Educational Theory and Policy Alumni

She received my Ph.D. in 2015 from the Educational Theory and Policy Program in the Department of Education Policy Studies at Penn State. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Her work uses historical and qualitative methods, as well as social network analysis, to understand the changing nature of strategies for educational equity. Recent projects have explored how educational systems, schools, and teachers negotiate the tension between standardization and differentiation in the context of the Common Core State Standards, and the varied strategies state education agencies are using to support standards implementation. She is a recipient of a Small Research Grant and a Conference Grant from the Spencer Foundation. The research appears in the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Policy, Review of Research in Education, and AERA Open, among others.

He graduated with a Ph.D. in EDTHP with a minor in Demography in 2015. During this time, he had the opportunity to research with several brilliant and passionate faculty and students. He is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Administrative and Instructional Leadership at St. John’s University. Prior to joining St. John's, he was an assistant professor at University of Texas at El Paso. His research focuses on the opportunity gap for low-income and minority students and how school context affects these disparities. Specifically, he examine equity-based school improvement strategies related to school climate and de-tracking as well as policy-level issues such as school choice, resource allocation, and segregation. His work has appeared in the Educational Administration Quarterly American Journal of Education, Teachers College Record, and Educational Policy. 

William C. Smith is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Education and International Development at the University of Edinburgh, where he acts as Coordinator for the Comparative Education and International Development Community. Prior to the University of Edinburgh he worked as a Senior Policy Analyst at UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report. William contributed to the 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2020 GEM Reports and led the development of the thematic section of the 2017/18 GEM Report Accountability in Education: Meeting our Commitments. Between completing his dual-title PhD in EDTHP and CIED, in December 2014, and starting at UNESCO, William worked at RESULTS Educational Fund to help develop and pilot the Right to Education Index with civil society partners in five countries. William’s work in education and international development focuses on education access and barriers to education for the most marginalized. This includes his current project exploring access to secondary education with partners in the Asia Pacific region and his role as the Academic Lead for the Data for Children Collaborative with UNICEF, a multi-million pound co-constructed project between the University of Edinburgh, UNICEF, and the Scottish government. William’s academic publications have featured in a range of top journals including Demography; Social Science and Medicine; Globalisation, Societies and Education; Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability; and the International Journal of Educational Development, as well as his edited book The Global Testing Culture: Shaping Education Policy, Perceptions, and Practice.

She received her Ph.D. in Educational Theory and Policy and Comparative and International Education (dual-title degree) in 2018. Currently, she is a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Donia Human Rights Center at the University of Michigan. In August 2020, she started as an Assistant Professor of Leadership Studies at the Jepson School of Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. Broadly defined, her research examines what drives educational inequality in the United States and cross-nationally. One strand of this research addresses how the educational policies and characteristics of immigrant and minority students’ communities affect their educational outcomes. As part of this research, she has examined the effects of anti-immigrant sentiment on the educational outcomes of immigrant students. Her current work extends this research by examining how marginalized students are affected by other contextual factors, such as immigration policies and campus climate. More information about my research can be found at http://volhachykina.org/.

Jiehui received her M.A. in Educational Theory and Policy in 2019. She is currently a doctoral student in the Education Policy Program in the Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research interests include sociology of education, educational inequality, social and cultural context’s influence on family practices, schooling, and student academic achievement.

Having joined the School of Education and Social Work in November 2014, Professor Gillian Hampden-Thompson became the Head of School in 2016. Having both a background in research and teaching, Gillian was previously the Director of Research in the Department of Education at the University of York (2008-2014) and a research analyst and project leader at the American Institutes for Research in Washington, DC (2004-2008). Prior to embarking on her graduate studies, she was a secondary school teacher in the UK. Working across a broad range of educational projects, her research broadly addresses issues surrounding social justice. Gillian applies a range of methods and approaches in her research including working on projects that involve quantitative analyses of large-scale data, randomized control trials, and process evaluations. Gillian holds three degrees in the field of Education, including a Ph.D. in Educational Theory and Policy, and Comparative and International Education (dual title degree) from the Pennsylvania State University, USA.

Dr. Jenkins earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Public Relations from the Honors College at the University of South Carolina. She received her Masters in College Student Affairs from the University of Maryland, College Park and completed her doctoral studies in Educational Theory & Policy at Penn State University.  She is an Associate Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Museum of Education at the University of South Carolina.  Her work focuses on culture (contemporary culture, folk culture, and pop culture) as a politic of social survival, a tool of social change, and a transformative space of critical and creative pedagogy. She is also interested in the ways in which education has served as both a space of liberation and oppression for minoritized communities. Jenkins is a highly sought after expert in the areas of diversity & inclusion, cultural inclusiveness in higher education, and student affairs administration.  She regularly serves as the lead national expert for student affairs program reviews of cultural centers and multicultural affairs departments. Dr. Jenkins has over 35 other publications including journal articles, book chapters, books, and magazine articles. She has given over 50 presentations at national and international conferences.

Kristina Brezicha graduated from EDTHP in December of 2015 with a dual-title Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in Educational Theory and Policy and Comparative International Education. In January of 2016, she became an assistant professor of Educational Leadership in the department of Educational Policy Studies at Georgia State University. Her research centers on the relationship between education and democracy and how this relationship manifests in schools. She has published in Educational Administration Quarterly, Peabody Journal of Education, and The Journal of School Leadership among others.

Andrew Pendola is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at Auburn University. He graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a doctorate in Educational Theory and Policy. His research is focused on recruitment and retention of K-12 teachers and principals. Specifically, he is interested in policies and practices that address educator shortages and attrition.  He currently teaches courses on school law, budgeting, leadership ethics, and equity. 

Minda Tan is an Assistant Professor in Shandong Normal University. He graduated with a dual-title Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in Educational Theory and Policy and Comparative International Education in 2020. His research focuses on cultural reproduction in the educational system and the academic performance of students with different backgrounds. Specifically, he investigates academic influencing factors and improvement strategies for compensating disadvantaged students with limited educational resources. Recently, he examined the impact of structured after-school activities and the effect of student composition on school outcomes. His work has appeared in Journal of Youth Studies and Forum for International Research in Education.