Zachary Taylor Smith Distinguished Term Professor, Developmental Psychology Program
Director, Graduate Program in Developmental Psychology
Faculty, Center for Developmental Science
Academy of Abbey Fellows
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Contact Information:
Email:bkc@unc.edu
Website: https://bkcostes.web.unc.edu/

Research Interests & Goals:
Beth Kurtz-Costes is a Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research program focuses on the development of children’s academic motivation and achievement-related beliefs. Much of her research has been cultural-comparative and/or has focused on family processes. The ultimate goals of this research are to better understand what factors promote successful learning in children from diverse backgrounds, and how the development of academic motivation is interwoven with identity development. To this end, her research has identified ways in which the social identities of race and gender and associated stereotypes and discrimination shape identity and motivation development in childhood and adolescence.