Currently Principal Investigator on a SSHRC Insight Grant entitled

"Widening Post-secondary Access Pathways of Marginalized Youth in Gateway Cities".

Recently, I have also been involved in a few research projects with York Sociology Professor (Emeritus) Paul Anisef and Dr. Robert Brown, a research co-ordinator from the Toronto District School Board. We have worked together on MTCU and HEQCO funded projects around the general issue of postsecondary transitions of students. We have been looking, in particular, at how race, class, gender, and special education needs impact upon the transition to postsecondary students in Toronto. We have also examined the trajectories of students in the Toronto District School Board's Continuing Educaton day programs.

 

Books and Monographs

• 2018. Neuman, Lawrence W. and Robson, Karen L. The Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Fourth Canadian Edition. Pearson Education. (Currently being revised for Fourth Edition)
• 2016. Robson, Karen and Pevalin, David. Multilevel Modelling in Plain English, Sage.
• 2012. Robson, Karen. Sociology of Education in Canada, Pearson Canada.
• 2011. Neuman, Lawrence W. and Robson, Karen L. The Basics of Social Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. Second Canadian Edition. Pearson Education.
• 2009. Pevalin, David and Robson, Karen L. Stata Survival Manual. Open University Press.
• 2009. Robson, Karen and Sanders, Chris (Eds). Quantifying Theory: Pierre Bourdieu. Springer. 

 

Chapters in Books

• 2016. Harrison, D., Albanese, P.,  Robson, K.,  and Sanders, C. “Findings from Armyville”, in Deborah Harrison and Patrizia Albanese (Eds). Military Families in Canada. Wilfred Laurier University Press.
• 2016.. Robson, K., Anisef, P., and Brown, R.S. “Identifying the Complexity of Barriers Faced by Marginalized Youth in Transition to Postsecondary Education in Ontario”, in Wolfgang Lehmann (E d) The Sociology of Education in Canada: Contemporary Debates and Perspectives, London: Oxford University Press.
• 2012. Smeeding, T., Wing, C., Robson, K. and Gershuny, J. “Poverty and Income Support for Minority and Immigrant Children in Rich Countries. Pp 63-89 in Masten, A,   Liebkind, K.,Hernandez, D (Eds.) RealizingThe Potential of Immigrant Youth. Cambridge University Press.
• 2011. Robson, K. “The After Life of NEETS,” Pp 185-209 in Attewell, Paul and Newman, Katherine S. (Eds) Growing Gaps: Educational Inequality around the World, Oxford University Press.
• 2009. Smeeding, T. M., Wing, C.  and  Robson, K. “Differences in Social Transfer Support and Poverty for Immigrant Families with Children Lessons from the LIS,” Pp 1-24 in Immigration, Diversity, and Education edited by L. Grigorenko and Ruby Takanishi, Routeledge, NY.
• 2009. Robson, K. “Teenage Time Use as Investment in Cultural Capital,” Pp 105-116 in: K. Robson and C. Sanders (Eds). Quantifying Theory: Pierre Bourdieu. Springer.

 

Articles (Refereed)

• 2017. Sweet, R., Robson, K. and Adamuti-Trache, M., Ethnicity and Effectively Maintained Inequality in BC Universities. Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie, 54: 497–518.
• 2016. Robson, K. Anisef, P., and Brown, R. S. The Best Laid Plans: Educational Pathways of Adult Learners in Toronto. Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education. 28(2): 1-N.
• 2014. Robson, K., Anisef, P., Brown, R. S., and Parekh, G. “The Intersectionality of Postsecondary Pathways: The Case of High School Students with Special Education Needs” Canadian Review of Sociology, 51(3), 193-215.
• 2014. Robson, K., Albanese, P., Harrison, D., and Sanders, C. “School Engagement among Youth in Canadian Forces Families: A Comparative Analysis,” Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 59(3), 363-381.
• 2014.  Chaze, F. and Robson, K.  “In Control of Life Chances? Visible Minority Immigrants and Sense of Mastery,” Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies,12(3), 161-171.
• 2013. Darmody,  M., Robson, K. and McMahon, L. “Young People and Social Capital: Transition from Primary Schools to Lower Secondary Level in Ireland ,” Irish Journal of Sociology, 20(1):19-38
• 2011. Harrison, D.; Robson, K., Albanese, P., Sanders, S., and Newburn-Cook, C. “The Impact of Shared Location on the Mental Health of Military and Civilian Adolescents in a Community Affected by Frequent Deployments: A Research Note” Armed Forces & Society, 37(3): 550-560.
• 2010. Robson, K. “Changes in Family Structure and the Well-being of British Children: Evidence from a Fifteen-Year Panel Study,” Child Indicators Research, 3(1): 65-83.
• 2009. Osterlund, K. and Robson, K.  “The Impact of ICT on Work–life Experiences among University Teaching Assistants,” Computers and Education, 52(2): 432-437.
• 2008. Robson, K. and Pevalin, D.“Gender Differences in the Predictors and Outcomes of Young Parenthood,” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 25: 205-218.
• 2008. Pevalin, D. and Robson, K. “Social Determinants of Health Inequalities in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” Public Health, 121: 588-595.
• 2006. Robson, K. and Anderson, G. “Male Adolescents’ Contributions to Household Labor as Predictors of Later-Life Participation in Housework,” Journal of Men’s Studies, 14(1): 1-12.
• 2006. Robson, K and Berthoud, R.  “Age at First Birth and Disadvantage among Ethnic Groups in Britain,” Ethnic and Racial Studies, 29(1): 153-172. 
• 2005. Anderson, G. and Robson, K. “Language as Status in Multilingual Switzerland,” Swiss Journal of Sociology, 31(1):  55-78.
• 2003. Robson, K. and Berthoud, R. “Teenage Motherhood in Europe: A Multi-Country Analysis of Socioeconomic Outcomes,” European Sociological Review, 19(5): 451-466.
• 2001. Robson, K. and Wallace, J. “Gendered Inequalities in Earnings: a study of Canadian Lawyers,” Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 38(1): 75-95.

