PhD Students

Hee Jin Chung (PhD successfully defended on 05/2018)

Penn State, Educational Theory and Policy 

Title: Gender Equality and the Gender Achievement Gap: A Cross-National Study Using PISA 2015

Role: Chair/Advisor

Current Position: Lecturer, Hongik University, South Korea

Hyowon Park (PhD successfully defended on 06/2018)

Penn State, Educational Theory and Policy 

Title: Contesting Teacher Evaluation: Policy Reform and the Advocacy Coalition Framework in South Korea

Role: Co-Chair/Advisor with Gerald LeTendre

Current Position: Senior Researcher, Korean Educational Development Institute, South Korea

Yifan Bai (PhD successfully defended on 06/2018)

Penn State, Educational Theory and Policy 

Title: The Consequences of Educational Assortative Marriage for Children’s Academic Proficiency in the United States and China

Role: Chair/Advisor

Current Position: Senior Researcher,  American Institutes for Research, Washington DC, US 

Yiran Zhao (PhD successfully defended on 02/2021)

Penn State, Educational Theory and Policy 

Theme: : A Comparison of the Creative Thinking Abilities among Urban, Migrant, and Rural Adolescents in Western China

Role: Chair/Advisor

Current Position: Assistant Professor of Child Development and Family Education, Department of Educational Studies, Academy of Future Education, Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China 

Ji Hye "Jane" Kim  (PhD successfully defended on 02/2021)

Penn State, Educational Theory and Policy 

Theme: : Revisiting Effectively Maintained Inequality in Educational Transitions: The Case of South Korea

Role: Chair/Advisor

Current Position: Senior Analyst, American Council of Education, Washington DC, US.  

Sangkyoo Kang (PhD successfully defended on 02/2022)

Penn State, Educational Theory and Policy 

Theme: : School Accountability and Student Wellbeing: Evidence from PISA 2018 in Finland, South Korea, and the United States

Role: Chair/Advisor

Current Position:  Senior Program Officer,  Korean National Commission for UNESCO 

Jilli Jung (PhD in progress)

Penn State, Educational Theory and Policy 

Theme: : Three Essays on Education Policy, Politics, and Non-Academic Outcomes

Role: Chair/Advisor

Sangeun Lee (PhD in progress)

Penn State, Educational Theory and Policy 

Theme: : The Impact of Shadow Education on the Mental Health of Students in South Korea

Role: Chair/Advisor