Joan Walker
Education
2003-2006 Post-Doctoral Research Associate, Vanderbilt-Northwestern-University of Texas-Harvard/MIT Engineering Research Center (VaNTH ERC), Vanderbilt University
2003 Ph.D., Psychology (Developmental), Vanderbilt University
2000 M. S. Psychology, Vanderbilt University
1985 B. M. Ed., Bachelor of Music Education, University of Kentucky
Courses Taught
ED 631: Educational Psychology
ED 690: Teacher as Researcher
TCH 301: Understanding Learning and Teaching
Research Interests
My research examines links among social interaction, learning and motivation and then translates this research into practice. I organize my work in two strands, teacher-parent interactions and teacher-student relationships.
Current projects in the area of teacher-parent interactions include an evaluation of the effectiveness of the "Realizing the American Dream” curriculum, which aims to boost the academic achievement of Latinos by teaching parents the basics of the U.S. education system and how to prepare children for college. Grounded in research I have conducted with colleagues at Vanderbilt University, the curriculum was designed by the American Dream Academy at Arizona University and by the Parent Institute of Fairfax, VA. I am also articulating best practices for conducting parent-teacher conferences, and to compare how novice and expert educators approach common home-school communication dilemmas.
With regard to teacher-student relationships, I seek to understand how students recruit motivational and cognitive resources from their interactions with teachers. I am particularly interested in how students’ perceptions of their teachers’ interpersonal style influences their motivation to learn and learning outcomes. I organized and co-edited a special issue on this topic for the Journal of Classroom Interaction. (You can currently download the full set of papers at this link.) The set of papers was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in New Orleans, LA in April 2011.
In the area of teacher education I have been usingtext- and video-based case materials to assess teacher candidates’ readiness for family-school partnership. I have also been able to create a set of reliable and valid benchmarks for assessing candidates’ readiness by asking a national panel of experts to evaluate and respond to a set of case studies. This work is important because it contributes to teacher preparation for an essential, challenging but often invisible practice, the parent-teacher conference. An in press manuscript written in collaboration with Dr. Ben Dotger at Syracuse University’s School of Education describes this work.
Publications
- Walker, J.M.T., & Dotger, B. (in press). Because wisdom can’t be told: Using comparison of simulated parent-teacher conferences to support prospective educators’ interpersonal skill development. Journal of Teacher Education.
- Walker, J. M. T., Ice, C. L., Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., & Sandler, H. M. (2011).Latino parents’ motivations for involvement in their children’s schooling: An exploratory study.The Elementary School Journal, 111(3), 409-429.
- Walker, J. M. T., Shenker, S., &Hoover-Dempsey, K. V. (2010). Why do parents become involved in their children's education? Implications for school counselors. Professional School Counseling, 14(1), 27-41.
- Walker, J. M. T.(2009). Teacher practices and teacher style: What we can learn from research on parenting. In J. Walker (Ed.) A person-centered approach to classroom management: How and why it makes a difference. Theory Into Practice, 48(2), 122-129.
- Walker, J. M. T.(2008). Looking at teacher practices through the lens of parenting style: Three case studies at entry to middle school.Journal of Experimental Education, 76, 218-240.
- Walker, J. M. T.& Hoover-Dempsey, K. V. (2008). Parent involvement: Barriers and resources pre-service teachers should know about. In C. Ames, D. Berliner, J. Brophy, L. Corno, T. Good, & M. McCaslin (Eds.), 21st Century Education: A Reference Handbook, Vol 2, (pp. 382-391). Sage Publications.
- Green, C. L., Walker, J. M. T., Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., & Sandler, H. M. (2007). Parents’ motivations for involvement in children’s education: An empirical test of a theoretical model of parental involvement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 532-544.
- Walker, J. M. T., & Hoover-Dempsey, K. V. (2006). Why research on parental involvement is important to classroom management. In C. Evertson & C. Weinstein (Eds.), The Handbook of Classroom Management, (pp. 665-684). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Presentations
- Walker, J. M. T., Brekelmans, M., & den Brok, P. (2010). What makes an effective teacher? Using parenting style theory to explore links among instructional practices, classroom management, and student engagement and learning.Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Northeast Educational Research Association, Rocky Point, CT.
- Walker, J.M.T.,Ice, C., Hoover-Dempsey, K. V., & Sandler, H. M. (2010). Comparing definitions of parental involvement: What is the best predictor of student self-regulation? Paper presented at the 15th International Roundtable on School, Family, and Community Partnerships, Denver, CO. Sponsored by the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University.
- Walker, J. M. T.(2009). The structure and function of control and care: Learning from research on parenting style. In J. Walker, Chair. The role of control and care in teacher effectiveness: Articulating structures and functions. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
- Walker, J. M. T.(2008). Teacher beliefs as a foundation for their parent involvement practice: Are there differences across school contexts? Paper presented at the 14th International Roundtable on School, Family, and Community Partnerships. Sponsored by the Center on School, Family, and Community Partnerships at Johns Hopkins University.
