Dr. McLaughlin's research combines studies of K–12 education policy in the U.S and work on the broad question of community-school collaboration to support youth development. Her research on public education focuses on how school teaching is shaped by "context" issues such as organizational policy and social-cultural conditions of schools, districts, and communities.
Within communities, she is involved with local efforts to engage whole communities — schools, community organizations and agencies, parents, and faith-based institutions — in developing new strategies and capacity to promote youth development broadly considered.
Dr. McLaughlin is Co-Director of the Center for Research on the Context of Teaching, an education research center that analyzes how teaching and learning are shaped by their contexts and the connection between teacher learning communities and educational reforms. She is Director of the John Gardner Center for Youth and their Communities, a partnership between Stanford University and Bay Area communities to build new practices, knowledge, and capacity for youth development and learning.
