Spencer Foundation awards Zhou team a Small Research Grant
The Spencer Foundation awarded Xiang Zhou a Small Research Grant for education research.
Zhou, associate professor of counseling psychology in the College’s Department of Educational Studies, is the PI with co-PI Yukiko Maeda, professor of educational psychology and research methodology in the same department, and will be assisted by graduate student Emily Park.
This 12-month project, “Cross-Racial Friendships Don’t Just Happen: How Schools Shape Relationships,” will examine how school racial diversity and school environments shape the racial composition of students’ friendships across K–12 and higher education settings. Starting on May 1, 2026, it will use systematic review and meta-analysis to identify school conditions that support meaningful cross-racial friendships and inform educational policy and practice.
Zhou plans to produce the first comprehensive synthesis of how school environments shape interracial friendship formation, with implications for reducing racial bias and improving student belonging.
“The findings will offer practical guidance for educators and policymakers on how to design school contexts that support meaningful cross-racial relationships,” Zhou said.
“Research grants from the Spencer Foundation are highly competitive and greatly valued in our field of Education,” said Wayne E. Wright, associate dean for research, graduate, programs, and faculty development. “The work by Dr. Zhou and his team will lead to research-based guidance to help education leaders and policymakers address this important topic.”
The grant will provide support for research assistance, data synthesis, and dissemination for the team to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis and translate the findings into publications and conference presentations, and training for graduate students involved in the project.
About the Spencer Foundation and Small Research Grants
Lyle M. Spencer established the Spencer Foundation in 1962 to investigate ways education, broadly conceived, might be improved. The Spencer Foundation has been a leading funder of education research since 1971 and is the only national foundation focused exclusively on supporting education research. The Small Research Grants on Education Program support education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with budgets up to $50,000 for projects ranging from one to five years.