Biography
Qing Zhang is a doctoral candidate in the Education Policy and Social Context (EPSC) specialization. Prior to her doctoral study, Qing worked as an early childhood home visitor serving disadvantaged immigrant children and families in Chicago. This firsthand experience was her primary motivation to pursue a Ph.D. and specialize in early childhood education (ECE) policy.
Qing's research sits at the intersection of education, economics, and developmental science and seeks to understand the contexts (e.g., home, school, policy environment) in which well-intended policies are implemented at scale, and whether the individual and program interactions in these contexts promote or hinder the policy efforts to improve access, quality, and child and family outcomes. Qing’s work contributes to the building of an integrated ECE system with a linkage to the K-12 system to ensure service continuity, effectiveness, and persistence of effects. She uses a wide array of econometric methods and large-scale longitudinal data at the state, national, and international level to conduct causally-driven studies.
Qing holds a Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Social Work from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China. She was also a certified Teen Outreach Program facilitator at the Wyman Center and implemented her own cross-cultural communication after-school program in local middle schools in St. Louis.
Publications
Xu, D., Zhang, Q., & Zhou, X. “The impacts of low-ability peers on cognitive and noncognitive outcomes: Random assignment evidence on the effects and operating channels.” In press, Journal of Human Resources, published ahead of print March 9, 2020, doi:10.3368/jhr.57.2.0718-9637R2
Working Papers
Zhang, Q. & Jenkins, J. M. “Does state pre-kindergarten programs affect Head Start enrollment of children with disabilities? Quasi-experimental evidence using national data in the past three decades.”
Zhang, Q. & Farkas, G. “Oral vocabulary and parenting activities as mediators between family SES and kindergarten academic performance: A quantitative analysis of nationally representative data.”
Work In Progress
Zhang, Q. & Jenkins, J. M. “A rising tide that lifted all boats? The effects of competition on early childhood education quality and student medium-term outcomes.”
Zhang, Q. & Jenkins, J. M. “Unintended consequences or benefits? A comprehensive evaluation of the impact of state pre-kindergarten on Head Start.”
Zhang, Q. & Jenkins, J. M. “Peer effects of preschool attendance: Experimental evidence on student outcomes in early adolescence.”
Shea, Z. M., Zhang, Q., Jenkins, J. M., & Watts, T. W. “Does a higher proportion of preschool peers in Kindergarten affect children’s outcomes?”
Ahn, J. & Zhang, Q. “Improving evaluation of educational software using log data: Methodological notes from a study of Lexia.”
Liu, V., Xu, D., Zhang, Q., & Minaya, V. “Impact of dual enrollment on college outcomes.”
May 2020
Qing Zhang is a doctoral candidate in the Education Policy and Social Context (EPSC) specialization. Prior to her doctoral study, Qing worked as an early childhood home visitor serving disadvantaged immigrant children and families in Chicago. This firsthand experience was her primary motivation to pursue a Ph.D. and specialize in early childhood education (ECE) policy.
Qing's research sits at the intersection of education, economics, and developmental science and seeks to understand the contexts (e.g., home, school, policy environment) in which well-intended policies are implemented at scale, and whether the individual and program interactions in these contexts promote or hinder the policy efforts to improve access, quality, and child and family outcomes. Qing’s work contributes to the building of an integrated ECE system with a linkage to the K-12 system to ensure service continuity, effectiveness, and persistence of effects. She uses a wide array of econometric methods and large-scale longitudinal data at the state, national, and international level to conduct causally-driven studies.
Qing holds a Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Social Work from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China. She was also a certified Teen Outreach Program facilitator at the Wyman Center and implemented her own cross-cultural communication after-school program in local middle schools in St. Louis.
Publications
Xu, D., Zhang, Q., & Zhou, X. “The impacts of low-ability peers on cognitive and noncognitive outcomes: Random assignment evidence on the effects and operating channels.” In press, Journal of Human Resources, published ahead of print March 9, 2020, doi:10.3368/jhr.57.2.0718-9637R2
Working Papers
Zhang, Q. & Jenkins, J. M. “Does state pre-kindergarten programs affect Head Start enrollment of children with disabilities? Quasi-experimental evidence using national data in the past three decades.”
Zhang, Q. & Farkas, G. “Oral vocabulary and parenting activities as mediators between family SES and kindergarten academic performance: A quantitative analysis of nationally representative data.”
Work In Progress
Zhang, Q. & Jenkins, J. M. “A rising tide that lifted all boats? The effects of competition on early childhood education quality and student medium-term outcomes.”
Zhang, Q. & Jenkins, J. M. “Unintended consequences or benefits? A comprehensive evaluation of the impact of state pre-kindergarten on Head Start.”
Zhang, Q. & Jenkins, J. M. “Peer effects of preschool attendance: Experimental evidence on student outcomes in early adolescence.”
Shea, Z. M., Zhang, Q., Jenkins, J. M., & Watts, T. W. “Does a higher proportion of preschool peers in Kindergarten affect children’s outcomes?”
Ahn, J. & Zhang, Q. “Improving evaluation of educational software using log data: Methodological notes from a study of Lexia.”
Liu, V., Xu, D., Zhang, Q., & Minaya, V. “Impact of dual enrollment on college outcomes.”
May 2020
