Professor Young-Suk Kim named a top productive researcher globally
The senior associate dean was listed as the second most productive researchers in the field of literacy, according to an Educational Psychology Review article

By Marc-Anthony Rosas
November 9, 2022
UCI School of Education Professor Young-Suk Kim’s interest in writing and literacy sparked as a young teacher in inner-city classrooms when she noticed a rising pattern among her elementary school students: some students excelled in their reading and writing skills, while others struggled with decoding words. Her curiosity about the factors that influenced students’ learning to read and write, ultimately encouraged her to return into the classroom in a different capacity – to study literacy and the “Science of Reading” as a doctoral student. Many years later, what started out as an inquiry into how to better serve her students at the elementary school level has now led to Kim being named as one of the most productive educational psychologists from 2015-21.
Kim, who is the senior associate dean at the School of Education, was named one of the top 2 professors in the world when it came to research papers that focused on literacy, as determined by a recent article in Educational Psychology Review. According to the article, quantifying productivity is useful for the field of study because it could help “graduate students or postdoctoral researchers identify mentors with whom they may choose to work” with, as well as helping these potential students in “identifying top-producing institutions.” The article also named the School of Education No. 14 among education psychology programs in the world.
November 9, 2022
UCI School of Education Professor Young-Suk Kim’s interest in writing and literacy sparked as a young teacher in inner-city classrooms when she noticed a rising pattern among her elementary school students: some students excelled in their reading and writing skills, while others struggled with decoding words. Her curiosity about the factors that influenced students’ learning to read and write, ultimately encouraged her to return into the classroom in a different capacity – to study literacy and the “Science of Reading” as a doctoral student. Many years later, what started out as an inquiry into how to better serve her students at the elementary school level has now led to Kim being named as one of the most productive educational psychologists from 2015-21.
Kim, who is the senior associate dean at the School of Education, was named one of the top 2 professors in the world when it came to research papers that focused on literacy, as determined by a recent article in Educational Psychology Review. According to the article, quantifying productivity is useful for the field of study because it could help “graduate students or postdoctoral researchers identify mentors with whom they may choose to work” with, as well as helping these potential students in “identifying top-producing institutions.” The article also named the School of Education No. 14 among education psychology programs in the world.
“The recognition is meaningful because it indicates the impact and contribution of my scholarship to the educational psychology community, and that the UCI School of Education is increasing its visibility among scholars and practitioners for its impact in the area of reading and writing development and that the school is on its way to becoming a leader on this topic,” Kim said.
In recent years, Kim’s field in literacy has gotten much attention in the government policy realm. Named the “Science of Reading” debate by researchers like Kim, scholars and lawmakers have gotten together to enact action into how to best teach reading and writing in prekindergarten to 12th grade schools across the nation. As of 2022, 49 states have passed legislation on dyslexia, which outlines requirements about how to best identify dyslexia and teacher training on how to best teach and accommodate students with it.
Kim has been at the forefront of such literacy legislation in California. In 2022, Kim was a part of the “Commission on Teacher Credentialing SB 488 Literacy Workgroup” for the state legislature. The workgroup consisted of university and college faculty and researchers, school district administrators, classroom teachers, and policy advocates with diverse backgrounds. They were sought out to give recommendations to Commission staff regarding needed updates to Program Standards for Multiple Subject, Single Subject, ECE PK-3 Specialist, and Education Specialist preliminary credential candidates in the state.
“Reading and writing skills are fundamental to daily lives, academic learning, and in work places; and advancing our understanding of mechanisms of reading and writing development and effective teaching approaches have critical implications for classrooms and children’s learning,” said Kim.
The goal of Senate Bill 488 was to look at educator quality to support the “development and certification of educators who have demonstrated the capacity to be effective practitioners,” and program quality and accountability to prepare the education workforce to be “responsive to the needs of California’s diverse student population.”
As part of the workgroup, Kim and fellow researchers are using their research to help the state legislature on policies such as setting standards for teacher education programs that is expected to have a direct impact on millions of students learning to read and write in California. Kim explains that “linking research to practice and policy is incredibly important for an applied field like education. Evidence clearly indicates that how reading and writing are taught matters for student learning.”
While Kim was a teacher in inner-city classrooms that served students from highly diverse backgrounds, she noticed a large variation among children in their learning of reading and writing skills. She explained that some students were having difficulty with decoding words in the second grade after instruction in previous grades, while others were reading at advanced levels. Her inquiry on factors that influence students’ learning to read and write led Kim to her doctoral degree and on her focus of educational psychology and literacy.
Since that career change, Kim’s research not only been highly productive, but it has impacted classrooms on a national level and has contributed to the School of Education’s U.S. News & World Report ranking as Top 10 graduate school of education in the nation and Top 8 school for education and educational research in the world,
Read more studies and publications from Young-Suk Kim and the faculty at the School of Education.
In recent years, Kim’s field in literacy has gotten much attention in the government policy realm. Named the “Science of Reading” debate by researchers like Kim, scholars and lawmakers have gotten together to enact action into how to best teach reading and writing in prekindergarten to 12th grade schools across the nation. As of 2022, 49 states have passed legislation on dyslexia, which outlines requirements about how to best identify dyslexia and teacher training on how to best teach and accommodate students with it.
Kim has been at the forefront of such literacy legislation in California. In 2022, Kim was a part of the “Commission on Teacher Credentialing SB 488 Literacy Workgroup” for the state legislature. The workgroup consisted of university and college faculty and researchers, school district administrators, classroom teachers, and policy advocates with diverse backgrounds. They were sought out to give recommendations to Commission staff regarding needed updates to Program Standards for Multiple Subject, Single Subject, ECE PK-3 Specialist, and Education Specialist preliminary credential candidates in the state.
“Reading and writing skills are fundamental to daily lives, academic learning, and in work places; and advancing our understanding of mechanisms of reading and writing development and effective teaching approaches have critical implications for classrooms and children’s learning,” said Kim.
The goal of Senate Bill 488 was to look at educator quality to support the “development and certification of educators who have demonstrated the capacity to be effective practitioners,” and program quality and accountability to prepare the education workforce to be “responsive to the needs of California’s diverse student population.”
As part of the workgroup, Kim and fellow researchers are using their research to help the state legislature on policies such as setting standards for teacher education programs that is expected to have a direct impact on millions of students learning to read and write in California. Kim explains that “linking research to practice and policy is incredibly important for an applied field like education. Evidence clearly indicates that how reading and writing are taught matters for student learning.”
While Kim was a teacher in inner-city classrooms that served students from highly diverse backgrounds, she noticed a large variation among children in their learning of reading and writing skills. She explained that some students were having difficulty with decoding words in the second grade after instruction in previous grades, while others were reading at advanced levels. Her inquiry on factors that influence students’ learning to read and write led Kim to her doctoral degree and on her focus of educational psychology and literacy.
Since that career change, Kim’s research not only been highly productive, but it has impacted classrooms on a national level and has contributed to the School of Education’s U.S. News & World Report ranking as Top 10 graduate school of education in the nation and Top 8 school for education and educational research in the world,
Read more studies and publications from Young-Suk Kim and the faculty at the School of Education.