Kathryn James McGraw is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College. Her research interests revolve around K-12 education policy and educational equity, including school discipline and climate, teacher and leader labor markets, and state accountability systems. She uses quantitative and mixed methods to examine processes and policies which contribute to inequitable experiences and outcomes for students and educators.
Before her doctoral studies, Kathryn taught high school English in Jackson, Mississippi, and served as assistant principal for the Mississippi Teacher Corps, an alternate-route teacher certification program.
She earned B.A.s in Public Policy, Economics, and Southern Studies and an M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction with a Secondary English specialization from the University of Mississippi. She is a national board-certified teacher.
Publications & Scholarship
Conference Presentations
James McGraw, K., Wood, D. and Welsh, R.O. “Return to Zero Tolerance? Examining State School Discipline Policy and Media Discourses in the Post-COVID- 19 Era.” American Education Research Association Conference, April 2024, Paper presentation
Wood, D., James McGraw, K., and Welsh, R.O. “Disciplining Differently? Exploring States Beating the School Discipline Odds in the U.S.” American Education Research Association Conference, April 2024, Paper presentation
Cox, A. and James McGraw, K. “Leveraging Teacher Recruitment, Development, and Retention to Address Educational Equity Goals.” American Education Research Association Conference, April 2024, Paper presentation
James McGraw, K. “State School Discipline Policy as a Tool of Racialized Social Control.” Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, March 2024, Poster presentation
James McGraw, K., Wood, D. and Welsh, R.O. “Examining State School Discipline Policy in the Post-COVID-19 Era.” Association for Education Finance and Policy Conference, March 2024, Paper presentation
James McGraw, K. “Teacher Allocation and Accountability As a Racialized Administrative Practice.” Association for Public Policy and Management Conference, November 2023, Paper presentation
James McGraw, K. “Teacher Assignment Patterns: How Accountability Sensitivity Is Moderated by Community Racial Identity.” University Council for Educational Administration Conference, November 2023, Paper presentation