Tricia J. Stewart, Ph.D.
360 Bon Terre Blvd., Pike Road, AL 36064
triciajstewart18@hotmail.com
585-455-5603
RESEARCH INTERESTS
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Educational Policy Studies: Accountability and Choice
Social Class and Inequality in Education
High Need School Districts: Urban and Rural
Qualitative and Mixed-Methods Research
EDUCATIONAL CREDENTIALS
Doctor of Philosophy
Educational Policy and Theory
University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Master of Science Degree
Women’s Studies
University of Minnesota at Mankato, Mankato, MN
Bachelor of Arts Degree
History
St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY
New York State Teacher Certifications
Adult Education
Social Studies 7-12
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Associate Professor. Alabama State University, Montgomery, AL.
2011-Present
Teach a cohort of doctoral students’ courses including Curriculum Planning and
Evaluation, Educational Policy, Public Policy, Policy, Planning and Change, Formative
and Summative Assessment (hybrid course), Advanced Qualitative Research and Mixed
Methods Research. Conduct scholarship and provide service to the university and
surrounding communities. Contribute to the development of the Ph.D. Program proposal
recently approved by the State of Alabama. Provide dissertation writing workshops and
qualitative software (NVivo 9) workshops. Chair Ed.D. Dissertations and serve on
dissertation committees. Mentor doctoral students on submitting to and presenting at
professional conferences.
Visiting Assistant Professor. University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. 2009-2011
Served as the chair for eleven Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) students who wrote program
evaluation dissertations through a cohort model. Designed and taught the seminar courses
on dissertation writing for the cohort group, which involved providing the qualitative and
quantitative research skills necessary to conduct their studies. Developed and taught the
qualitative methods courses: Interview and Focus Group Techniques and using
Qualitative Data Analysis Software. Engaged in scholarship and provided service to the
university and surrounding communities.
UNIVERSITY TEACHING
Content Expertise: Contemporary Issues in Education Policy; Politics of Education;
Reform in Public Schools; Sociology of Education; Public School Choice; Poverty and
Educational Policy; School Leadership in Diverse Settings; Curricular and Instructional
Leadership; Data-Driven School Improvement; Qualitative Research Methods; Mixed
Methods Research; Program Evaluation
Designed and taught the following courses:
Alabama State University (Doctoral Level)
LPL 710- Curriculum Planning and Evaluation
LPL 720- Policy, Planning, and Change
LPL 725- Decision Making
LPL 730- Public Policy
LPL 735- Educational Policy
LPL 780- Readings and Research I
LPL 785- Readings and Research II
LPL 800- Field Application and Internship I
LPL 900- Dissertation
Sp-2013/Fa-2011/Fa-2014
Fa-2012/Sp-2014
Su-2014
Fa-2013/Fa-2014
Fa-2012/Su-2013/Su-2014
Su-2012/Sp-2013
Su-2013
Sp-2012/Fa-2013
Sp-2013/Su-2013/Fa-2013
/Sp-2014/Su-2014/Fa-2014
The University of Rochester (Doctoral Level)
ED 540- Program Evaluation Dissertation Proposal Seminar
ED 541- Program Evaluation Dissertation Seminar I
ED542- Program Evaluation Dissertation Seminar II
ED 525- Interview and Focus Group Techniques (Research Methods)
Su-2009/2010
Fa-2009/2010
Sp-2009/2011
Fa-2008/2009/2010
Sp-2009/ 2010
Su-2010
ED 529- Using Qualitative Data Analysis Software (Research Methods) Fa-2008/2009/2010
Su-2009
ED 524- Survey Design (Research Methods)
Sp-2009/Su-2009
/Fa-2009
EDU 413-Contemporary Issues in Education Policy
Su-2009
State University of New York at Brockport (Masters Level)
EDU 794-Seminar in Social Studies Education
EDU 418- Learner II: Social Studies
EDU 528- Middle School Curriculum and Instruction
EDU 671- Teaching Elementary School Social Science
Su-2007
Fa-2006/Sp-2007
Fa-2006/Sp-2007
Fa-2006/Sp-2007
PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHING
Middle School 7th Grade Social Studies Teacher. Greece, NY.
