Kay Varela

Postdoctoral Scholar, School of Criminology & Criminal Justice (CCJ)

kay.varela@asu.edu

Mail code: 4420

Campus: Dtphx
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Long Bio

Dr. Kay S. Varela is a Presidential Postdoctoral Scholar in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. Dr. Varela received her PhD in Sociology from Texas A&M University in 2020. Dr. Varela's research focuses on Critical Race Theory; critical race criminology and punishment; risk assessment; and qualitative methods. Specifically, Dr. Varela's research focuses on the ways in which race, class, and gender impact perceptions of and experiences with public and personal safety. Her research can be found published in journals such as Critical Criminology; Urban Education; Journal of School Violence; Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice; and Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. Prior to joining ASU, Dr. Varela was a Postdoctoral Scholar in the School of Social Work at the University of Southern California.

Education

Ph.D., Sociology, Texas A&M University
M.S., Sociology, Texas A&M University
B.A., Sociology, Calvin College
B.A., Political Science, Calvin College

Curriculum Vitae

Google Scholar URL

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=N2k9KkwAAAAJ&hl=en

Research Interests

Juvenile Justice
Punishment
Public Safety
Critical Race Theory
Qualitative Methods

Publications

Montes, Andrea N., Sarah Lindstrom Johnson, Angelica Lopez, Brooke Johnson, Alexis Klemm, Kay S. Varela, and Anthony A. Peguero. 2024. “Connections between Racial and Ethnic Make Up of the Student Body and School Safety Personnel Use.” Journal of School Violence. DOI: 10.1080/15388220.2023.2297039
Varela, Kay S., Janice Iwama, Miner P. “Trey” Marchbanks III, Krystlelynn Caraballo, Anthony A. Peguero, Jamilia Blake, John M. Eason, and Jun Sung Hong. 2024. “Are Schools Stricter at the Border? Investigating the Relationships between School Strictness, Juvenile Justice, and the Border.” Journal of School Violence. DOI: 10.1080/15388220.2023.229703
Varela, Kay S. 2023. “‘This is Part of my Final Grade’: A LatCrit Critique of Using Prison Tours as Pedagogical Tools in Criminal Justice.” Journal of Criminal Justice Education. DOI: 10.1080/10511253.2023.2216277
Irwin, Katherine , Kay S. Varela, and Anthony A. Peguero. 2022. “Punishment in Racially Segregated Schools: Against Racial Threat and Toward a Racial Control Perspective.” Critical Criminology. DOI: 10.1007/s10612-022-09625-0.
Peguero, Anthony A., Kay S. Varela, Miner P. “Trey” Marchbanks III, Jamilia Blake, and John M. Eason. 2021. “School Punishment and Education: Racial/Ethnic Disparities with Grade Retention and the Role of Urbanicity.” Urban Education 56(2): 228-260
Varela, Kay S., Sanna King, Anthony A. Peguero, and Alicia Pantoja. 2020. “School Procedural Justice and Being Pushed Out: Examining the Intersection of Sex and Race/Ethnicity.” Sociological Spectrum 40(2): 247-268.
Marchbanks III, Miner P. “Trey”, Anthony A. Peguero, Kay S. Varela, Jamilia Blake, and John M. Eason. 2018. “School Strictness and Disproportionate Minority Contact: Investigating Racial and Ethnic Disparities with the “School-to-Prison Pipeline.” Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 16(2): 241-259.
Varela, Kay S., Anthony A. Peguero, John M. Eason, Miner P. “Trey” Marchbanks III, and Jamilia J. Blake. 2018. “School Strictness and Education: Investigating Racial and Ethnic Educational Inequalities Associated with being Pushed Out.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity 4(2): 261-280.

Expertise Areas