Jason M. Smith
Assistant Professor
Ph.D., Penn State University, 2006

Areas of Interest
Sociology of Education
Social Statistics
Sociology of Sport
Research Methods
Urban Sociology
Demography

Biographical Sketch
Jason M. Smith ("Dr. J") joined the UAHuntsville faculty in Fall 2006 after completing a Dual Ph.D. in Sociology and Demography at Penn State University. His research and teaching interests include the Sociology of Education, Social Statistics and Research Methodology, the Sociology of Sport and Urban Sociology. Currently, he is working on a project called “NCLB in Huntsville” with Dr. Philip Kovacs from the UAHuntsville Department of Education. This project centers on a survey they conducted of all K-8 teachers in Huntsville City Schools asking about the impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy. Some results include the decline in teachers’ professional development opportunities in areas like Social Studies, Art, and English, and a growing feeling among teachers that they are not viewed nor treated as professionals. A second paper from this project will focus on recruitment and retention problems for the teaching field based on the results of the survey.

Dr. Smith has also done research that analyzes how schools and neighborhoods play a role in fostering (or inhibiting) educational achievement and attainment, and how students take advantage of the resources and opportunities provided within the educational system to improve their life outcomes. Specifically, he has analyzed whether participation in extracurricular activities affects a student’s odds of graduating from high school and attending college, even in neighborhoods and schools characterized by high rates of poverty. He authored a chapter on this topic in the book, Child Poverty in America Today, and he is working on further analyses of similar data.

Contact
Jason M. Smith
Department of Sociology
The University of Alabama in Huntsville
344D Morton Hall
Huntsville, AL 35899
Phone: 256.824.2299
Fax: 256.824.2387
Email: Jason.Smith@uah.edu