Levinson approaches educational anthropology broadly as a scholar, researcher and educator.

He specializes in ethnographic studies of youth and student culture, reform processes in secondary schooling, civic and citizenship education for democracy, the culture and politics of educational policy-making, as well as transnatio-nal migration and education.

He has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork in both Mexico and among Latinos in Indiana, USA. He is also the founding editor of the Inter-American Journal of Education for Democracy (2007-2011).