Kathryn Wiley, PhD candidate in educational foundations, policy and practice, has been selected as a 2016 National Academy of Education (NAEd)/Spencer Dissertation Fellow.
The fellowship program aims to encourage a new generation of scholars from a wide range of disciplines and professional fields to undertake research relevant to the improvement of education.
This highly selective program typically receives up to 500 applications annually and Wiley is one of just 34 recipients in 2016. Benefits of the fellowship include: a $27,500 stipend for up to two years to complete dissertation writing, and participation in professional development activities organized by NAEd.
These fellowships support individuals whose dissertations “show potential for bringing fresh and constructive perspectives to the history, theory, analysis, or practice of formal or informal education.”
Wiley’s dissertation, “Explaining the Contradictions: Autonomy, Equity, and the Development of Exclusionary Discipline and Tracking Practices in an Innovation School” is a qualitative case study looking at processes through which racial inequities arise in the context of an autonomous school. Her work specifically focuses on issues of school discipline and academic tracking.
Wiley first became interested in these issues while working on a National Education Policy Center study of school discipline and racial disparities and through her work with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights.
“The research evidence is clear — the use of exclusionary school discipline is detrimental to the educational trajectories of students of color,” she said. “It is a significant area of racial inequity, and I want to do something about it. It is important that we understand exactly how these inequitable practices are put into place under policies that are cast as progressive’”
The Spencer fellowship allows her to focus on writing her dissertation, which she will defend next spring.
“The Spencer fellowship is a dream come true,” Wiley said. “It will provide a way to deepen my professional development as an aspiring researcher, and allow me to take the time that the research deserves.”
This is an extremely competitive program, and Wiley is honored to be a part of the 2016 cohort. Several of her mentors received Spencer fellowships, and they encouraged her to apply, she said. She credits her success to her School of Education research advisory team (Margaret Eisenhart, Michele Moses, Kevin Welner, and Terrenda White) and to friends and colleagues who have encouraged her along the way.
“This is a success of many people; this is not an individual success,” she said.
“This is about the School of Education community that has been supportive of me. I have known Michele, Kevin, and Margaret for 7 years now, and their care, compassion, and guidance made all the difference. My fellow graduate students have pushed my thinking and challenged me, and Dean Shepard has supported a climate conducive to that work. All the little things that each person has been depositing have added up.”
Related Faculty: Kathryn E. Wiley