He has researched the effects of social and instructional variables on cognition, learning, self-regulation and motivation.
In addition to other books, he is author of the widely used textbook, Learning Theories: An Educational Perspective, and coauthor of Motivation in Education: Theory Research and Applications.
Schunk received the Albert J. Harris Research Award from the International Reading Association (1989), an Early Contributions Award from Division 15 (Educational Psychology) of the American Psychological Association (1982), and the Fulbright Distinguished American Scholar Award (1997).
Before moving to Purdue, Schunk taught educational psychology at the University of Houston from 1979 to 1985 and at UNC-Chapel Hill from 1986 to 1993.
degree from Boston University and a Ph.D. from the Stanford Graduate School of Education.