Alumna joins PBS SoCal as Education Research and Evaluation Analyst

​Tarana Khan (Ph.D. ’19) has joined PBS SoCal as their Education Research and Evaluation Analyst. In this role, Dr. Khan will evaluate the impact of a variety of family engagement programs for PBS SoCal’s Early Learning Service, which bridges educational gaps for the youngest and most vulnerable people across Southern California by connecting learning opportunities for children, parents, and educators to communities in need. 

“I am so excited to be a part of a project with such an important mission,” Khan said. “PBS SoCal’s early childhood education services help close the achievement gap for children from low-income families, and I look forward to bringing an evaluation perspective to the wonderful initiatives that are already in place.” 

With her team, Khan will design PBS SoCal’s research and evaluation strategy for its newest early learning project— the Compton Family Math Initiative. The goal of the project is to reach more than 6,000 Compton parents, children, and community members through fun and engaging workshops while encouraging early exposure to math to improve long term educational outcomes. 

The project ultimately wants to show parents that teaching their child can be entertaining and engaging by modeling how fun, hands-on math activities can easily be incorporated into everyday routines at home. ​​

As a doctoral student at UCI, Khan was advised by Distinguished Professor of Education Jacquelynne Eccles. “The opportunity to work with someone as brilliant as Dr. Eccles was the main driving force for me to get my Ph.D. at UCI,” Khan said. “She taught me how to be a better and stronger writer, how to measure the nebulous concept of motivation, and how to think critically about the impacts of my research.”

In her second year, Khan was selected as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow to conduct research that explored academic motivation beliefs among adolescents and undergraduates. As an example of the fascinating terrain of nurture versus nature in the educational field, she designed and implemented a longitudinal study with UCI undergraduates assessing change in students’ growth mindsets and their academic motivation. She utilized this data for her dissertation, which contributed to research on the popular notion that a growth mindset (believing that your intelligence has the potential to grow over time with increased efforts and strategies), is the most beneficial for students’ learning and engagement.

During the final year of her doctoral program, Khan completed an internship as a research analyst at EvalCorp, an applied research and consulting firm. She analyzed programmatic outcome data and designed reports for nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Khan’s work informed future directions for youth education programs and helped secure additional years of funding. 

Khan attributes her ability to be a conscientious educational researcher to the rich learning opportunities she was exposed to at the UCI School of Education.

“When I first visited UCI, I was drawn to the sense of camaraderie that existed between faculty members and students and the opportunity for cross-collaboration between the multiple disciplines within education and psychology.”