Dr. Jimena Cosso

Jimena Cosso is an Assistant Professor of Education in Educational Psychology at Penn State. Dr. Cosso was born and raised in Argentina. She came to the United States to pursue her master’s degree in comparative and international education at New York University. She continued her educational psychology and research methodology studies at Purdue University, where she obtained her Ph.D.

Dr. Cosso’s primary program of research explores the home and school learning contexts that affect how young children develop and learn, with a particular focus on dual language learners (DLLs) from immigrant Latine communities. Her overall goal is to support DLLs' learning trajectories by identifying and understanding students' diverse backgrounds and improving current measures that are not culturally sensitive but are commonly used to make instructional decisions. Specifically, Dr. Cosso addresses two primary areas of interest: 1) capitalize on Latine families' funds of knowledge to support the development of school readiness skills; 2) explore contextual factors that affect children's skills readiness. Her particular interest is in early math skills and the home numeracy environment of Latine families.