UCI faculty members Andrew Penner, associate professor of sociology; Emily Penner, assistant professor of education; and Paul Hanselman, assistant professor of sociology, are co-principal investigators on a study examining the relationship between education and childrens’ healthy transitions to adulthood.

“This project assesses how exposure to different courses and teachers shapes students’ futures: their labor market experiences, criminal justice contact, family formation and health,” Andrew Penner said.

The research team will link data between school district administrative records and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Center for Administrative Records Research & Applications to better understand the impact of educational practices and policies on longer-term health outcomes.

The five-year, $3.5 million collaborative grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development also includes participants from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt University, the Rand Corp., NORC at the University of Chicago, and the U.S. Census Bureau.