Dr. Soo-yong Byun
302F Rackley Building
University Park, PA 16802
Title
Associate Professor of Education (Educational Theory & Policy)Department
Education Policy StudiesCenters
Center on Rural Education and Communities (CREC)Educational Risk Initiative (ERI)
Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis (CEEPA)
Programs
Educational Theory and PolicyComparative and International Education
Other Penn State Affiliations
Population Research InstituteBiography
Dr. Byun is an associate professor (with tenure) of Educational Theory and Policy program in the Department of Education Policy Studies (EPS) in the College of Education with a joint appointment with the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) as a co-funded faculty at the Pennsylvania State University. He is also a core faculty member of Penn State's Comparative and International Education Program. He is affiliated with the Center on Rural Education and Communities as a research associate, with the Center for Evaluation and Educational Policy Analysis as a senior researcher, and with the Population Research Institute as a research affiliate at Penn State. In addition, He is currently serving as the organizer for the Sociology of Education Working Group at Penn State.
Areas of Expertise
Age Levels
Education Levels
Education Types
Educational Studies
Higher Education
Learning
Methodological Research
Social Issues
Courses Taught
EDTHP / CI ED 401, Introduction to Comparative Education
EDTHP / SOC 416, Sociology of Education
CIED 500, Comparative Education Proseminar I
EDTHP / CI ED 524, Comparative Education Research Using Large-Scale Data
EDTHP 565, Causal Inference in Educational Policy Research
Education History
Ph.D., Educational Policy and Administration (Concentration in Comparative and International Development Education), University of Minnesota at Twin Cites, Aug. 2007Representative Publications
Byun, S., Bai, Y, & Chung H. (2020). Consequences of educational assortative marriage for children’s academic achievement in South Korea. In H. Park & H. Woo (Eds.), Korean families yesterday and today (pp.95-118). Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan.
Kwon, K., Park, J., & Byun, S. (2020). Gender, nonformal learning, and earnings in South Korea. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 50(2), 202-215. doi:10.1080/03057925.2019.1596017 (equal contributions)
Lam, B., Byun, S., & Lee, M. (2019). Understanding educational inequality in Hong Kong from the perspective of secondary school segregation in changing institutional contexts. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 40(8), 1170-1187. doi:10.1080/01425692.2019.1642736
Lee, B., & Byun, S. (2019). Socioeconomic status, vocational aspirations, school tracks, and occupational attainment in South Korea. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 48(8), 1949-1505. doi:10.1007/s10964-019-01056-5
Byun, S., Chung, H., & Baker, D. (2018). Global patterns of the use of shadow education: Student, family, and national influences. Research in the Sociology of Education, 20, 71-105. doi:10.1108/S1479-353920180000020004.
Byun, S., Meece, J. L., & Agger, C. (2017). Predictors of college attendance patterns of rural youth. Research in Higher Education, 58(8), 817-842. doi:10.1007/s11162-017-9449-z
Bodovski, K., Byun, S., Chykina, V., & Chung, H. (2017). Searching for the golden model of education: Cross-national analysis of math achievement. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 47(5), 722-741. doi:10.1080/03057925.2016.1274881
Bodovski, K., Jeon, H., & Byun, S. (2017). Cultural capital and educational outcomes in post-socialist Eastern Europe. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 38(6), 887-907. doi:10.1080/01425692.2016.1202746
Irvin, M. J., Byun, S., Smiley, W. S., & Hutchins, B. C. (2017). Inequality in advanced math course taking for youth in rural schools. American Journal of Education, 123(3), 475-510. doi: 10.1086/691231
Byun, S., & Park, H. (2017). When everyone goes to college: Effectively maintained inequality of educational opportunity in South Korea. American Behavioral Scientist, 61(1), 94-113. (equal contribution).
Byun, S. & Pong, S. (2016). Children’s highbrow cultural activities and academic achievement in Hong Kong. Research in the Sociology of Education, 19, 123-148.
Byun, S., Irvin, M. J., & Bell, B. A. (2015). Advanced math course taking: Effects on math achievement and college enrollment. Journal of Experimental Education, 83(4), 439-468.
Park, H., & Byun, S. (2015). Why some countries attract high-ability young students to teaching: Cross-national comparisons of students' expectation to become a teacher. Comparative Education Review, 59(3), 523-549.
Byun, S., Irvin, M. J., & Meece, J. L. (2015). Rural-nonrural differences in college attendance patterns. Peabody Journal of Education, 90(2), 263-279. (invited submission).
Byun, S. (2014). Shadow education and academic success in Republic of Korea. In H. Park & K. Kim (Eds.), Korean education in changing economic and demographic contexts (pp. 39-58). Singapore: Springer. doi:10.1007/978-981-4451-27-7_3
Byun, S., Henck, A., & Post, D. (2014). Cross-national variations in student employment and academic performance: The roles of national context and international law. Comparative Education Review, 85(4), 621-652.
