Dr. Workman's research focuses on the ways schools reproduce inequality in larger society. He shows class-based and racial-ethnic inequalities in educational outcomes largely arise from processes that occur outside the classroom. His research investigates how disparities in family resources shape young children's intellectual development and access to quality education. He highlights the intersection of two powerful social institutions, schools and families, and how they jointly shape inequality in educational opportunity. A second dimension of his research focuses on how peer relationships among adolescents shape social identity and educational decision-making.
Professor Workman joined UMKC in 2017 after being a Prize Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Nuffield College, University of Oxford. He teaches courses on Introduction to Sociology, Statistics for Social Sciences, and Educational Inequality.
Education
B.A., Sociology and Philosophy, Ohio State University, Columbus
M.A., Sociology, University of Notre Dame
Ph.D., Sociology, University of Notre Dame