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Educational Theory and Policy

Dana Mitra

Background and professional information on Dana Mitra.

Dana Mitra

mitra_sml .jpg
Assistant Professor of Education 

Educational Theory & Policy
300 Rackley Building
University Park, PA 16802
Email: dmitra@psu.edu
Phone: 814-863-7020
Fax: 814-865-1480

Introduction

Dana Mitra joined the Department of Education Policy Studies in January 2003 as an assistant professor of Educational Theory and Policy. Originally from Pittsburgh, she received her Ph.D. in Policy Analysis from Stanford University's School of Education. Prior to attending graduate school, she worked as an elementary school teacher in the Washington, DC area. Her research interests include education policy, school reform, student voice, school-community collaboration, qualitative methods, urban education, youth development, and social policy.

Areas of Expertise

  • Educational Policy
  • School Reform
  • Student Voice
  • Youth Development
  • Civic Engagement
  • High Schools
  • School-Community Collaboration
  • Qualitative Methods

Publications (Full CV available here)

  • Mitra, D. L. (forthcoming). Collaborating with students: Building youth-adult partnerships in schools. American Journal of Education.
  • Mitra, D. L. and Gross, S. J. (forthcoming). Increasing student voice in high school reform: Building partnerships, improving outcomes. Educational Management, Administration, and Leadership.
  • Mitra, D. L. (forthcoming). Strengthening student voice initiatives in high schools: An examination of the supports needed for school-based youth-adult partnerships. Youth and Society.
  • Mitra, D. L. (forthcoming). Student voice and student roles in education policy and policy reform. AERA Handbook on Education Policy Research.
  • Mitra, D. L. (forthcoming). Making it 'real': The role of student voice in reforming classroom practice. Educational Leadership.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2008). Student voice in school reform: Building youth-adult partnerships that stengthen schools and empower youth. Albany, NY, State University of New York Press.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2008) What really matters when sustaining educational change? An examination of the persistence of student voice initiatives. Teachers College Record. http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=15309
  • Mitra, D. L., Frick, W. C., Movit, Marcela A. (2008). Brain Drain in the Rust Belt: Can educational reform help to build civic capacity in struggling communities? Educational Policy, 22 731-757.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2008) Balancing power in communities of practice: An examination of increasing student voice through school-based youth-adult partnerships. Journal of Educational Change, 9, 3, 221-324.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2008). Student voice or empowerment? Examining the role of school-based youth-adult partnerships as an avenue toward focusing on social justice. In A. Normore (Ed.), Leadership for social justice: Promoting equity and excellence through inquiring and reflective pracitce (pp. 193-212). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
  • Sanders, F. Movit, M., Mitra, D., & Perkins, D. F. (2007). Examining ways in which youth conferences can spell out gains in positive youth development. LEARNing Landscapes, 1(1, 49-78.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2007). The role of administrators in enabling youth-adult partnerships in schools. NASSP Bulletin, 91(3), 237-256.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2007). Student voice in school reform: From listening to leadership. In D. Thiessen & A. Cook-Sather (Eds.), International Handbook of Student Experience in Elementary and Secondary School. (pp. 727-744). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2006). Student voice or empowerment? Examining the role of school-based youth-adult partnerships as an avenue toward focusing on social justice. International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning. 10(22), http://www.acs.ucalgary.ca/~iejll/.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2006). Youth as a bridge between home and school: Comparing student voice and parent involvements as strategies for change. Education and Urban Society, 38(4), 455-480.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2006). Educational change on the inside and outside: The positioning of challengers. International Journal of Leadership Education, 9(4), 315-328.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2005). Increasing student voice and moving toward youth leadership. The Prevention Researcher, 13(1), 7-10.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2005). Adults advising youth:class Leading while getting out of the way. Educational Administration Quarterly, 41(3), 520-553.
  • Mitra, D. L. (2004). The significance of students:class Can increasing "student voice" in schools lead to gains in youth development. Teachers College Record, 106(4), 651-688.
  • Mitra, D. (2003). Student voice in school reform: Reframing student-teacher relationships. McGill Journal of Education, 38(2), 289-304.
  • McLaughlin, M. & D. Mitra. (2003) The cycle of inquiry as the engine of school reform:class Lessons from the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative. Stanford, CA: Center for Research on the Context of Teaching.
  • McLaughlin, M., & D. L. Mitra. (2001). Theory-based change and change-based theory: Going deeper, going broader. Journal of Educational Change, 3(1), 301-323.
  • Mitra, D. (2001). Opening the floodgates: Giving students a voice in school reform. Forum. United Kingdom. September. 

Professional Experience & Activities

  • Research Assistant for Center for Research on the Context of Teaching, Stanford, CA, 1997-2002; member of collaborative team that conducted a five-year evaluation of the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative, and member of Theory-based Reform and Problems of Change Project exploring teacher learning, scale and sustainability in four theory-based reforms.
  • Elementary school teacher, St. Patrick's Episcopal Day School, Washington, DC, 1996-1997
  • Assistant teacher, Norwood School, Bethesda, MD, 1995-1996
  • Researcher for Amitai Etzioni, The George Washington University, 1994-1996, including two White House Conferences on Character Education and serving as Managing for the quarterly scholarly journal, The Responsive Community
  • Director of "Her House" Project, DC Habitat for Humanity, Washington, DC, 1994-1996

Education

  • Ph.D. in Administration and Policy Analysis from Stanford University.
  • M.A. in Sociology from Stanford University.
  • A.B. in Educational Studies/Public Policy and American Institutions from Brown University.