Education

Ph.D., Educational Administration and Policy Studies, University at Albany, 2016
M.S., Early Childhood Special Education, The George Washington University, 2009
B.A., Art History, Carleton College, 2003

Areas of Expertise

• Rural Education
• P-12 Leadership
• Policy Implementation
• Cross-sector Partnerships
• Qualitative Research Methods

Teaching and Advising

Dr. Zuckerman teaches research methods for educational administration, including Qualitative Research Methods and Case Study Methods. She also teaches courses in P-12 administration. Dr. Zuckerman advises students in the Ed.D. program with a focus on P-12 leadership. She advises students with overlapping interests, including community partnerships, special education, early childhood, rural schools, interprofessional collaboration and policy implementation. She seeks to provide advisees with a solid basis in educational research methods to prepare school leaders and others to integrate research in their practice

Select Publications

• Zuckerman, S.J. & McAtee, J.R. (2018). Youth Voice in a Rural Cradle-to-Career Network. Journal of Ethical Educational Leadership.
• Zuckerman, S.J. Wilcox, K.C., Durand, F.T., Schiller, K.S., Lawson, H.A. (2018). Absorptive Capacity in Rural Schools: Bending not Breaking during Disruptive Innovation Implementation. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 34(3).
• Zuckerman, S.J. Wilcox, K.C., Durand, F.T., Lawson, H.A., Schiller, K.S. (2017). Drivers for Change: A Study of Distributed Leadership and Performance Adaptation during Policy Innovation Implementation. Leadership and Policy in Schools.Online First. 1-29.
• Lawson, H.A., Durand, F.T., Wilcox, K.C., Gregory, K.M., Schiller, K.S., Zuckerman, S.J. (2017). The Role of District and School Leaders’ Trust and Communications in the Simultaneous Implementation of Innovative Policies.Journal of School Leadership, 27, 31-67.
• Zuckerman, S.J. (2016). Mobilization and Adaptation of a Rural Cradle-to-Career Network. Educational Sciences, doi:10.3390/educsci6040034.
• Zuckerman, S.J. & Lawson, H.A., Wilcox, K.C. (2017). Alignment and coherence in Wilcox, K.C., Lawson, H.A., & Angelis, J.L. (Eds). Exemplars for Getting Better at Getting Better: Innovation in Odds-Beating Schools. Lanham, MD: Roman & Littlefield.

Current Research and Projects

Dr. Zuckerman’s research uses qualitative methods to investigate state-level educational policy implementation and school-community partnerships, particularly in the context of rural communities. Her recent research combines organizational change theory with concepts from political science to understand how individuals, groups, and organizations mobilize and develop shared understandings that shape action at the school, community, and state policy levels. Her current projects include an ethnographic study of statewide policy network in the area of early childhood workforce and a case study of a rural community coalition to support children and families across school and community settings.

Courses Taught

• EDAD 852: School Culture & Student Behavior
• EDAD 901: System-Level School Improvement
• EDAD 995: Doctoral Seminar: Qualitative Analysis and Reporting
• EDAD 907: Issues in Politics and Policies
• EDAD 983: Qualitative Research Methods

Honors and Recognition

• 2019, Nebraska Academy of Early Childhood Research Fellow
• 2016, School of Education Presidential Distinguished Dissertation Award, University at Albany
• 2016, Part-time Teaching Award, School of Education, University at Albany
• 2015, David L. Clark National Graduate Student Research Seminar in Educational Administration and Policy, University Council of Education Administration
• 2014, The Haynes-Davis Memorial Scholarship, Initiatives for Women, University at Albany

Experience

• 2022-Present, Associate Professor, Educational Administration, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• 2016-2022, Assistant Professor, Educational Administration, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• 2014-2016, Research Assistant, Odds-beating Schools in the Common Core Era and Best Practices for Common Core Implementation, University at Albany
• 2015-2016, Adjunct Professor, Social Foundations of Education, University at Albany
• 2015, Adjunct Professor, Research Methods, Empire State College
• 2011-2014, Graduate Assistant, University at Albany

Memberships

• American Educational Research Association (AERA)
• UNL Faculty Senate Executive Committee