Name: Claudia Lahaie

Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Institute for Health and Social Policy, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada

CUSSW degree and specialization: Ph.D., Social Work. Concentration in Social Policy & Policy Analysis, May 2006.

Dissertation title: The Impact of Parental Involvement on the Educational Achievement of Children of Immigrants in the United States.
Sponsor: Jane Waldfogel

Experience in the doctoral program:  "Based on my previous work and school experiences, I came to Columbia with very high expectations and clear goals. I wanted to develop my quantitative skills and to conduct research on immigration. I knew of CUSSW's worldwide reputation and I was both eager and a little intimidated by the challenge, but nonetheless ready to commit to this new and exciting endeavor. Because of the highly motivated and supportive faculty that I met there, I successfully achieved my goals. However, what I gained from these four years of education is so much more than these accomplishments. A year after completion of my degree, it strikes me even more how much I have learned. First, I had the opportunity to take classes in other schools throughout the University. It better fit my needs and made me strengthen my aspirations to develop a multidisciplinary approach to my work (education, international and public affairs, sociology, economics). I was also amazed by the high quality seminars that I had the opportunity to sit in on. In addition to well-known speakers from other disciplines at the University, I had the chance to listen to renowned speakers in my specialty--social policy--nationally and internationally. Without the reputation of faculty and the School, these kinds of high quality seminars would be impossible. Then came the two years of dissertation. Would I be up for the challenge? I did not really have an idea of what I was embarking on. All my worries disappeared rapidly when my collaboration with my sponsor started. I quickly grasped why her reputation was so great. I learned how doing research is a mix of rigor, intelligence, work, work, work, and passion above all. I not only learned how to conduct sound research but also how to look at it within a policy context, how to make it real. This is something that I always believed in as a social worker and was thrilled to see how high quality research and public policy could really go hand in hand. I also met many other students in the program with the same search for high quality work and strong aspirations to change and improve the world surrounding us. Through discussion, critical analysis, readings and lectures, I have learned to strengthen my thoughts, my skills and my goals. There is something unique about doing a Ph.D. in social work with a concentration in social policy at Columbia."

Description of current research: "When I entered the PhD program my goal was to work on a dissertation that could identify some of the factors improving the integration of immigrants. I have since refined my topic and focused specifically on the education and health outcomes of children of immigrants. Since graduation, I have been engaged in a three-year Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Institute for Health and Social Policy at McGill University in Montréal, Canada, my native country. My research focuses on the empirical study of child development in countries with a high level of migration (Mexico, United States, Canada). I have been using data sets that are either at a national level (e.g., National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) in Canada, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey (ECLS) in the United States) or surveys with an emphasis on specific issues such as working conditions or caregiving (Work, Family and Community Nexus Survey (Heyman, Putman, Earle and Sander, Harvard University, 2006) and Transnational Working Families Survey (Project for Global Working Families, Harvard University, 2004). My ongoing studies aim to examine factors that improve the well-being of children of immigrants and their families. I use child development and strength-based perspectives in approaching questions. I am a true believer in multidisciplinary approaches. My research includes knowledge from education, sociology, economics, epidemiology, and public health. Lastly, based on my research findings, I place an emphasis on developing policy recommendations that may guide programs and interventions at the government and community levels."