 

Reports

• 2017. Robson K. How can education research not be political? CIES Perspectives Spring Newsletter 31, Florida International University.
• 2016. Robson, K., Anisef, P., Brown, R.S., and George, R.C. Do Post-Secondary Access Plans Help Marginalized Youth? Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund Final Report, Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities.
• 2015. Robson, K., Anisef, P., Newton, L. and Tecle, S. An Analysis of Provincial and Institutional Policy around the Inclusion of Marginalized Students in Ontario Post-Secondary Education. Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund Final Report, Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities.
• 2014. Robson, K., Anisef, P. and Brown, R.S. Identifying the Complexity of Barriers Faced by Marginalized Youth in Transition to Postsecondary Education in Ontario. Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund Final Report, Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities.
• 2013. Anisef, P., Brown, R., Robson, K., and Newton, L. Non-traditional post-secondary education pathways of adult learners in the Toronto District School Board. Toronto: Higher Education Quality  Council of Ontario
• 2007. Robson, K. and Feinstein, L. “Leisure contexts in adolescence and their associations with adult outcomes: a more complete picture,” Department for Education and Skills, (UK).
• 2001. Berthoud, R. and Robson, K.. “The Outcomes of Teenage Motherhood in Europe,” Innocenti Working Paper 86, UNICEF.

 

Submitted for Publication

• Robert Sweet, Karen Robson, Maria Adamuti-Trache. “Ethnicity and Effectively Maintained Inequality in B.C. Universities.” (R&R Canadian Review of Sociology)
• Karen Robson, Paul Anisef, Robert S. Brown, Rhonda George “Have Post-Secondary Policies Helped Marginalized Youth?” (R&R Canadian Journal of Higher Education)
• Gillian Parekh, Karen Robson, Robert S. Brown “The Social Construction of Gifted Education.” (R&R Canadian Disability Studies)

Presentations at Meetings

Invited 

• 2017 (March 3) Robson, Karen. "Recent Findings from the Gateway Cities Project: Intersecting Identities and Postsecondary Pathways". Sociology Department Spring Welcome, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.
• 2015 (June 29). Robson, Karen. “Intersections of Identity and the Transition to Postsecondary Education in Three Gateway Cities”. UCL Institute of Education, London, UK.
• 2010 (February 18-21). Smeeding, Tim, Karen Robson and Coady Wing “Income Poverty and Income Support for Minority and Immigrant Children in Rich Countries", Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, International Conference “Migration: A World in Motion. A Multinational Conference on Migration and Migration Policy”, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
• 2009 (December 10). Outcomes of Teenage Motherhood in Europe: Evidence from the EU-Silc. Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Peer reviewed

