Kristen C Wilcox
Biographic Data
| ID | 4192648 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Kristen C Wilcox |
| GIVEN NAMES | Kristen C |
| FAMILY NAME | Wilcox |
| SIGNATURE | WILCOX K C |
| AFFILIATIONS | University at Albany, State University of New York |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3338-8008 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 12 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 14 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2007 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
From Symbolic to Authentic Family Reengagement Approaches
Family engagement has long been a priority for educators, policymakers, and researchers, and educational leaders play a crucial role in this process. Despite their importance, leaders are often underprepared to engage families authentically and encounter challenges in their attempts to build positive relationships with family members. This qualitative study examines how 25 educational leaders in four schools adapted family engagement practices in…
“I didn't want them to see that I was spent”
Research has demonstrated the difficulties faced by educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. In these unprecedented conditions, educators were asked to manage their emotions in new and challenging ways, thus exacerbating their relatively high levels of stress levels and burnout. We contribute to research on the pandemic's impact on educators through a qualitative case study conducted with 88 educators working in six schools across New York State. …
Advancing Educational Equity Research, Policy, and Practice
As student populations worldwide become more diverse and many are challenged by poverty and social exclusion, educational equity’s importance grows, both as a core value and as a driver for school improvement and redesign. While national and local policies vary, as do resources in support of equity outcomes, it is timely to identify, synthesize, and evaluate the available research with special attention to commonalities, similarities, and lessons…
Framing Leaders’ Discourses on College and Career Readiness
Purpose: This multiple comparative case study investigated district and high school leaders’ framing mechanisms and discourses around priorities and challenges to understand their equity aims and their preparation of diverse student populations’ college, career, and civic readiness. Research Methods/Approach: This research used framing theory to examine semistructured interviews and focus groups with 34 educational leaders from four sample school…
Gendered impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic
There is a growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has had disproportionate impacts on women, especially those with children. Female educators, and, in particular, those with childcare responsibilities, have also reported higher levels of stress and work-life challenges as compared to their male counterparts. It is unclear exactly which factors are behind these disparities. However, while some have pointed to the gendered division of domestic …
An ecological view of rural student aspirations
Prior research has pointed to various factors which influence rural students' aspirations; however, such factors are often treated in isolation without addressing the ways in which they interact with one another. To address these issues, this research applies Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory to an in-depth case study of a rural school located in New York's North Country. Our analysis utilises data collected from students and also draws on previ…
College, career, and civic readiness
In the United States, advances in information technology and globalization present new social and political terrain for citizens to navigate. Preparing well-rounded young adults who are ready to meet the demands of citizenship in the 21st century—thinking critically, communicating, collaborating, and creating—is an imperative function of education. Findings from this multiple case study of “positive outlier” schools, or those with better-than-exp…
Teacher and Student Reciprocal Agency in Odds-Beating Schools
Background/Context In the field of education, the lens of agency has provided a valuable conceptual alternative to deterministic portrayals of schools as oppressive institutions where teachers and students have little power over the conditions in which they teach and learn. A number of studies have investigated teacher and student agency, but few have explored the relationships between the two, particularly in regard to how teacher and student ag…
Beyond Deficit and Determinism to Address the Latinx Attainment Gap
Despite recent gains, Latinx students still lag behind other subgroups on measures of academic attainment. Explanations for this gap have ranged from pernicious deficit ideologies to deterministic frameworks which emphasize differences in human capital. While culturally responsive pedagogies are promising alternatives, there are few studies that provide empirical evidence of their potential. This article addresses this gap by drawing on two quali…
Compass-Aim
COMPASS-AIM is a set of processes and tools used by participants in a research–practice partnership (RPP) to improve organizational capacities and individual and team competencies for organizational learning and improvement. The “COMPASS” team includes teams of teachers and school leaders who work with a university researcher and expert professional developers. Improvement teams begin by COMParing practices in their own setting to those in higher…
An Urban Secondary School Case Study of Disciplinary Writing in Tracked Classrooms
