Matthew S. McCluskey
Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
PRONOUNS he/him
- Ed.D. in Leadership and Learning in Organizations, Vanderbilt University
- M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, Boston College
- B.A. in Secondary Education and English, Boston College
BIO
Dr. Matthew McCluskey's research and teaching center educational leadership and the organizational, cultural, and policy dynamics that shape the work of teachers and school-based leaders, with a particular emphasis on private influences on public education. He is presently involved in several research projects that explore the relationships of power in education, institutional structures and policy that shape the work of educators and the experiences of students, and the proliferation and impact of privatization and neoliberal reform within public education.
Dr. McCluskey's research has been published in the Journal of Education Policy, Educational Policy, Leadership and Policy in Schools, Urban Education, Education and Urban Society, Journal of School Choice, and Journal of Education, among others. His recent publication, “Leave like a Champion: Teacher Embeddedness and Turnover at an Urban “No-Excuses” Charter Management Organization” received the 2024 Karen Lewis Outstanding Paper Award and was featured in Research Outreach.
In a Critical Policy Analysis recently published in Education Policy, Dr. McCluskey found that charter school discourse constructs a specific type of education that targets socio-economically disadvantaged students of color. Further, this discourse imagines policies that reaffirm inequalities and the production of unjust geographies.
Prior to his work in higher education, Dr. McCluskey served as a high school English teacher, department chair, and school leader for a decade in Newark, New Jersey.
Courses
- EDLP 6000: Leading Learning Organizations
- EDLP 6100: Affecting and Managing Change
- EDLP 6350: Staff Evaluation and Development
- EDLP 7050: Seminar on Educational Policy
- EDRM 6300: Applied Educational Research
Publications
Awards and Achievements
2024 Karen Lewis Teacher’s Work/Teachers Union Outstanding Paper Award for “Leave like a Champion: Teacher Embeddedness and Turnover at an Urban “No-Excuses” Charter Management Organization”
Area(s) of expertise
- Educational leadership and policy
- Critical policy analysis and critical discourse analysis
- Neoliberal reform and privatization
- Charter schools and school choice
- Teacher working conditions and turnover/retention
Bio
Dr. Matthew McCluskey's research and teaching center educational leadership and the organizational, cultural, and policy dynamics that shape the work of teachers and school-based leaders, with a particular emphasis on private influences on public education. He is presently involved in several research projects that explore the relationships of power in education, institutional structures and policy that shape the work of educators and the experiences of students, and the proliferation and impact of privatization and neoliberal reform within public education.
Dr. McCluskey's research has been published in the Journal of Education Policy, Educational Policy, Leadership and Policy in Schools, Urban Education, Education and Urban Society, Journal of School Choice, and Journal of Education, among others. His recent publication, “Leave like a Champion: Teacher Embeddedness and Turnover at an Urban “No-Excuses” Charter Management Organization” received the 2024 Karen Lewis Outstanding Paper Award and was featured in Research Outreach.
In a Critical Policy Analysis recently published in Education Policy, Dr. McCluskey found that charter school discourse constructs a specific type of education that targets socio-economically disadvantaged students of color. Further, this discourse imagines policies that reaffirm inequalities and the production of unjust geographies.
Prior to his work in higher education, Dr. McCluskey served as a high school English teacher, department chair, and school leader for a decade in Newark, New Jersey.
Courses
- EDLP 6000: Leading Learning Organizations
- EDLP 6100: Affecting and Managing Change
- EDLP 6350: Staff Evaluation and Development
- EDLP 7050: Seminar on Educational Policy
- EDRM 6300: Applied Educational Research
Publications
Awards and Achievements
2024 Karen Lewis Teacher’s Work/Teachers Union Outstanding Paper Award for “Leave like a Champion: Teacher Embeddedness and Turnover at an Urban “No-Excuses” Charter Management Organization”
Areas of Expertise
- Educational leadership and policy
- Critical policy analysis and critical discourse analysis
- Neoliberal reform and privatization
- Charter schools and school choice
- Teacher working conditions and turnover/retention