简介

Matthew Quirk is an Associate Professor in the Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology. After receiving a B.S. in elementary education from Penn State, he taught at both the pre-k and 2nd grade levels. His experiences teaching in schools that served families experiencing economic challenges had a significant influence on his ongoing interest in researching factors that might improve the academic achievement of students from these backgrounds. After receiving a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in Educational Psychology, Dr. Quirk spent two years as an Assistant Professor at California State University, Long Beach. Since coming to UCSB Dr. Quirk has remained active in research examining student's academic motivation and engagement, early literacy development, and school readiness with a specific focus on Latino/a and English learner student populations. His most recent work has focused primarily on kindergarten screening to identify students who might benefit most from early and targeted academic and social-emotional supports.