2002-2005
Planned, developed, delivered, and evaluated curriculum based on New York State
curriculum guidelines. Supervised and mentored student teacher candidates.
7th Grade Social Studies & English Language Arts Teacher. Victor, NY. 2001-2002
Taught social studies and English Language Arts from a Humanities based perspective
based on the New York State Curriculum. Improved students’ written and verbal abilities
through cooperative classroom activities and projects.
Lead Teacher Alternative High School Education Program. Hilton, NY. 1998-2001
Engaged at-risk high school students in the learning process in order for them to receive
their GED. Provided instruction in Writing Skills, Literature and the Arts, Social Studies,
Science and Mathematics.
RESEARCH (Current/On-going)
Integrating a Flight Simulation Environment in the Classroom to Teach Mathematics and
Science. This research team consists of faculty from Tuskegee University and Alabama State
University, it involves understanding the ways that hands on real world application has the
potential to engage minority students in Math and Science. My role is to design interview
protocols, interview teachers and students, analyze the data with NVivo 19, and contribute to
manuscripts. (NSF Grant DRL0929609)
The Racial Dynamics of Crossing District Boundaries: Perspectives of Parents Involved in
Inter-district Choice. This research study is in conjunction with researchers at the University of
Rochester. It utilizes qualitative interviews with USITP racial/ethnic minority parents to better
understand the role of race in inter-district transfer programs. Our work focuses on the racial
dynamics of moving across segregated boundaries with the purpose of advancing justice and
equity for students of color in educational systems. On this research team, I contribute to the
analysis of data and manuscript writing; including contributing to the writing of the AERA 2015
Conference Symposium Submission.
Communities of Color: Educational Reform across Time. This research study is in conjunction
with researchers at the University of Rochester. The purpose of this case study research is to
contribute to an understanding of community organizing and mobilization for education in
Rochester, NY from 1960 to 2014. It is especially concerned with the ways that different racial
and ethnic groups have changed their practices over time. We hope to contribute to the literature
on the constant tension that exists between the benefits of integration, both societal and educational,
and the self-interests of community members. For instance, community members in the larger Metro
area are privileged by the segregation and concentration of poverty that is maintained within the city
of Rochester and by a system of individual school districts for individual townships. A better
understanding of this from a socio-political context can be used as a counterpoint to other urban
centers that exist within either a Metro or County wide schooling system. As part of this research
team, I contribute data collection, analysis of data, and manuscript writing; including
contributing to the writing of the AERA 2015 Conference Paper Submission.
Still Majority Minority: Tales of Women Pursing the Educational Doctorate. (P.I.)
This exploratory research study seeks to understand the experiences of women in the initial
cohorts of the Educational Leadership, Policy, and Law Doctoral Program--established under the
1995 Remedial Decree in the Knight v. Alabama desegregation lawsuit at a Historically Black
College/University. This study expands an understanding of the ways that women have resisted
inequality and oppression through higher education.
RESEARCH APPOINTMENTS
Researcher and Project Manager
2009-2011
Understanding social network structure in schools under corrective action: A longitudinal
comparative analysis of research use and diffusion in urban districts.
This mixed methods study involved case studies and social network analysis focuses on how
urban systems and schools in need of improvement diagnose problems, identify strategies, and
define, acquire, use and diffuse research evidence to improve under accountability sanctions.
This study also explored how social networks support or constrain efforts at organizational
learning and move evidence throughout urban districts, including how educators define and
distinguish between types of evidence and whether these are responsive to the identified issues.
Mother, Ph.D. student, and emerging scholar: A phenomenological study of beating the
academic odds
This mixed methods phenomenological study combines interviews, narrative approaches, and
survey research to examine the lived experiences of women graduate students in pursuit of a
Ph.D. in Education while balancing the competing roles of mother, emerging scholar and
student. It also explores the ways in which 15 individuals at a Research Extensive University
negotiate this complex experience and the factors (e.g. social capital; material resources;
institutional support) that contribute to their persistence in pursuing a doctoral degree. (P.I.)
Margaret E. Warner Pre-Dissertation Fellow and Research Assistant 2008-2009
Financial management in New York Charter Schools: A condition study for the New York State
Education Finance Research Consortium, 2007-2008.