This yearlong ethnographic case study investigated higher and lower track adolescents’ experiences with core content-area (social studies, science, and math) writing in one urban working-class district. Teacher, student, and administrator interviews; field notes; and students’ written work comprised the data set. The findings from this study, framed by sociocultural theory and Bourdieu’s theory of practice, suggest that higher and lower track stu…
Forum
While many adolescents in US school settings do not achieve basic levels of writing proficiency, new standards and assessments hold all students, regardless of academic performance history and language background, to higher standards for disciplinary writing. In response to calls for research that can characterize a range of adolescents’ writing experiences, this study investigated the amount and kinds of writing adolescents with different academ…
The Importance of Civic Responsibility in Higher Performing Middle Schools
In this case study, a district-wide focus on the development of civic responsibility is seen as an important component in the success of higher performing middle schools. Salient features of best practice were gathered from teacher and administrator interviews and documentary evidence in 10 higher performing, yet “beating the odds” schools, and six average performing schools. Findings suggest that consistently higher academic performance is relat…
Listening to Dissonance in Second-Language Classrooms
This article reports on a study investigating ways students from Japan studying English as a second language at an American community college encounter cultural dissonance in their classroom interactions. I take a sociocognitive view rooted in the work of Bakhtin and Vygostky to explore the ways language, culture, and cognitive processes interplay in the heteroglossic spaces of second language classrooms. Multiple data sources are analyzed using …
Gendered impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic
There is a growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has had disproportionate impacts on women, especially those with children. Female educators, and, in particular, those with childcare responsibilities, have also reported higher levels of stress and work-life challenges as compared to their male counterparts. It is unclear exactly which factors are behind these disparities. However, while some have pointed to the gendered division of domestic …
Beyond Deficit and Determinism to Address the Latinx Attainment Gap
Despite recent gains, Latinx students still lag behind other subgroups on measures of academic attainment. Explanations for this gap have ranged from pernicious deficit ideologies to deterministic frameworks which emphasize differences in human capital. While culturally responsive pedagogies are promising alternatives, there are few studies that provide empirical evidence of their potential. This article addresses this gap by drawing on two quali…
College, career, and civic readiness
In the United States, advances in information technology and globalization present new social and political terrain for citizens to navigate. Preparing well-rounded young adults who are ready to meet the demands of citizenship in the 21st century—thinking critically, communicating, collaborating, and creating—is an imperative function of education. Findings from this multiple case study of “positive outlier” schools, or those with better-than-exp…
An Urban Secondary School Case Study of Disciplinary Writing in Tracked Classrooms
This yearlong ethnographic case study investigated higher and lower track adolescents’ experiences with core content-area (social studies, science, and math) writing in one urban working-class district. Teacher, student, and administrator interviews; field notes; and students’ written work comprised the data set. The findings from this study, framed by sociocultural theory and Bourdieu’s theory of practice, suggest that higher and lower track stu…
The Importance of Civic Responsibility in Higher Performing Middle Schools
In this case study, a district-wide focus on the development of civic responsibility is seen as an important component in the success of higher performing middle schools. Salient features of best practice were gathered from teacher and administrator interviews and documentary evidence in 10 higher performing, yet “beating the odds” schools, and six average performing schools. Findings suggest that consistently higher academic performance is relat…
Listening to Dissonance in Second-Language Classrooms
This article reports on a study investigating ways students from Japan studying English as a second language at an American community college encounter cultural dissonance in their classroom interactions. I take a sociocognitive view rooted in the work of Bakhtin and Vygostky to explore the ways language, culture, and cognitive processes interplay in the heteroglossic spaces of second language classrooms. Multiple data sources are analyzed using …
The Importance of Civic Responsibility in Higher Performing Middle Schools
In this case study, a district-wide focus on the development of civic responsibility is seen as an important component in the success of higher performing middle schools. Salient features of best practice were gathered from teacher and administrator interviews and documentary evidence in 10 higher performing, yet “beating the odds” schools, and six average performing schools. Findings suggest that consistently higher academic performance is relat…
Forum
While many adolescents in US school settings do not achieve basic levels of writing proficiency, new standards and assessments hold all students, regardless of academic performance history and language background, to higher standards for disciplinary writing. In response to calls for research that can characterize a range of adolescents’ writing experiences, this study investigated the amount and kinds of writing adolescents with different academ…
