Dr. Allen's research aims to address institutional and systemic inequalities within STEM education by supporting the design and implementation of STEM learning reforms. She examines the ways that equity and instructional improvement efforts take on meaning and become consequential for youth and teachers in local practice. Some of her current work examines how efforts to improve STEM education intersect with students' learning and identity work within and out of school. Her work also explores the relationships among local policy, educators' organizational contexts, and their efforts to implement reform-based and equity-oriented pedagogies.