Collected data for a study involving audited financial statements of charter schools and surveys
with board presidents and chief financial officers to understand charter school financial
management, focusing on the common financial management practices of charter schools; the
financial training trustees of charter schools received and desired; the typical background of
individuals who managed charter school finances; and the extent to which the financial
management of charter schools aligned with best practices.
Interdistrict choice as a policy solution: Examining Rochester’s Urban Suburban Interdistrict
Transfer Program
Utilized a mixed methods study to gain an understanding of the Rochester Interdistrict Transfer
Program, including the creation of a database chronicling forty years of program participants.
Conducted interviews with original and current stakeholders and applied content analysis
methodology to analyze historical documents.
Graduate Research Assistant and Research Apprentice
2005-2008
Principal leadership in low-performing schools.
Prepared and analyzed the data with NVivo 8 for a qualitative study on teachers’ perceptions of
leadership in 10 low-performing schools in Chicago.
Middle school teaming and redesign: A program evaluation.
Conducted interviews (administrators, counselors, and teachers) and surveys (administrators,
counselors, teachers, and students) to understand middle school organizational realignment from
a house structure to a grade level structure through a program evaluation. (Co-P.I.)
What motivates teachers in low-performing schools?
Analyzed the data on teacher motivation for a qualitative study based on interviews with teachers
in 10 low-performing schools in Chicago utilizing NVivo 7.
PUBLICATIONS
Stewart, T. J., & Palermo-Biggs, M. (2014--Accepted). The design and delivery of
academic presentations in educational leadership programs: Fostering growth.
International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation.
Sutton, L. C., & Stewart, T. J. (2013). State challenges to Plyer v. Doe: Undocumented
immigrant students and public school access. Educational Considerations, 40(3),
23-25.
Stewart, T. J., & Palermo-Biggs, M. (2013). Mixed methods research: Taking a broader
view. School Business Affairs, 79(5), 23-25.
Stewart, T. J. & Johnson, S. (2013). Bring Your Own Technology and Using StudentOwned Mobile Devices for Learning: An Innovation That’s Time Has Come. In
M. Militello & J. Friend (Eds.), Principal 2.0: Technology and Educational
Leadership. Charlotte, NC: Information Age.
Finnigan, K. S., Daly, A. J., & Stewart, T. J. (2012). Organizational learning in schools
under sanction. Education Research International, 2012, 1-10.
Stewart, T. J. & Brent, B. O. (2011). Make Informed Decisions by Surveying
Stakeholders. School Business Affairs, 77(7), 8-11.
Finnigan, K. S., & Stewart, T. J. (2009). Leading Change Under Pressure: An
Examination of Principal Leadership in Low-Performing Schools. The Journal of
School Leadership, 19(5), 586-618.
Brent, B. O., Finnigan, K. S., Stewart, T. J. (2009). “Do you have their support?” How to
make informed decisions using focus groups. School Business Affairs, 75(1), 1417.
PUBLISHED CONFERENCE PROCEDINGS
Finnigan, K. & Stewart, T. J. (2009). Interdistrict Choice as a Policy Solution: Examining
Rochester’s Urban-Suburban Interdistrict Transfer Program. National Conference
on School Choice and School Improvement, National Center on School Choice,
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN. Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov
Brent, B., Finnigan, K., Wall, A., & Stewart, T. J. (2006). New York. In P. Iatarola
(Ed.), State of the States. Fifteenth Annual Report of the American Educational
Research Association’s Fiscal Policy and Education Finance Special Interest
Group.
PRESENTATIONS
National
Stewart, T. J., Plenty, J. A., & Major, A. E. (2013). Practitioner to academic: Fostering
student growth through better student presentations. Paper presented at the
National Council of Professors of Educational Administration’s 67th Annual
Conference—Innovation, Inventiveness and the Imagination: Leading into the
Future, Meadowlands, New Jersey.
Stewart, T. J., Charlip, J., Corey, M., Hurst, A., & Ottaway Martin, R. (2013). Still
‘Strangers in Paradise’?: Today’s working class/poverty class academics. Panel
presented at the 2013 Fighting Forward: A Labor and Working Class Summit and
Annual Conference of the Working Class Studies Association, Madison, WI.
