Ryan Coughlan
Assc Professor
Marxe School of Public and International Affairs
Department: Public Affairs
Areas of expertise: Educational Policy, Geographic Information Systems, School Equity, School Integration, Sociology of Education
Email Address: ryan.coughlan@baruch.cuny.edu
> View CV- Biography
- Teaching
- Research and Creative Activity
- Grants
- Honors and Awards
- Service
Dr. Coughlan’s research focuses on the role of education systems in society, with a special focus on education reform movements, equity and inclusion initiatives, and school desegregation. He began his career as a secondary science educator in the New York City department of education, where he gained direct insight into the structures and challenges of our nation’s largest school district. As a scholar, Dr. Coughlan maintains a commitment to practitioner-oriented research that maximizes impact in in academia and educational institutions. Along with his related publications in academic journals, he has published five books on school integration, the history of progressive education, the social foundations of education, and the sociology of education. His most recent co-authored book is an in-depth mixed methods case study of one school district’s efforts to achieve true integration. Dr. Coughlan’s research has been featured in national media outlets including The New York Times, NPR, and Chalkbeat, and it serves as the foundation for multiple school equity lawsuits.
Education
Ph.D., Urban Systems, Rutgers University Newark United States
M.S.Ed., Secondary Science Education, The City College of New York, CUNY New York United States
B.A., Environmental Policy, Harvard University Cambridge United States
| Semester | Course Prefix | Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring 2024 | PAF | 9390 | Capstone Seminar in Higher Edu |
| Fall 2023 | PAF | 9330 | Introduction to Higher Educati |
| Fall 2023 | PAF | 9390 | Capstone Seminar in Higher Edu |
| Spring 2023 | PAF | 9390 | Capstone Seminar in Higher Edu |
| Spring 2023 | PAF | 9390 | Capstone Seminar in Higher Edu |
| Fall 2022 | PAF | 9330 | Introduction to Higher Educati |
| Fall 2022 | PAF | 9390 | Capstone Seminar in Higher Edu |
Books
Coughlan, R., & Kress, T. (2025). Advancing Qualitative Educational Research Design: Authentic and Personal Methods for Knowledge-Building. Routledge. In Progress.
Tractenberg, P., Roda, A., Coughlan, R., & Dougherty, D. (2020). Making School Integration Work: Lessons from Morris. New York, NY, Teachers College Press.
Sadovnik, A. R., Cookson, P. W., Semel, S. F., & Coughlan, R. W. (2017). Exploring Education: An Introduction to the Foundations of Education. New York, NY, Routledge.
Sadovnik, A., Coughlan, R., & Semel, S. (2016). "Schools of Tomorrow," Schools of Today: Progressive Educationin the 21st Century. New York, NY, Peter Lang.
Sadovnik, A. R., & Coughlan, R. W. (2016). Leaders in the Sociology of Education: Intellectual Self-Portraits. Rotterdam, Sense.
Alan, S., & Coughlan, R. (2015). Sociology of Education: A Critical Reader. New York, NY, Routledge.
Coughlan, R., & Sadovnik, A. Sociology of Education: A Critical Reader. New York, NY, Routledge.
Journal Articles
Roda, A., Coughlan, R., Tractenberg, P., & Dougherty, D. (2021). Making School Integration in New York City: A Long-Term Solution to the Enduring Problem of Segregation and Inequality. The Fordham Urban Law Journal, 48(2). 449-473.
Coughlan, R. W. (2018). Divergent Trends in Neighborhood and School Segregation in the Age of School Choice. Peabody Journal of Education, 93(4). 349-366.
Sadovnik, A. R., Semel, S. F., Coughlan, R. W., Kanze, B., & Tyner-Mullings, A. R. (2017). Progressive Education in the 21st Century: The Enduring Legacy of John Dewey. The Journal of the Gilded Age and the Progressive Era, 16(4). 515-530.
Coughlan, R. W., Sadovnik, A. R., & Semel, S. F. (2014). A History of Informal, Out-of-School Education. Teachers College Record , 116(14). 359-382.
