Peter J. Kuriloff

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Professor Emeritus

Contact

kuriloff@upenn.edu

Media Inquiries:
Contact Penn GSE Communications.

Education

Ed.D. (counseling psychology) Harvard University, 1970
Ed.M. Harvard University, 1966
B.A. Antioch College, 1965

Areas of Expertise

Gender, class, race, and sexual dynamics in schools
Creating learning communities
Team effectiveness
Leading change
Youth participatory action research

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Dr. Kuriloff talks about his work.

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Biography

Professional Biography

Peter Kuriloff received his B.A. in history from Antioch College and his doctorate in counseling psychology from Harvard. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association in school psychology. At Penn GSE, he twice chaired the Psychology and Education Division before moving to its Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Division. Currently, he teaches about building learning communities and managing change in the Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. He also serves as the Senior Advisor on Team Effectiveness and Career Development in Wharton’s MBA Program for Executives. He has held a number of university-wide positions, including Chair of the Grievance Commission, Chair of the Senate Committee on Academic Freedom and Responsibility, and Chair of the Faculty Senate.

Research Interests and Current Projects

Professor Kuriloff is the Research Director for the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives (www.csbgl.org). CSBGL is consortium of 9 independent schools, working together with faculty and graduate students at Penn, helping teams of students and teachers conduct youth participatory action research on issues of concern to them at the intersection of gender, race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality. His research interests include gender dynamics and their impact on the opportunities of children; minority retention in elite schools and colleges; and, in general, the reinvention of schools as more inclusive, open, generous, and effective places for the children who inhabit them. With three of his doctoral students, he recently completed a national study of what girls and their teachers describe as effective, engaging, and powerful lessons. He and his colleagues are actively publishing their findings and a book on the subject is forthcoming from Rowman-Littlefield.

Publications

Featured

Teaching Girls: How Teachers and Parents Can Reach Their Brains and Hearts

Selected Publications

Kuriloff, P. J., Andrus, S. H., & Jacobs, C. E. (2017). Teaching girls: How teachers and parents can reach their brains and hearts. Lantham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Andrus, S. H., Kuriloff, P. J., & Jacobs, C. E. (2015). Teaching middle school girls more effectively: Initial results from a national study. Independent School Magazine, 74(3), 16–20.

Jacobs, C. E., Kuriloff, P. J., Andrus, S. H., & Cox, A. B. (2014). Reaching girls. Phi Delta Kappan, 96, 68–73.

Kuriloff, P., Andrus, S. H., & Ravitch, S. M. (2011). Messy ethics: Conducting moral participatory action research in the crucible of university-school relations. Mind, Brain and Education. 5(2), 49–62.

Kuriloff, P., Soto, A. C., & Garver, R. (2011). The black-white achievement gap in highly selective independent high schools: Towards a model explaining emergent racial differences. In D.T. Slaughter-Defoe, H.C. Stevenson, E.G. Arrington, and D.J. Johnson (Eds.) Black educational choice: Assessing the private and public alternatives to traditional K-12 public schools (pp. 91–105). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

Kuriloff, P., Reichert, M., Stoudt, B., & Ravitch, S. (2009). Building research collaboratives among schools and universities: Lessons from the field. Mind, Brain and Education 3(1): 34–44.

Reichert, M., Kuriloff, P., & Stoudt, B. (2008). What can we expect of boys? A strategy to help schools hoping for virtue. The Problem with Boys: Beyond recuperative masculinity politics in boys' education. W. Martino, M. Kehler, & M. Weaver-Hightower (Eds.).

Fine, M., & Kuriloff, P. (Guest Editors). (2006). Special Section: Masculine Identities within Social Spaces. Men and Masculinities, pp. 257–330.

Reichert, M. C., Stoudt, B., & Kuriloff, P. (2006). Don’t love no fight: Healing and identity among urban youth. The Urban Review, 38(3), 187–209.

Pluhar, E. I., & Kuriloff, P. (2004). What really matters in family communication about sexuality? A qualitative analysis of affect and style among African American mothers and adolescent daughters. Sex Education, 4(3), 303–321.

Reichert, M., & Kuriloff, P. (2004). Boys' selves: Identity and anxiety in the looking glass of school life. The Teachers College Record, 106(3), 544–573.

Kuriloff, P., & Reichert, M. C. (2003). Boys of class, boys of color: Negotiating the academic and social geography of an elite independent school. Journal of Social Issues, 59(4), 751–769.

McGrath, D. J., & Kuriloff, P. J. (1999). Unnatural Selection on the Unstructured Playground. School Community Journal, 9(2), 41–65.

McGrath, D. J., & Kuriloff, P. J. (1999). "They're Going to Tear the Doors Off this Place": Upper-Middle-Class Parent School Involvement and the Educational Opportunities of Other People's Children. Educational Policy, 13(5), 603–629.

News & Media

In the Media

Miles to go: The continuing quest for gender equity in the classroom

Peter Kuriloff writes about how gender-conscious teaching can help dismantle bias and foster gender equity in the classroom.

Phi Delta Kappan: The Professional Journal for Educators | September 24, 2018

At elite Miami private school, Black students challenge culture of racist bullying

Peter Kuriloff comments on the role of school leaders in making elite private schools more tolerant places and the importance of listening to students of color.

WLRN Miami | July 26, 2018