Jennifer Keys Adair, PhD is Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Her work focuses on the connection between agency and racism in the early learning experiences of children of immigrants. As a young scholar fellow with the Foundation of Child Development and a major grant recipient of the Spencer Foundation, Dr. Adair is working with parents, teachers, administrators and young children to improve the learning experiences of young children from marginalized communities. She is primarily concerned with how racism and white supremacy impact young children’s early schooling experiences. Her areas of expertise include early childhood education, the schooling experiences of Black and Latinx young children, immigrant parent engagement, project based learning and the importance of young children exploring racial and cultural differences.

Dr. Adair has received many awards for her research and published findings in a wide range of journals including Harvard Educational Review, Teachers College Record, Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood Education, Young Children, Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education and Race, Ethnicity and Education. She is the author of the forthcoming book (March 2021) Segregation by Experience: Agency, Racism and Early Learning published by the University of Chicago Press. She co-authored the book Children Crossing Borders: Immigrant Parent and Teacher Perspectives on Preschool for Children of Immigrants. She has conducted research projects in the United States, India, New Zealand and Australia as well as throughout Europe. She authored a report and webinar for the Migration Policy Institute titled,"The Impact of Discrimination on the Early Schooling Experiences of Children from Immigrant Families." She currently serves on the editorial board of Teachers College Record and Anthropology and Education Quarterly. She lectures in multiple countries and her work, reports and expertise have been covered by many news outlets including The Conversation, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Pacific Standard, Edweek, CNN, Teaching Tolerance, New America, EdCentral and National Public Radio.