Coughlan, R., & Rubin, J. Charter School Segregation by Race, Ethnicity, Disability, and English Proficiency: Centering Local Trends. Urban Education ,
Coughlan, R., & Evenbeck, S. Founded on the Practice of Research-Driven Continuous Improvement: How Guttman Community College Embedded Self-Study from the Outset. New Directions for Higher Education, In Progress.
Coughlan, R., & Nadrich, T. Diversity as Commodity in Higher Education: A Comparison of Reported Racial Demographics and Projections of Racial Diversity through Social Media. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, In Progress.
Coughlan, R. Racial Isolation and Postsecondary Outcomes. The Review of Higher Education, In Progress.
Book Chapters
Coughlan, R. (2022). Schools and Education Systems. In Christou, T. (Ed.), Historical Foundations of Education Bloomsbury.
Coughlan, R. (2021). A School for Love. In Kress, T., Lake, R., & Stein, E. (Eds.), Radically Dreaming: Illuminating Freirean Praxis in Turbulent Times Dio Press.
Coughlan, R. (2021). Brown v. Board Did Not Work: Finding a New Pathway to Educational Justice. In Tienken, C., & Mullen, C. (Eds.), The Risky Business of Education Policy New York, NY. Taylor and Francis.
Coughlan, R., Sadovnik, A., Semel, S., & Stuber, J. (2019). Education. In Trevino, J. (Ed.), Investigating Social Problems Sage.
Sadovnik, A. R., & Coughlan, R. W. (2016). Leaders in the Sociology of Education: Lessons Learned. Leaders in the Sociology of Education: Intellectual Self-Portraits Rotterdam. Sense Publishers.
Semel, S., Sadovnik, A., & Coughlan, R. (2016). Progressive Education: Lessons from the Past and the Present. In Sadovnik, A., Semel, S., & Coughlan, R. (Eds.), "Schools of Tomorrow," Schools of Today: What Happened to Progressive Education New York, NY. Peter Lang.
Sadovnik, A., & Coughlan, R. (2015). Urban Education. Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology New York, NY. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Coughlan, R., Sadovnik, A., & Semel, S. (2014). Education. In Trevino, J. (Ed.), Investigating Social Problems Sage.
Sadovnik, A., & Coughlan, R. Theory and Research in the Sociology of Education. In Coughlan, R., & Sadovnik, A. (Eds.), Sociology of Education: A Critical Reader New York, NY. Routledge. In Progress.
Coughlan, R., & Kress, T. Introduction to Authentic and Personal Knowledge-Building. Advancing Qualitative Educational Research Design: Authentic and Personal Methods for Knowledge-Building Routledge. In Progress.
Coughlan, R., & Kress, T. Recasting Methodological Learning and Research Design. Advancing Qualitative Educational Research Design: Authentic and Personal Methods for Knowledge-Building Routledge. In Progress.
Media Contributions
Makris, M., Mickelson, N., & Coughlan, R. (2023). Readying Students for the AI Revolution.
Government Reports or Monographs
Coughlan, R., Sanchez, N., & Mastrogiovanni, D. (2022). Tenafly Public School District: School Equity Report.
Tractenberg, P. L., & Coughlan, R. (2018). The New Promise of School Integration and the Old Problem of Extreme Segregation: An Action Plan for New Jersey ti Address Both.
Orfield, G., Ee, J., & Coughlan, R. (2017). New Jersey's Segregated Schools: Trends and Paths Forward.
Backstrand, J., Makris, M., Coughlan, R., Gutwein, C., & Torres, M. (2015). Newark Fairmount Promise Neighborhoods Needs Assessment and Segmentation Analysis.
Backstrand, J., Roda, A., Cohen, L., Coughlan, R., Ferguson, C., Keeton, A., Cara, K., & Rosenblum, E. (2014). Post-Secondary Outcomes of Newark Public School Graduates.
Coughlan, R. South Orange-Maplewood School District: School Equity Report.
Presentations
Coughlan, R., & Evenbeck, S. Applications from Higher Education Administration Graduate Education in NYC for Your Campus. The Graduate Student Experience: Redesigning Graduate School so that Every Student Can Flourish and Finish. Asheville: Gardner Institute.