An Urban Secondary School Case Study of Disciplinary Writing in Tracked Classrooms
This yearlong ethnographic case study investigated higher and lower track adolescents’ experiences with core content-area (social studies, science, and math) writing in one urban working-class district. Teacher, student, and administrator interviews; field notes; and students’ written work comprised the data set. The findings from this study, framed by sociocultural theory and Bourdieu’s theory of practice, suggest that higher and lower track stu…
Compass-Aim
COMPASS-AIM is a set of processes and tools used by participants in a research–practice partnership (RPP) to improve organizational capacities and individual and team competencies for organizational learning and improvement. The “COMPASS” team includes teams of teachers and school leaders who work with a university researcher and expert professional developers. Improvement teams begin by COMParing practices in their own setting to those in higher…
Teacher and Student Reciprocal Agency in Odds-Beating Schools
Background/Context In the field of education, the lens of agency has provided a valuable conceptual alternative to deterministic portrayals of schools as oppressive institutions where teachers and students have little power over the conditions in which they teach and learn. A number of studies have investigated teacher and student agency, but few have explored the relationships between the two, particularly in regard to how teacher and student ag…
Beyond Deficit and Determinism to Address the Latinx Attainment Gap
Despite recent gains, Latinx students still lag behind other subgroups on measures of academic attainment. Explanations for this gap have ranged from pernicious deficit ideologies to deterministic frameworks which emphasize differences in human capital. While culturally responsive pedagogies are promising alternatives, there are few studies that provide empirical evidence of their potential. This article addresses this gap by drawing on two quali…
An ecological view of rural student aspirations
Prior research has pointed to various factors which influence rural students' aspirations; however, such factors are often treated in isolation without addressing the ways in which they interact with one another. To address these issues, this research applies Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory to an in-depth case study of a rural school located in New York's North Country. Our analysis utilises data collected from students and also draws on previ…
College, career, and civic readiness
In the United States, advances in information technology and globalization present new social and political terrain for citizens to navigate. Preparing well-rounded young adults who are ready to meet the demands of citizenship in the 21st century—thinking critically, communicating, collaborating, and creating—is an imperative function of education. Findings from this multiple case study of “positive outlier” schools, or those with better-than-exp…
Advancing Educational Equity Research, Policy, and Practice
As student populations worldwide become more diverse and many are challenged by poverty and social exclusion, educational equity’s importance grows, both as a core value and as a driver for school improvement and redesign. While national and local policies vary, as do resources in support of equity outcomes, it is timely to identify, synthesize, and evaluate the available research with special attention to commonalities, similarities, and lessons…
Framing Leaders’ Discourses on College and Career Readiness
Purpose: This multiple comparative case study investigated district and high school leaders’ framing mechanisms and discourses around priorities and challenges to understand their equity aims and their preparation of diverse student populations’ college, career, and civic readiness. Research Methods/Approach: This research used framing theory to examine semistructured interviews and focus groups with 34 educational leaders from four sample school…
Gendered impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic
There is a growing concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has had disproportionate impacts on women, especially those with children. Female educators, and, in particular, those with childcare responsibilities, have also reported higher levels of stress and work-life challenges as compared to their male counterparts. It is unclear exactly which factors are behind these disparities. However, while some have pointed to the gendered division of domestic …
“I didn't want them to see that I was spent”
Research has demonstrated the difficulties faced by educators during the COVID-19 pandemic. In these unprecedented conditions, educators were asked to manage their emotions in new and challenging ways, thus exacerbating their relatively high levels of stress levels and burnout. We contribute to research on the pandemic's impact on educators through a qualitative case study conducted with 88 educators working in six schools across New York State. …
From Symbolic to Authentic Family Reengagement Approaches
Family engagement has long been a priority for educators, policymakers, and researchers, and educational leaders play a crucial role in this process. Despite their importance, leaders are often underprepared to engage families authentically and encounter challenges in their attempts to build positive relationships with family members. This qualitative study examines how 25 educational leaders in four schools adapted family engagement practices in…
Psychology (12 works) · Pedagogy (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Political science (8 works) · Mathematics education (4 works) · Public relations (4 works) · Social science (4 works) · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies (4 works) · Economic growth (3 works) · Economics (3 works)