Stewart, T. J., Winston, J., Penepent, S. I., Mitchell, C. (2012). Small learning
communities: Where are the lessons from the Middle School Movement? Paper
presented at the 2012 National Council of Professors of Educational
Administration--Social Justice, Competition, and Quality: 21st Century
Leadership Challenges, Kansas City, MO.
Stewart, T. J., Plenty, J. A., Palermo-Biggs, M., & Major, A. (2012). Social justice and
early childhood education: The state of laboratory schools at Historically Black
Colleges and Universities. Paper presented at the 2012 National Council of
Professors of Educational Administration--Social Justice, Competition, and
Quality: 21st Century Leadership Challenges, Kansas City, MO.
Stewart, T. J., & Johnson, S. (2012). Bring your own technology and social justice:
Educating the Net Generation. Paper presented at the 2012 National Council of
Professors of Educational Administration--Social Justice, Competition, and
Quality: 21st Century Leadership Challenges, Kansas City, MO.
Sutton, L. C., & Stewart, T. J. (2012). Progeny of Plyler and national immigration
policy: States respond to estimate costs. Roundtable presented at the 2012
National Education Finance Conference, San Antonio, TX.
Stewart, T. J. (2011). Interdistrict transfer and social capital: Grounded in social
connections. Paper presented at the 43rd Annual New England Educational
Research Organization Conference, New Bedford, MA.
Stewart, T. J., & Palermo-Biggs, M., (2011). Mother Ph.D. and emerging scholar: A
phenomenological study of factors that support retention. Paper presented at the
43rd Annual New England Educational Research Organization Conference, New
Bedford, MA.
Stewart, T. J., Palermo-Biggs, M., & Kawakyu O’Connor, N. (2010). Negotiating
competing roles: The lived experience of the Ph.D. student/emerging
scholar/mother. Paper presented at the 2010 Research on Women in Education
Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Finnigan, K.S. & Stewart, T. J. (2009). Interdistrict choice as a policy solution:
Examining Rochester’s Urban-Suburban Interdistrict Transfer Program. Paper
presented at the 2009 National Conference on School Choice and School
Improvement, National Center on School Choice, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN. (Invited)
Stewart, T. J. (2009). The dissolution of small learning communities: A program
evaluation of middle school reconfiguration. 23rd Edward F. Kelly Evaluation
Conference. Albany, NY
Finnigan, K. S., & Stewart, T. J. (2008). Principal leadership in low-performing schools.
The American Educational Research Association Conference, New York, NY.
Finnigan, K. S., Gross, B. & Stewart, T. J. (2006). Do accountability policy sanctions
influence teacher motivation? Lessons from Chicago’s low performing schools.
The American Educational Research Association Conference, San Francisco, CA.
Stewart, T. J., & Corey, M. (2006). The Susan B. Anthony House: Field experience as
primary source, a critical analysis of the presented past. Susan B. Anthony & the
Struggle for Equal Rights: A Women’s History Conference. Rochester, NY.
Stewart, T. J., & Smidgly, P. (1994). It’s a small world after all: Gender bias in basal
readers and other children’s stories. 11th Annual Women’s Research Conference,
University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD.
Regional/Local:
Stewart, T. J. (2005). Integrating reading strategies into the Social Studies Curriculum.
Greece Central School District Social Studies Professional Development Day,
Rochester, NY.
Stewart, T. J. (2004). Enhancing student writing through artwork. Greece Central School
District Middle School Professional Development Day Presentation, Rochester,
NY.
Stewart, T. J. (2003). Into the mainstream: Including women in American History.
American History as Dialogue Project Summer Institute, University of Rochester,
Rochester, NY.
SERVICE
DISSERTATION/THESIS COMMITTEE SERVICE
Student/Year Title of Research
Chair
Powell, P. (2014). Adult Basic Education: Making the Transition to Postsecondary
Education. [Dissertation] Alabama State University [Chair].
Wright, S. (2014). The Alliance for Arts Education Advocacy and Professional Learning
Programs: A Program Evaluation. [Dissertation] Alabama State University
[Chair].
Major. A. (2013). An Appreciation Inquiry of E-learning Operations in a Southern
College of Education. [Dissertation] Alabama State University [Chair].
Pharrams, L. (2013). Disciplinary action as an intervention that supports students:
Lessons from a large comprehensive high school. [Dissertation] Alabama State
University [Chair].
