Sean Darling-Hammond, PhD, JD, BA
Biography
I seek to leverage my backgrounds in education, psychology, econometrics, and law to expand belonging and promote health and wellbeing by conducting research in two domains: 1) identifying k-12 practices that enhance wellbeing for students of all backgrounds; and 2) identifying social policies that reduce levels and consequences of racial bias.
My research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Health, and American Education Research Association; published in Science Advances, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), and Nature Human Behavior (among others); cited in over 700 research articles; and covered or referenced by NBC, The New York Times, the Department of Education Regional Education Labs, and the House Judiciary Committee.
A recent PNAS article leverages multiple empirical approaches (comparative linear regression, negative binomial regressions, and local polynomial analyses) to elucidate a new mental health risk for Black students—that schools rapidly grow more punitive towards Black students in the first weeks of the school year. It also shows how early-year data can be used to detect end-of-year discipline disparities. In another set of research projects, I apply within-unit modeling strategies to review millions of California public student records and find that exposure to restorative practices may improve academic and disciplinary outcomes and reduce related racial disparities. Using the same data, I also find that while exposure to restorative practices is related to lower rates of depression, sleep deprivation, and scholastic violence, exposure to racially biased policing may have the opposite effects. I also conduct randomized controlled trials to evaluate promising interventions. For example, our 2020 paper in Science Advances reports on a teacher-facing growth mindset intervention that reduced racial disparities in teachers’ responses to student misbehavior. A recently funded proposal aims to evaluate whether scholastic exposure to punitive discipline is predictive of later cognitive decline.
I am currently an Assistant Professor, in the department of Community Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to my appointment here, I served as an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Community Health Sciences, Biostatistics, and Education Policy, at the University of California, Los Angeles. And prior to that, I served as the Director of Research for a mission-driven message consulting firm. I have been fortunate enough to receive a number of grants and awards over the years.
- National Institute of Health, Loan Repayment Program Award
- National Science Foundation / American Education Research Association, Dissertation Award
- UC Berkeley, Marcus Foster Fellowship
- UC Berkeley, Graduate Diversity & Community Fellow
- UC Berkeley, Empirical Legal Scholars (BELS) Fellowship
- UC Berkeley, Mentored Research Award
- UC Berkeley, Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award
- Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM), 1st Place, Research Presentation Competition
- Ford Foundation, Pre-Doctoral Research Award, Honorable Mention
- California Law Review, Distinguished Young Alumni Award
- UC Berkeley Law School, Eleanor Swift Award for Outstanding Public Service
- UC Berkeley Law School, Prosser Award
- UC Berkeley Law School, American Jurisprudence Award
- UC Berkeley Law School, Dean’s Fellowship
Research Interests
- K-12 policies and practices
- Exclusionary discipline
- Restorative practices
- School policing
- Racial bias
- Belonging
- Child and adolescent mental health
- Stress and cognitive decline
Education
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PhD – Public Policy
University of California, Berkeley, 2022 - JD – University of California, Berkeley, 2014
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BA – Sociology
Harvard University, 2006