Coughlan, R. Racial Isolation and Postsecondary Outcomes. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia: American Educational Research Association.
D'Souza, A., Coughlan, R., & Perrotta, A. F. Centering Students in Alernative Assessments. CUNY Teaching and Learning Conference. CUNY Graduate Center: The City University of New York.
Coughlan, R., & Nadrich, T. (2024, November 21). Commoditizing Racial Diversity: Comparing Representations of Racial Diversity on Social Media to Reality. Association for the Study of Higher Education Annual Meeting. Minneapolis: Association for the Study of Higher Education.
Coughlan, R., & Kress, T. (2024, November 21). Breaking the Mold of Traditional Education Research: Advancing Scholarship with Alternative Research Designs. American Educational Studies Association Annual Meeting. Louisville: American Educational Studies Association.
Coughlan, R., & Rubin, J. Assessing the Impact of Charters on Public School Segregation. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Chicago and Virtual: American Educational Research Association.
Coughlan, R. Segregation in New Jersey's District, Charter, and County Vocational-Technical Schools. Segregation in New Jersey's District, Charter, and County Vocational-Technical Schools. New Brunswick: Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University.
Coughlan, R., & Ferina, K. TGNCNB Students Seeking Inclusion through the College Selection Process. AESA Annual Meeting. Pittsburgh
Coughlan, R. A School for Love. American Educational Studies Association Annual Conference. Portland, Oregon: American Educational Studies Association.
Coughlan, R. A Geospatial Analysis of Race and School Choice in New Jersey. Education Reform, Communities and Social Justice Conference. New Brunswick, NJ: Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University.
Coughlan, R. Pursuing New Quantitative Tools for Ending Segregation and Building Equitable Schools (Paper accepted, but conference cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic). American Educational Research Association Annual Conference. San Francisco: American Educational Research Association.
Coughlan, R., Roda, A., & Paul, T. Making school integration work: Lessons from Morris. Education Reform, Communities and Social Justice Conference. Virtual: Bloustein School of Planning and Policy, Rutgers University.
Coughlan, R., & Rubin, J. The Segregating Rffects of Charter Schools. Dismantling the Architecture of Segregation Conference. Camden, NJ: Rutgers University.
Coughlan, R. Diversity, Integration, and Equity in New Jersey’s Schools: Trends and Paths Forward. Social Equity Leadership Conference. Newark, NJ: Rutgers University.
Coughlan, R. A Geospatial Analysis of Shifts in School and Neighborhood Demographics. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. New York, NY: American Educational Research Association.
Coughlan, R. White Isolation in Our Public Schools. Education Reform , Communities, and Social Justice Research Conference. New Brunswick, NJ: Bloustein School of Planning and Policy.
Tractenberg, P., & Coughlan, R. The New Promise of School Integration and the Old Problem of Extreme Segregation: An Action Plan for New Jersey to Address Both. Beyond Desegregation Conference. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Graduate School of Education.
Roda, A., Coughlan, R., & Bodie, E. If You Build it They Will Come: Crossing District Boundaries to Achieve School Diversity in a Segregated County. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX: American Educational Research Association.
Coughlan, R. Altering the Relationship Between Neighborhoods and Schools to Improve Life Chances. Education Reform, Communities and Social Justice: Exploring the Intersections. New Brunswick, NJ: Bloustein School of Planning and Policy, Rutgers University.
Coughlan, R. Schools Un/Bounded: An Analysis of the Bonds Between Schools and Neighborhoods. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Semel, S., Sadovnik, A., & Coughlan, R. “Schools of Tomorrow, Schools of Today Revisited: Lessons from Five Historically Progressive Schools. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Makris, M., & Coughlan, R. Teaching and Learning in the Community College: Lessons and Opportunities. American Educational Studies Association Annual Meeting. Seattle, WA: American Educational Studies Association.
Coughlan, R. A Geospatial Analysis of New York City Elementary School Zones. Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting. Miami, FL: Urban Affairs Association.
