Senior Research Scientist
Director, Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab
Ed.D, Harvard University
mporche@wellesley[dot]edu
Studies academic achievement for young children and adolescents, examining implications and factors related to gender, race/ethnicity, mental health and other social-emotional influences
Michelle V. Porche, Ed.D., was a senior research scientist and former associate director of the Wellesley Centers for Women, studying academic achievement for young children and adolescents. In her investigations of achievement, the role of gender and social-emotional factors, including childhood adversity, play a major part in her work. Her primary goal is to integrate research and practice in ways that contribute to programs and interventions that foster academic achievement for children from low-income families.
Porche obtained her B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1984 and her Ed.D. in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University Graduate School of Education 1999.
Porche’s recent work includes a research project funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Bureau of Maternal and Child Health that examined factors putting youth at risk for obesity and poor academic performance. Additional research has focused on the impact of trauma for refugee youth transitioning to life in the U.S.
Porche was the associate director of the Gender and Sexuality Project during its tenure at WCW. As primary methodologist on the longitudinal studies for that project, she helped develop several gender ideology scales: the Adolescent Femininity Ideology Scale (Tolman & Porche, 2000) and the Adolescent Relationship Masculinity Ideology Scale (Chu, Porche, & Tolman, 2005).
Porche is a proud recipient of the Albert J. Harris Award for 2002 from the International Reading Association. This award honors an article making an outstanding contribution to the prevention and/or assessment of reading or learning disabilities: Jordan, Snow, & Porche, (2000). Project EASE: The effect of a family literacy project on kindergarten students' early literacy skills. Reading Research Quarterly, 35(4), 524-546.
Porche, M. V., Grossman, J. M., & Dupaya, K. C. (2016). New American scientists: First generation immigrant status and college STEM aspirations, Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 22, 1-21. doi:10.1615/JWomenMinorScienEng.2016015227
Porche, M. V., Costello, D., & Rosen-Reynoso, M. (2016). Adverse family experiences, child mental health, and educational outcomes for a national sample of students. School Mental Health, 8, 44-60. DOI: 10.1007/s12310-016-9174-3
Rosen-Reynoso, M., Porche, M. V., Kwan, N., Bethell, C., Thomas, V., Robertson, J., Hawes, E., Foley, S., & Palfrey, J. (2016). Disparities in access to easy-to-use services for children with special health care needs. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 5, 1041-1053. doi:10.1007/s10995-015-1890-z
Fortuna, L. R., Jimenez, A., & Porche, M. V. (2015). Understanding and responding to the mental health needs of Latino youth in a cultural framework. In R. Parekh, T. Gorrindo, & D. H. Rubin (Eds.), Cultural sensitivity in child and adolescent mental health. Boston: MGH Psychiatry Academy Press, pp. 155-178.
Hall, G., Porche, M. V., Grossman, J. M., & Smashnaya, S. (2015). Practices and approaches of out-of-school time programs serving immigrant and refugee youth. Journal of Youth Development. 10, 72-87.
Porche, M. V., Fortuna, L. R., Wachholtz, A., & Torres Stone, R. (2015). Distal and proximal religiosity as protective factors for adolescent and emerging adult alcohol use, Religions. 6, 365–384; http://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/6/2/365
Grossman, J. M. & Porche, M. V. (2014). Perceived gender and racial/ethnic barriers to STEM success. Urban Education, 49, 698-727. http://uex.sagepub.com/content/49/6/698
Porche, M. V., Fortuna, L. R., Lin, J., & Alegria, M. (2011). Childhood trauma events and psychiatric disorders as correlates of school dropout in a national sample of young adults. Child Development, 82, 982-998. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01534.x/abstract
Dr. Noonan was a Research Scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women until 2007. She is a lifespan developmental psychologist interested in the psychological and social development of people of all ages. Her specific research interests included: the experience of formal and informal social relationships, the subjective aspects of social class, and the psychological aspects of paid employment and economic opportunity.
Dr. Noonan was Principal Investigator of a National Science Foundation study examining science and math education experiences among urban high school students, with a particular emphasis on how relationships in all areas of their lives support or thwart their persistence and success in these subjects. In previous work, she studied diverse populations such as: older workers; informal caregivers to frail elders; adolescent substance abusers in publicly funded treatment; same-sex couples; urban high school students in school-to-work programs; school-age children and their out-of-school time; and young children in a variety of care settings. She has also worked in the area of refugee and immigrant services. Dr. Noonan received her Master's and Doctoral degrees in psychology from Boston University, and a B.A. in psychology from Framingham State College.
WCW Publications:
Noonan, A.E., & Senghas, C. (2006). "Goin' to the Chapel?": Same-Sex Couples Religious/Spiritual Perspectives on Legalized Marriage. In Wellesley College Center for Research on Women Working Paper 422, Wellesley, MA: Wellesley Centers for Women.
Noonan, A.E. (2005). "Work, life and social class: A life-span perspective." Research and Action Report, 26 (Fall/Winter). Wellesley, MA: Wellesley Centers for Women.
Noonan, A.E. (2003). Social relations at work: The beliefs and experiences of older workers. Wellesley College Center for Research on Women Working Paper 406. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley Centers for Women.
Noonan, A.E. (2001). Relational resources and older adults. Wellesley College Center for Research on Women Working Paper 401. Wellesley, MA: Wellesley Centers for Women.
Noonan, A.E. (2001). From contrast to concrete: Building a skilled and stable workforce in the field of out-of-school time. Wellesley, MA: National Institute on Out of School Time.
Senior Scholar
Associate Director
Senior Research Scientist
Director, National Institute on Out-of-School Time
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