• 2017. Robson, K. “A Comparison of Factors Determining Transition to Postsecondary Education among Marginalized Youth in Toronto and Chicago.”, Sociology of Education Association Conference, Monterey Bay Peninsula, California, Feb 24-26.
• 2016. Robson, K., Brown, R., and Parekh, G. “Pathways of Secondary and Continuing Education Students in the Toronto District School Board: Ongoing Research”, 4^th Annual Student Pathways Conference (Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer), Toronto, April 20.
• 2016. Sweet, R., and Robson, K. “Ethnicity and Effectively Maintained Inequality in B.C. Universities.” International Society for the Study of Chinese Overseas, Richmond, B.C. July 6-8.
• 2016. Parekh, G., Brown, R., and Robson, K. “Untethering Privileges: The Social Construction of ì Giftedness and the Struggle for an Equitable System Response.” Conference of the Canadian Disability Studies Association, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, May 28.
• 2016. Robson, K., Anisef, P., Brown, R.S, Nagaoka, J. “Defining the Other: Determinants of Special Education Needs Across Three Gateway Cities”, Conference of the Canadian Disability Studies Association, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, May 28.
• 2016. Robson, K., Anisef, P., Brown, R. S. and George, R. “Do Post-Secondary Policies Help Marginalized Youth?” Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany. October 5-8, 2016.
• 2015. Robson, K., Anisef, P., and Brown, R.  Identity Intersections and the Transition to Higher Education in Three Gateway Cities. Centre for Education for Racial Equality in Scotland Conference. Edinburgh, June.
• 2015. Robson, K., Anisef, P., Newton, L., and Tecle, S. Provincial and Institutional Policy around the Inclusion of Marginalized Students in Ontario Postsecondary Education. International Conference on Public Policy, Milan, July.
• 2015. Robson, K. , Brown, R. S. and Newton, L. Pathways of Secondary and Continuing Education Students in the Toronto District School Board. Student Pathways in Higher Education Conference, ONCAT, Toronto, April.
• 2015. Parehk, G., Brown, R. S., and Robson, K. The Social Construction of Gifted Education. Canadian Disability Studies Association. Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Ottawa, May.
• 2015. Robson, K., Anisef, P., and Brown, R.S. Using Intersectionality to Understand Disability and the Transition to PSE, Canadian Disability Studies Association. Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Ottawa, May.
• 2015. Robson, K., Anisef, P., Brown, R. S., Nagaoka, J. A Comparison in Postsecondary Pathways of Marginalized Youth In Toronto and Chicago. AERA, Chicago, April.
• 2015. Robson, K., Anisef, P., and Brown, R. S. Intersectionality and the Postsecondary Pathways of Marginalized Youth in Toronto. Ontario Education Research Symposium (OERS), February.
• 2014. Anisef, P., Brown, R.S., and Robson, K. “Opportunities for Non-Traditional Pathways to Post-Secondary Education in Ontario: Immigrants with Foreign Credentials,“  Metropolis, Milan, Italy, November 5, 2014.
• 2014. Robson, K., Anisef, P., and Brown, R.S. “Using Interactions to the Intersectional Identities of Toronto High School Students,” International Intersectionality Conference, Vancouver, April, 2014.
• 2014. Robson, K., Anisef, P., and Brown, R.S. “Using Intersectionality to Examine Marginalized Youth in Toronto,” Hawaiian International Conference on Education, Honolulu, USA, January 7, 2014.
• 2013. Robson, K. “Interaction Terms: The Unsung Heroes”, Quantitative Methods Workshop Presentation, Canadian Sociological Association, University of Victoria, British Columbia, June 5, 2013
• 2013. Anisef, P., Brown, R., and Robson, K. “Postsecondary Aspirations and Choices of Native and Foreign-Born Adult Learners in the Toronto District School Board,” Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education Conference, University of Victoria, British Columbia, June 3, 2013.
• 2012. Robson, K. “A Cross-National Examination of the Socioeconomic Outcomes of Family Transitions,” Annual Meeting of the Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, Paris, France, October 27, 2012.
• 2012. Robson, Karen.” A Cross-National Examination of the Socioeconomic Outcomes of Family Transitions,” Annual Meeting of Society for Longitudinal and Life Course Studies, Paris, France, October 27, 2012.
• 2011 Robson, Karen, Albanese, P. Harrison, P. and Sanders, C. “School Engagement among Youth in Canadian Forces Families: A Comparative Analysis,” Annual Meeting of the Canadian Sociological Association, Fredericton, New Brunswick, June 1.)
• 2011. Kim, A. and Robson, K. “Economic Security Among Immigrant Seniors in Canada,” Annual Meeting of the Canadian Sociological Association, Fredericton, New Brunswick, June 2.
• 2010. Robson, K.” Adult Mental Health Outcomes Associated with Family Structure Change in Childhood: Evidence from British Panel Data,” Society for Life Course and Longitudinal Studies, Cambridge, UK, September 24.
• 2010. Robson, K., Harrison, D., and Sanders, C. “The Mental Health and Well-being of Adolescents in Canadian Military Families: A Comparison with Their Civilian Peers,” Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Atlantic, August 17.