Bones, R. E. (2011). The implementation of Learning Support Services: A program
evaluation (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Warner School of Education,
University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. [Advisor/Chair]
Case, S. C. (2011). Implementing Academic Intervention Services: A program evaluation of
Olympia High School (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Warner School of
Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. [Advisor/Chair]
DeNero. L. M. (2012). The implementation of inclusion at Wheatland-Chili Central School
District (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Warner School of Education, University
of Rochester, Rochester, NY. [Advisor/Chair]
Eghbali, M. (2011). Surgery Morbidity and Mortality Conference: A program evaluation
(Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Warner School of Education, University of
Rochester, Rochester, NY. [Advisor/Chair]
Mecke, C. M. (2011). The implementation of social-emotional learning: A program
evaluation of a universal pre-kindergarten program (Unpublished doctoral
dissertation). Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
[Advisor/Chair]
Penepent, S. I. (2011). Freshman transition teaming: A program evaluation of the
perceptions and experience of students and staff (Unpublished doctoral dissertation).
Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
[Advisor/Chair]
Platt, K. B. (2011). An implementation program evaluation of the Parent Program at the
University of Rochester Counseling Center (Unpublished doctoral dissertation).
Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
[Advisor/Chair]
Rinefierd, G. C. (2011). Recruitment, retention, and promotion of residence life staff at
Rochester Institute of Technology (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Warner School
of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY. [Advisor/Chair]
Zodarecky, K. (2011). The journey to becoming a writer: A program evaluation of a
universal prekindergarten writing curriculum (Unpublished doctoral dissertation).
Warner School of Education, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
[Advisor/Chair]
Committee Member
Briggs, C. (2014). Mathematics: Self-efficacy, identity, and achievement among African
American males from the High School Longitudinal Study. [Dissertation] Alabama
State University [Member]
Bettis, C. (2013). Local wellness policy implementation: A case study within the Black Belt
Region of the State of Alabama. [Dissertation] Alabama State University [Member]
Daniels, R. H. (2013). A Content Analysis of Local and National Perspectives Concerning
Alabama’s Proposed Immigration Law. [Dissertation] Alabama State University
[Member]
Harris, L. M. (2013). School funding equity under proration in the State of Alabama.
[Dissertation] Alabama State University [Member]
Thomas, C. (2013). Persistence and resiliency of African-American Computer Science
Majors at a Historically Black College and University [Dissertation] Alabama State
University [Member]
Jones, C. (2012). Performance pay preferences of College of Education Faculty and
Administrators at a Historically Black University [Dissertation] Alabama State
University [Member]
Doctoral Dissertation Chair, Current
Educational Leadership, Policy, and Law, Alabama State University
Gibson, Laurette (Qualitative)
Hickmon, Sharon (Qualitative)
Wendell Howard (Qualitative)
Mitchell, Charles (Mixed Methods)
Plenty, James (Mixed Methods)
UNIVERSITY SERVICE
Alabama State University
Educational Leadership, Policy, Law
2011-Present
Comprehensive Exam Re-Design Committee
Doctoral Student Cohort Selection Committee
Faculty Search Committee
College of Education
NCATE Conceptual Framework Committee
2013-Present
MENTOR
National Council for Professors of Education Administration (NCPEA)
2014-Present
Mentor a Junior Faculty Member (Protégé) through monthly conversations and through
meeting with her at the NCPEA summer conference
JOURNAL REVIEW
Serve as an invited reviewer for the Journal of School Choice.
2012
CONSULTING
2009-Present
Provide expertise as a researcher and facilitator for rural public school districts and small city
public school districts: superintendent searches and implement strategic planning. Facilitate
trainings on teaming in Middle Level Education. Pike Road Education Committee Member.
PROGRAM EVALUATOR
2011-Present
Conduct program evaluations for local organizations including the Zelia Stephens Early
Childhood Center at Alabama State University and Hampstead Public Library, utilizing a
mixed methods framework—interviews, document review, and program records.
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
American Educational Research Association (AERA)
National Council for Professors of Education Administration (NCPEA):
Dissertation Award Committee Member
Association of Working Class Academics (AWCA):
Organizing Committee Member; Jack Ryan Book Award Committee Member
Research on Women in Education (RWE)