Esther Quintero

Quintero's work focuses on conducting and synthesizing research in two main areas, the social-organizational context of teachers and early literacy policy. 

In collaboration with Susan B. Neuman (New York University), Quintero co-leads a project that tracks and analyzes state reading legislation enacted since 2019 - an effort aimed at informing debates about the role of research in shaping literacy policy and instructional change. In partnership with Maryland READS, Quintero has collaborated on an initiative  to understand how digital media and screen-based reading shape literacy development and examine the implications for policy and practice. 

Quintero was co-PI on a multi-year measurement project funded by the Institute of Education Sciences to develop a new instrument for capturing rich evidence about teachers’ professional activity, the characteristics of the contexts in which it occurs, and teachers’ affective responses to their work. 

She is the editor of Teaching In Context (Harvard Education Press, 2017) and author of numerous analyses, commentaries, and articles published in American Educator, the Institute's blog, and other outlets. 

Quintero's interests also include understanding the relationship between educational research, policy, and practice; social inequality; and the sociology of gender and race. She holds a B.A. from the University of Seville (Spain) and a Ph.D. in sociology from Cornell University.