Mario Suárez, Ph.D.

Field: Teacher Education and Leadership
Areas of Focus: LGBTQIA Issues, public education, Public Schools, STEM, STEM education, transgender research

Expertise

• LGBTQI+ issues
• queer/trans studies in education
• STEM education and LGBTQI+
• STEM pipeline and minoritized students

Bio

Dr. Suárez's research agenda looks at individual, environmental, contextual, and systemic factors that work together (or not) to (re)produce unequal educational outcomes for minoritized populations. In particular, he is interested in how these factors shape K-16 spaces through standards, curriculum, teaching practices for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC students and teachers. To this end, he primarily employs critical quantitative research methods using secondary data analysis, though also draw on qualitative methods and primary data collection when large data are not available. He envisions these factors as metaphorical gears, some larger than others, that sometimes do not fit together and are working against each other, more so for some minoritized populations over others, to create inequality in K-16 spaces. His research in education draws from fields of sociology, demography, gender studies, and policy studies.