Mark Berends

Mark Berends, Ph.D. (Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison), is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame. His research spans educational reform, the intricacies of school choice, the influence of family and school dynamics on student achievement, and the profound impact of school and classroom environments on student development. Professor Berends is particularly dedicated to understanding how school organization and instructional practices shape educational opportunities for priority populations, utilizing diverse quantitative and qualitative methodologies.

Beyond his scholarly work, he has held significant administrative and leadership positions at Notre Dame, including Director of the Institute for Educational Initiatives (IEI), Associate Vice President for Research, Director of the Center for Research on Educational Opportunity (CREO), and Director of Notre Dame’s Program for Interdisciplinary Educational Research (PIER).

Recognizing his contributions and standing in the field, Professor Berends is thankful for the prestigious honor of being an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Education. He is also a distinguished Fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), where he previously served as co-editor of American Educational Research Journal and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, and twice as vice president of AERA’s Division L (Educational Policy and Politics). For the last several years, he’s been ranked among the nation’s top 200 education scholars as selected by the Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings.

His current research agenda includes comprehensive studies on school choice, with a specific focus on the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program and the critical interplay between in-school enabling conditions, classroom instruction, and student outcomes in various school sectors. Professor Berends actively contributes to numerous editorial boards, technical panels, and policy discussions. His recent publications include School Choice at the Crossroads: Research Perspectives (2019), Handbook of Research on School Choice, 2nd Edition (2020), the SAGE Handbook of the Sociology of Education (2024), and Opportunities for Learning: A Sociological Perspective by Maureen Hallinan (2025).