Celeste Fernandez

Dr. Celeste Fernandez received her Ph.D. in human development and family sciences from the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin). During her studies, she completed a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) fellowship in population studies at UT Austin’s Population Research Center. Celeste also served as a research associate on NICHD and National Science Foundation-funded projects at UT Austin focused on how students’ school and home experiences influence their mental, physical, and academic development.

Celeste’s research interests center on the contextual influences of adolescent development. Using a developmental perspective, she is particularly focused on investigating how marginalization and the interpersonal interactions that occur in and outside of school influence students’ academic engagement and achievement.

Selected Publications and Presentations

Fernandez, C. C. & Benner, A. D. (2022). Psychological Resources as a Buffer Between Discrimination and Academic Well-being. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Benner, A. D., Fernandez, C. C., Hou, Y., & Gonzales, C. (2021). Parent and teacher educational expectations and adolescents’ academic performance: Mechanisms of influence. Journal of Community Psychology.

Fernandez, C. C., Kuhfeld, M., Gershoff, E. T., Vandell, D. L., & Benner A. D. (2022). Measuring the impact of student mobility on student academic trajectories: Unpacking the role of changing school contexts. Paper presentation at the Population Association of America annual meeting, Atlanta, Georgia.