Byun, S., Schofer, E., & Kim, K. (2012). Revisiting the role of cultural capital in East Asian educational systems: The case of South Korea. Sociology of Education, 85(3):219-239.
Byun, S., & Park, H. (2012). The academic success of East Asian American youth: The role of shadow education. Sociology of Education, 85(1), 40-60. (equal contribution)
Byun, S., Kim, K., &, Park, H. (2012). School choice and educational inequality in South Korea. Journal of School Choice, 6(2):158-183.
Byun, S., Meece, J. L., Irvin, M. J., & Hutchins, B. C. (2012). The role of social capital in educational aspirations of rural youth. Rural Sociology, 77(3), 355-379.
Byun, S., Meece, J. L., & Irvin, M. J. (2012). Rural-nonrural disparities in postsecondary educational attainment revisited. American Educational Research Journal, 49(3), 412-437.
Byun, S., Irvin, M. J., & Meece, J. L. (2012). Predictors of bachelor's degree completion among rural youth at four-year institutions. Review of Higher Education, 35(3), 463-484.
Irvin, M. J., Byun, S., Meece, J. L., Farmer, T. W., & Hutchins, B. C. (2012). Educational barriers of rural youth: Relation of individual and contextual difference variables. Journal of Career Assessment, 20(1), 71-87.
Park, H., Byun, S., & Kim, K. (2011). Parental involvement and students’ cognitive outcomes in Korea: Focusing on private tutoring. Sociology of Education, 84(1), 3-22.
Byun, S., & Kim, K. (2010). Educational inequality in South Korea: The widening socioeconomic gap in student achievement. Research in the Sociology of Education, 17, 155-182.
Byun, S. (2010). Does policy matter in shadow education spending? Revisiting the effects of the High School Equalization Policy in South Korea. Asia Pacific Education Review, 11(1), 83-96.
Grants
External Funding
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A model of school’s social environmental factors in the U. S. and South Korea: Examining influence of principal support, professional learning communities, collective responsibility, and teacher expectations on nine grade students’ academic achievement at the school level, Co-Investigator, National Research Foundation of Korea (200,000,000 KRW; approximately $180,000), 08/01/2017-07/31/2020. PI: J. Park.
- Building a Big Data Analytics Workforce in iSchools, Co-Investigator, National Science Foundation ($537,619), 09/01/2015-08/31/2018. PI: J. Ryoo.
- Education and Social Mobility in South Korea, Co-Investigator, Academy of Korean Studies (150,000,000 KRW; approximately $130,000), 12/01/2015-11/30/2017. PI: S. Lee.
- Educational Institutions and Inequality in Math and Science Achievement in Comparative International Perspective, Co-Investigator, National Science Foundation ($130,670), 07/01/2014-06/30/2015. PI: K. Bodovski.
- Training Interdisciplinary Educational Scientists (TIES) Program, Co-Investigator, U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences ($1,099,048), 08/01/2013-07/31/2015. PI: K. Bierman.
- Networks of Teachers Affect Children in Transition, Principal Investigator, William T. Grant Foundation ($220,868; Subcontract to Penn State: $66,182), 08/01/2012-07/31/2015. PI: J. Hamm.
- Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Success - Project SEALS, Co-Investigator, U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences ($397,981), 09/01/2011-08/31/2015. PI: T. Farmer.
- The Role of Curricular and Extracurricular Experiences in the Educational Attainment of Rural Youth, Co-Investigator, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Small Grant Program (R03) ($74,000), 09/01/2010-08/31/2011. PI: M. Irvin.
- Rural High School Students’ Aspirations, Postdoctoral Fellow, U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences ($3,200,000), 2007-2011. PI: J. Meece.
- Educational Systems Characteristics and Socio-Economic and Gender Disparities in Math and Science Achievement, Co-Investigator, Penn State College of Education Research Initiation Grant ($26,806), 01/01/2016-12/31/2016. PI: K. Bodovski.
- Educational Systems Characteristics and Socio-Economic and Gender Disparities in Math and Science Achievement, Co-Investigator, Penn State Social Science Research Institute ($20,000), 09/01/2015-08/31/2016. PI: K. Bodovski.
- Literacy Through Photography: Examining a Multimodal Approach to Literacy Enhancement and School Attachment within a Disadvantaged Rural Setting, Co-Investigator, Penn State Social Science Research Institute ($20,000), 09/01/2013-08/31/2014. PI: K. Powell.
- Literacy Through Photography: Examining a Multimodal Approach to Literacy Enhancement and School Attachment within a Disadvantaged Rural Setting, Co-Investigator, Penn State College of Education Research Initiation Grant ($9,000), 09/01/2013-08/31/2014. PI: K. Powell.
- College Success for Rural Youth, Principal Investigator, Penn State Population Research Institute ($6,872), 12/01/2012-06/30/2013.