School Improvement and Educational Leadership Preparation

The undergraduate research scholar will work with Dr. Bryan VanGronigen’s research program, which centers on (a) how to improve schools and (b) how to prepare educational leaders. Depending on interest and/or fit, the scholar is welcome to work on one or more of the following projects:

• Project A focuses on school leadership teams (SLTs), which are teams of principals and teachers who lead K-12 schools. We’re interested in learning more about SLT dynamics and how team leaders and team members share power and authority. If joining this project, scholar responsibilities could include assisting with data management, cleaning and analyzing data, and/or writing up findings.
• Project B is a study examining how state departments of education assist schools in developing school improvement plans, especially schools labeled as “underperforming.” We’re interested in understanding how states “frame” school improvement planning. If joining this project, scholar responsibilities could include assisting with data collection and management, cleaning and analyzing data, and/or writing up findings.
• Project C focuses on state boards of education (SBOEs), which are governmental entities that supervise educational policies in 47 U.S. states. We’re interested in taking a critical look at SBOE members from across the U.S. since some states elect members and other states appoint members. If joining this project, scholar responsibilities could include helping review the literature, assisting with data management, cleaning and analyzing data, and/or writing up findings.

A number of other projects are either in progress or under development, so if a scholar is interested in the research program in general, feel free to reach out to explore potential alignment among interests and work needed.

Required Skills

The scholar will join a multi-site research team, and our only required skills are your abilities to work collegially, professionally, and independently.

Recommended Skills

While our team will mentor you with what you need to know, we can move faster if you have a working proficiency of Microsoft Word and Excel and the Google Apps suite (Docs, Sheets, Forms).