Coughlan, R. Schools Un/Bounded: Neighborhood Collective Efficacy and Educational Outcomes. American Education Studies Association Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX: American Education Studies Association.
Coughlan, R. A Geospatial Analysis of the Bonds Between Neighborhoods and Their Schools. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL: American Educational Research Association.
Coughlan, R. Connecting Education Reform to Neighborhood Context: Identifying Community Needs and Assets as First Step to Developing Programs to Improve Outcomes. Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting. San Antonio, TX: Urban Affairs Association.
Coughlan, R., Sadovnik, A., & Semel, S. Now More than Ever? Foundations of education and why it matters for teacher preparation. American Educational Studies Association Annual Meeting,. Toronto, Canada: American Educational Studies Association.
Fergus, E., Coughlan, R., & Sadovnik, A. Disrupting Poverty and Educational Inequality. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA: American Educational Research Association.
Other Scholarly Works
Rubin, J. S., & Coughlan, R. (2023). Segregation in New Jersey's District, Charter, and County Vocational-Technical Schools: A Convening.
Gatta, M., Tyner-Mullings, A. R., & Coughlan, R. (2019). Ethnography Made Easy.
Coughlan, R. W., Makris, M. V., & Roda, A. (2018). Tensions Between School Choice and Neighborhood Schools Research. Peabody Journal of Education. 93(4), 345-348.
Coughlan, R. W. (2017). Schools Un/Bounded: The Utility of School Zone Boundaries.
Tractenberg, P., Roda, A., & Coughlan, R. (2016). Remedying School Segregation: How New Jersey's Morris School District Chose to Make Diversity Work.
Research Currently in Progess
Coughlan, R.(n.d.). Racial Isolation and Postsecondary Outcomes. In Progress.
Coughlan, R., Medina, Y., & Kronen, C.(n.d.). It’s Not Just “Doing Technology” in the Classroom: Embedding Computational Thinking into the “Grammar of Schooling”. In Progress.
Coughlan, R., & Nadrich, T.(n.d.). The Commodification of Diversity in Postseccondary Schools: The Role of Marketing Directors. In Progress.
| Title | Funding Agency Sponsor | Start Date | End Date | Awarded Date | Total Funding | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commoditizing Racial Diversity in Postsecondary Education: A comparison of reported racial demographics and projections of racial diversity in social media | PSC-CUNY 54 | 07/01/2023 | 06/30/2024 | 05/15/2023 | 11983.12 | Funded - In Progress |
| Planning Grant for a Center to Facilitate and Study a New York City Grow Your Own Teacher Pipeline Program | City University of New York | 01/01/2023 | 12/31/2023 | 19632 | Submitted for Review | |
| Addressing Teacher Shortage and Lagging Diversity in Urban Schools | CUNY Interdisciplinary Research Grant Program | 03/01/2023 | 02/29/2024 | 40000 | Submitted for Review |
| Honor / Award | Organization Sponsor | Date Received | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Faculty Research Award | Molloy University | 2022-05-05 | I received Molloy's 2022 Faculty Research Award in recognition for my scholarly work. |
| Outstanding Book Award | Society of Professors of Education | 2022-04-25 | I was a contributing author to "The Risky Business of Educational Policy," which one the Society of Professors of Education 2022 Outstanding Book Award. |
College
| Committee Name | Position Role | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Curriculum Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| EdD in Higher Education Program Development | Committee Member | Present | |
| LMS Implementation Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| LGBTQ+ History Month Planning Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| Governance Review Committee | Committee Member | Present | |
| Curriculum Committee | Committee Chair | 8/31/2024 | |
| Strategic Planning Committee | Committee Member | 5/31/2024 |
University
| Committee Name | Position Role | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Career Success Fellows | Committee Member | 10/3/2022 | Present |
Professional
| Organization | Position Role | Organization State | Organization Country | Start Date | End Date | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AERA | Reviewer, Conference Paper | 9/1/2012 | Present | International |
Public
| Organization | Position Role | Organization State | Organization Country | Start Date | End Date | Audience |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education Law Center | Task Force Member | New Jersey | Present | National |