Nancy E. Hill

This information is accurate as of the fellowship year indicated for each fellow.

Nancy E. Hill is a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Suzanne Young Murray Professor at the Radcliffe Institute. Her research focuses on cultural, economic, and community influences on family socialization patterns that, in turn, shape child and adolescent development. She identifies pathways of influence among families, children, and their contexts that are plausible levers for policy and program interventions to enhance children’s chances of reaching their potential. At Radcliffe, Hill will continue to disentangle cultural, structural, and economic sources of parenting beliefs and practices across ethnicities. Her prior research shows that focusing on ethnic differences masks intragroup variations and intergroup similarities. Also, confusion between socioeconomic status and ethnicity distorts our understanding of the origins of parenting beliefs and practices. Hill will integrate research and theory about cultural belief systems and develop a system of belief-profiles that might better explain the etiologies of ethnic group similarities and variations. Hill earned her BS in psychology from Ohio State University and her MA and PhD in developmental psychology from Michigan State University. She trained as a National Institute of Mental Health postdoctoral fellow at the Prevention Research Center at Arizona State University. Most recently, she was a recipient of the 2010 Best Journal Article Award from the Society for Research on Adolescence. Her research has been supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Science Foundation, and other organizations.