009. “Estimating the 'Impact' of Out-of-Home Placement on Child Well-Being: Approaching the Problem of Selection Bias” Child Development 80(6): 1856-1876.

Book Chapters

Bruch, Sarah K., Janet C. Gornick, and Joseph van der Naald. 2022. “Geographic Inequality in Social Provision in the U.S. States.” NBER CRIW Book Series. Measuring and Understanding the Distribution and Intra/Inter-Generational Mobility of Income and Wealth. University of Chicago Press.

Bruch, Sarah K. and Colin Gordon. 2022. “States of Welfare: Decentralization and its Consequences for U.S. Social Policy.” In Y. Kazepov, E. Barberis and R. Cucca (Eds), Handbook of Urban Social Policies. (pp. 352-368). Edward Elgar Publishing.

Bruch, Sarah K., Inga Popovaite, and Elizabeth Felix. (2018) “Patterns and Impacts of Racial and International Student Disparities in Experiences of Campus Climate, Academic Support, and Financial Conditions at the University of Iowa” for Evaluating Campus Climate at U.S. Research Universities: Opportunities for Diversity and Inclusion. Palgrave MacMillan.

Haley-Lock, Anna, and Sarah K. Bruch. 2007. Workplace and workforce considerations in access to employment opportunity. In D. Engstrom & L. Piedra (Eds.), Our Diverse Society: Race, Ethnicity, and Class, Washington, DC: NASW Press.

Commissioned Reports and Invited Briefs

Bruch, Sarah K. 2017. “The Importance of Policy Design Features of Decentralization.” Invited Memo on Child Poverty Alleviation Strategies for the National Academies of Sciences, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, Committee on Building an Agenda to Reduce the Number of Children in Poverty by Half in 10 Years.

Bruch, Sarah K. 2017. “A Relational Lens for the Study of Inequality.” In Items: Insights from the Social Sciences, January 24, series on What Is Inequality? New York: Social Science Research Council.

Bruch, Sarah K. 2015. “Investing in Knowledge: Insights on the Funding Landscape for Research on Inequality among Young People in the United States.” A William T. Grant Foundation Inequality Paper.

  • Featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Gamoran, Adam and Sarah K. Bruch. 2010. “Alternative Models for Human Capital Development in Education Research.” Commissioned Report to the Spencer Foundation.

Published Working Papers

Bruch, Sarah K., Marcia K. Meyers, and Janet C. Gornick. 2016. “Separate and Unequal: The Dimensions and Consequences of Safety Net Decentralization in the U.S. 1994-2014.” Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Paper No. 1432-16.

  • Featured in the Pacific Standard, Quartz, and The New Republic.
  • Featured on Institute for Research on Poverty Webinar 11/2016

Bruch, Sarah K. and Joe Soss. 2016. “Learning Where We Stand: How School Experiences Matter for Civic Marginalization and Political Inequality.” Washington Center for Equitable Growth Working Paper.

Policy Reports and Briefs

Bruch, Sarah K., Rachel Maller, Sanga Kim, KaLeigh White, Tessa Heeren, Nicole Nucaro, Jocelyn Roof, Sarah Carmona, Logan Drake, Skye Sperry, and Nicole Bennett. 2019. Student Experiences of School Climate in the Iowa City Community School District 2019. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., KaLeigh White, Hansini Munasinghe, and Rachel Maller. 2019. Faculty and Staff Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Campus Climate Survey and Listening Sessions Report. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Rachel Maller, KaLeigh White, Hansini Munasinghe, and Camille Socaras. 2019. Undergraduate Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Campus Climate Survey and Listening Sessions Report. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Rachel Maller, KaLeigh White, and Hansini Munasinghe. 2019. Graduate Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Campus Climate Survey and Listening Sessions Report. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Logan Drake, Tessa Heeren, Rachel Maller, Chad Rhym, Qianyi Shi, and Sanga Kim. Year 2 Evaluation of West Wind’s Implicit Bias Program in the Iowa City Community School District. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Tessa Heeren, SuYeong Shin, Qianyi Shi, Lindsey Meza, Rachel Maller, Kaelynn Heiberg, and Paul Goetzmann II. Student Experiences of School Climate in the Iowa City Community School District 2018. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Tessa Heeren, Austin James Dyami Adams, and Natalie Veldhouse. 2018. “Iowa City Community School District LGBTQ Student Experiences Multi-Stakeholder Task Force Report.” Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Inga Popovaite, Elizabeth Felix, and Matthew Anson. 2018. “Equity, Inclusion and Diversity among Undergraduate Students at the University of Iowa 2013-2016.” Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Tessa Heeren, Rachel Maller, and Qianyi Shi. 2017. “Conflict 180 Restorative Justice Program in Iowa Community Schools 2016-17 Program Evaluation Report.” Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Tessa Heeren, Kaelynn Heiberg, Austin James Dyami Adams, and Qianyi Shi. 2017. “West Wind Implicit Bias Program in Iowa City Community Schools 2016-17 Program Evaluation Report.” Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Sean M. Finn, Austin James Dyami Adams, and Tessa Heeren. 2017. “Policy Brief: LGBTQ Student Experiences in the Iowa City Community School District.” Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Tessa Heeren, Qianyi Shi, Rachel Maller, Meredith McCaffrey, Nicole Nucaro, and Irvin Rodriguez. 2017. “Student Experiences of School Climate in the Iowa City Community School District 2017.” Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Hansini Munasinghe, and Yujia Lyu. 2017. “University of Iowa Parental Leave Survey Report.” Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K, Tessa Heeren, Rhea Burns, and Irvin Rodriguez. 2017. “Iowa City Community School District Multi-Stakeholder School Climate Task Force.” Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Harper Haynes, and Alex Hylka. 2016. “Focus Area Policy Brief: Teacher and Mentor Relationships.” Iowa, City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Harper Haynes, and Alex Hylka. 2016. “Focus Area Policy Brief: Inclusive School Environments.” Iowa, City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Harper Haynes, and Alex Hylka. 2016. “Focus Area Policy Brief: Disciplinary Environment.” Iowa, City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K., Harper Hayes, Tessa Heeren, Sana Naqvi, and Ha Young Jeong. 2016. “Assessing Student Experiences of School in the Iowa City Community School District.” Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Public Policy Center.

Bruch, Sarah K. and Harper Haynes. 2016. “Effective Ways to Reduce Disparities in School Discipline.” Scholar Strategy Network Basic Facts Brief.

Bruch, Sarah K. 2015. “Inequalities in Safety Net Programs across the U.S. States.” Scholar Strategy Network Basic Facts Brief.