Her research partners critical theory with qualitative research to interrogate the potential for public schools to perpetuate and/or interrupt social inequalities. More specifically, Sondel looks at the effects of privatization and market-based reform on the social justice and democratic purposes of schooling. Recently, she has addressed these issues through qualitative case studies and critical policy network analyses of Teach For America's role in promoting and implementing market-based reform in New Orleans and elsewhere. Sondel received her Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction-Curriculum Theory and Design from the University of Wisconsin, a M.Ed. in Education Policy and Management Studies from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin.