Schneider's current research projects include a broader comparative analysis of the politics of education reform in middle income countries with a special theoretical focus on the roles of teacher unions and business. Other projects focus on business politics, innovation policies, and inequality in Latin America.

Schneider's research has been supported by the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, the Fulbright Program, the Social Science Research Council, the Searle Foundation, the Kellogg Institute, the Heinz Foundation, the Tinker Foundation, and the Inter-American Foundation. Schneider also has a strong interest in contemporary policy debates and has consulted for the Ford Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, the Global Development Network, the United Nations Research Institute for Social Research (UNRISD), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the governments of Brazil and the United States. He has also been active in promoting a new research network, Red de Economía Política de América Latina, Repal.