Angela R. Watson is a senior research fellow at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy and an assistant research professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Education. Her research examines the impact of schooling and learning, with an emphasis on homeschool and informal learning options, on academic and social emotional outcomes.
Watson has publications in several scholarly journals, including Education Researcher, The Journal of Human Resources, Politics and Policy, and the Journal of School Choice. Her co-authored article on homeschooling for Ed Next was the publication’s top five most read blog in 2020. Her research has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe and she has written book chapters on Promise programs, homeschooling, and learning pods. Watson serves as a peer-reviewer for multiple academic journals and conferences, and served as a grant reviewer for the National Endowment for the Arts.
She earned a Ph.D. in education policy from the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas where her dissertation examined the impact of multiple arts-related field trips on students’ academic, cultural, and social-emotional outcomes. She also holds an MAT and a B.A. in elementary education and a graduate certificate in STEM education.
Keywords: Education policy; K-12 education; curriculum; homeschooling and school choice; cultural capital.