Peter W. Cookson Jr. (born November 17, 1942) is an American sociologist, academic, and author. He is the author of twenty books on education reform, inequality, and new models of learning. His books have been widely reviewed in such publications as

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

, and

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

Early life and education

Peter Cookson graduated from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

where he received a B.A. in American History, M.A. in European Intellectual History, and Ph.D. in the Sociology of Education. He also received a post-graduate certificate in Administration, Planning and Social Policy from the

Harvard Graduate School of Education The Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) is the education school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1920, it was the first school to grant the EdD degree and the first ...

and an M.A. in religion from

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

Career

A strong proponent of

education reform Education reform is the goal of changing public education. The meaning and educational methods have changed through debates over what content or experiences result in an educated individual or an educated society. Historically, the motivations for ...

, his articles have appeared frequently in ''

Education Week ''Education Week'' is a news organization that has covered K–12, K–12 education since 1981. It is owned by Editorial Projects in Education (EPE), a nonprofit organization, and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The newspaper publishes ...

'' and ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...

'', among others. He received a special citation in the category of best blog for Education Sector's "The Quick and the Ed" from the National Education Writers Association for education reporting in 2012. Since the 1980s, Cookson has been a college and university professor and administrator, most notably at

Teachers College, Columbia University Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

, where he founded the Center for Educational Outreach and Innovation and TC Innovations. He was managing director of Education Sector, an independent education policy think tank, and is currently Principal Researcher and Director of The Equity Project at

American Institutes for Research The American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan behavioral and social science research, evaluation, and technical assistance organization based in Arlington, Virginia. One of the world's largest social science research o ...

(AIR), and teaches sociology at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. As a specialist in

American education The United States does not have a national or federal educational system. Although there are more than fifty independent systems of education (one run by each state and territory, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense ...

and equity in education, Cookson has been interviewed often, most recently on Bloomberg Radio's education network.Bloomberg EDU radio interview with Jane Stoddard Williams, May 10, 201

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References

External links

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Blog, ''The Quick & the Ed''Website for ''Sacred Trust: A Children's Education Bill of Rights''Peter W. Cookson Jr. on Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cookson, Peter W. Jr. Living people American education writers American sociologists Georgetown University faculty New York University alumni Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Yale Divinity School alumni 1942 births Teachers College, Columbia University faculty