About

Milbrey McLaughlin is an Emerita Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. Her research combines studies of K-12 education policy in the U.S. and work on the broad question of community-school collaboration to support youth development. Her focus on public education emphasizes how school teaching is influenced by 'context' issues such as organizational policy, social-cultural conditions of schools, districts, and communities. She is actively involved in local efforts to engage entire communities—including schools, community organizations, agencies, parents, and faith-based institutions—in developing new strategies and capacity to promote youth development broadly considered. Dr. McLaughlin is Co-Director of the Center for Research on the Context of Teaching, which analyzes how teaching and learning are shaped by their contexts and explores the connection between teacher learning communities and educational reforms. She also serves as the Director of the John Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities, a partnership between Stanford University and Bay Area communities aimed at building new practices, knowledge, and capacity for youth development and learning.

Research topics

• Computer Science
• Sociology
• Marketing
• Business
• Geography
• Pedagogy

Selected publications

• Community and Alternative School Policies

  2025-07-17 · 1 citations

  book-chapterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• From Perception to Policy: insights for evidence-based preparedness policy in Slovenia and Ireland

  European Journal of Public Health · 2025-10-01

  articleOpen access

  Abstract This presentation explores two key challenges in using cross-national behavioural data to inform preparedness and resilience policymaking: 1) why behavioural data is so important (Slovenia) and 2) achieving policy buy-in (Ireland). In Slovenia, findings from the March 2024 European Pandemic Preparedness Behaviour survey (n = 1.522) reveal a gap between perceived and actual preparedness. While 52% felt well prepared for a potential lockdown, only 47.2% said they would stay home when symptomatic, and fewer than one-third had all the recommended emergency stockpile. Vaccine confidence was also low-only 42.3% believed vaccines are safe, and 52.9% thought they are effective. These results highlight the complexity of preparedness behaviours and underscore the need for targeted, evidence-based interventions to enhance confidence, readiness and compliance with preventive measures during future pandemics. In Ireland, the focus is on the policymaking process itself-specifically, the barriers and enablers policymakers face when integrating behavioural evidence into public health planning. Although behavioural science has informed Ireland's COVID-19 response and continues to shape policy, building long-term preparedness requires sustained collaboration and foresight. This case study reflects on how Ireland's Department of Health has applied data from the Pandemic Preparedness Survey to guide emergency planning and shares insights into how researchers can foster policy buy-in throughout the research lifecycle. Together, these case studies from Slovenia and Ireland emphasize the vital role of behavioural science in developing resilient, evidence-based policies for future public health crises.

  PublisherDOI

• The Way We Do School: The Making of Oakland's Full-Service Community School District

  2020 · 5 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Geography
  • Sociology
  Publisher

• Acknowledgments

  New York University Press eBooks · 2020

  • Computer Science
  • Computer Science

  This book bears my name on its cover but it grows out of a series of projects that have each been fundamentally collaborative.Ideas always have social origins.And good ideas about youth activism depend on examples of imaginative, dedicated people working together to improve the world.In this brief acknowledgment I want to honor the contributions of many of the people who contributed to the research and writing of this book.Over the past ten years I've spent time with and learned from politi-

  DOI

• You Can't Be What You Can't See: The Power of Opportunity to Change Young Lives

  2018-04-10

  book1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

• The California Career Pathways Trust: Sustaining Cross-Sector Partnerships.

  Jobs for the Future · 2018-10-01 · 1 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

• 21. Nonprofit Community Organizations in Poor Urban Settings: Bridging Institutional Gaps for Youth

  Yale University Press eBooks · 2017-12-31 · 4 citations

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Policies that support professional development in an era of reform

  e-rph (University of Granada) · 2015-12-09 · 3 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Understanding the conditions through which teachers’ acquisition and use of new knowledge and skills are enhanced informs our understanding of effective models of professional development. In this article the authors examine some design principles to guide policy-makers and school reformers who seek to promote learner-centred professional development which involves teachers as active and reflective participants in the change process. They aimed to explore: the role of teachers as learners and teachers, new designsfor professional development; school culture and how it relates to critical enquiry; elements of effective curriculum frameworks; messages emerging for policy-makers and administrators concerned with professional development for teachers

  Publisher

• Implementing Common Core State Standards in California: A Report from the Field.

  Policy Analysis for California Education, PACE · 2014-06-01 · 19 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  Publisher

• Playing Fair: The Contribution of High‐Functioning Recess to Overall School Climate in Low‐Income Elementary Schools

  Journal of School Health · 2014-12-01 · 54 citations

  articleSenior author

  BACKGROUND: Recess is a part of the elementary school day with strong implications for school climate. Positive school climate has been linked to a host of favorable student outcomes, from attendance to achievement. We examine 6 low-income elementary schools' experiences implementing a recess-based program designed to provide safe, healthy, and inclusive play to study how improving recess functioning can affect school climate. METHODS: Data from teacher, principal, and recess coach interviews; student focus groups; recess observations; and a teacher survey are triangulated to understand the ways that recess changed during implementation. Comparing schools that achieved higher- and lower-functioning recesses, we link recess functioning with school climate. RESULTS: Recess improved in all schools, but 4 of the 6 achieved a higher-functioning recess. In these schools, teachers and principals agreed that by the end of the year, recess offered opportunities for student engagement, conflict resolution, pro-social skill development, and emotional and physical safety. Respondents in these four schools linked these changes to improved overall school climate. CONCLUSIONS: Recess is an important part of the school day for contributing to school climate. Creating a positive recess climate helps students to be engaged in meaningful play and return to class ready to learn.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Joan E. Talbert

  17 shared

• Paul Schiff Berman

  14 shared

• Sarah N. Deschenes

  World Bank

  13 shared

• Linda Darling‐Hammond

  Learning Policy Institute

  8 shared

• Richard F. Elmore

  Harvard University Press

  7 shared

• Jennifer L. O’Donoghue

  Trinity College Dublin

  7 shared

• Shirley Brice Heath

  7 shared

• Anne Newman

  Stanford University

  6 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Education

  Stanford University

  1980

• M.A., Education

  Stanford University

  1976

• B.A., Psychology

  University of California, Berkeley

  1971