THE ALABAMA EQUITY DIVIDE (AED) LAB:
ENVIRONMENT, INEQUALITY, AND RURAL OUTCOMES
Lab Director: Andrew Pendola, Ph.D.
Want to get started with research? The AED lab has a place for students of all skill levels. We meet twice a month and design projects that all can join, place people in conferences, and write group publications. This is exactly how you get involved in projects, publications, and conferences.
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About the Lab
The AED Research Lab aims to explore ways in which locale and student outcomes intersect across Alabama, using longitudinal statewide representative data from the Stanford Education Data Archive.
A growing body of literature has recognized that the inequitable distribution of school resources has contributed to systematic differences in student outcomes. However, ways in which race, socioeconomic status, and spatial geographies intersect have been largely overlooked, even with growing emphasis on how resource inequalities are substantively different between urban, suburban, and rural locales.
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How to join
New lab members are accepted on a rolling basis. We generally meet every other week over Zoom. To try it out, email Dr. Pendola using the button below and ask if you can join. Include the program you are in and your research interests.
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CURRENT AED RESEARCH LAB MEMBERS
HYUNSUNG JANG
Program: Educational Psychology Ph.D.
Current position: Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Educational Foundations, Technology, and Leadership, Auburn University
Research interests: How personality impacts learners' perception on feedback, motivation, and teamwork.
How student achievement differs on micro and macro levels
TEANNA MOORE
Program: Educational Psychology Ph.D.
Current Position: Graduate Teaching Assistant and Department of Educational Foundations, Leadership and Technology, Auburn University; Researcher, Educational Testing Service
Research interests: Secondary students' ability to develop positive interpersonal skills, student's perspectives on the value, identification and development of these skills, instruction on interpersonal skills that facilitate generalization to settings inside and outside of school
WILLIAM BILLINGSLEA
Program: Adult Education, PhD
YAN 'DIANE' DAI
Program: Educational Psychology
Current Position: Editorial manager of The Professional Educator at Auburn University
Research Interests: Motivation (particularly on self-efficacy and self- regulation), resilience, cross-cultural compassion study, and online learning.
KARI SMITH-MURPHY
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ALICIA MOHUNDRO
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PREETIKA KAUR
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NATASHA RABINOWITZ
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KERRI TAYLOR
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OKUNOLA ODENIYI
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Our Research Output
Publications
Pendola, A., Jang, H. S., Moore, T., Rushing, J., Appiah, J., Guilford, N., Billingslea, W., Dadematthews, A., Wilson, N., & McCambridge, C. (2022). The Alabama equity divide: Environmental poverty and achievement across urban and rural locales. Educational Research Quarterly, 45(4), 3–44.
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Rushing, K.J., Pendola, A. (In Press). Outlier Leadership in Alabama: Resource Challenged Schools and Principal Practices. Journal of Educational Administration
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Conference Presentations
Rushing, K. J., & Pendola, A. (2022). Outlier Leadership in Alabama: Mixed-Methods Study of Principal Practices in High-Performing Disadvantaged schools [Paper Session]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA
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Rushing, K. J., & Pendola, A. (2021). Outlier leadership: How to beat the odds in challenging school contexts [Paper Session]. University Council for Educational Administration, Columbus OH.
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Rushing, J., Jang, H., Moore, T., Appiah, J., Guilford, N., Billingslea, W., Dadematthews, A. (2022, April). Manifesting environmental poverty: K-12 achievement in Alabama. [Roundtable]. AERA Annual Meeting. San Diego, CA.
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Jang, H., Moore, T., & Pendola, A. (2021). Understanding Student Achievement with Multifaceted Factors of Poverty [Poster Session] Southeastern University Graduate Research Symposium
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Moore, T., Jang, H., & Pendola, A. (2021, August). Impact of Environmental Factors & Psychological Effects on K-12 Student Achievement in Alabama. Poster to be presented at the annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA), virtual meeting.
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PAST AED RESEARCH LAB MEMBERS
ADEFUNKE DADEMATTHEWS, PH.D.
Graduated 2022: Kinesiology Ph.D.
Current Position: Teaching Assistant, School of Kinesiology, Auburn University
Research Interests: Health disparities and youth mental health, child and adolescent mental health, disability related research, academic achievement, and health
JOHN APPIAH, PH.D.
Graduated 2022: PhD Administration and Supervision of Curriculum
Current Position: Instructor, Cape Coast University
Research Interest: Pedagogical leadership in Early Childhood Education, Numeracy in Early Childhood Education, Educational leadership.
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JOY RUSHING, PH.D.
Graduated 2022: PhD Educational Leadership
Current Position: Research Analyst, Learning Policy Institute
GBENGA DADEMATTHEWS, PH.D.
Graduated 2022: Kinesiology, Ph.D.
Current Position: Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Louisiana State University
SUNNY LEE, M.A.
Program: Educational Psychology
Current Position: Data Scientist, Education Research Center, University of Houston
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