Taeyeon Kim

Assistant Professor

Department of Educational Administration University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Address: TEAC 126
Lincoln NE 68588-0360
Phone: 4025770579
Email: tkim@unl.edu
Social Media

Dr. Kim's scholarship explores the intersections of leadership and policy, with a particular focus on how leaders can challenge unjust systems and capacities for more equitable and humanizing education. Dr. Kim has examined practices of school and community leaders both within and outside of the United States while considering the influence of education policies in shaping, complicating, and contextualizing leadership and organizational change. Drawing on cross-disciplinary perspectives, her research aims to (1) reimagine policy and leadership through the voices of equity leaders, (2) critically analyze policies and systems by centering racialized communities, and (3) promote cross-cultural dialogue in education. Her research provides a nuanced understanding of how leaders create and facilitate new knowledge, enhance resources, and design systems that help individuals and organizations thrive in today’s complex and rapidly changing world.

Her work has been published in the Harvard Educational Review, Educational Administration Quarterly, Journal of Educational Administration, AERA Open, Journal of Educational Policy, Teaching and Teacher Education, Comparative Education Review, and others. Dr. Kim serves as Associate Editor of Asia Pacific Educational Review and Program Chair of the AERA Educational Change SIG.

My CV

Education

Ph.D., K-12 Educational Administration, Michigan State University, 2020
M.A., Educational Administration, Seoul National University, 2014
M.Ed., Elementary Education Administration, Daegu National University of Education, 2011
B.A., Elementary Education, Daegu National University of Education, 2008

Areas of Expertise

Humanizing leadership for equity and justice
Education policy and accountability
Asian American and transpacific perspectives in education
Culturally and linguistically diverse communities
Qualitative research methods

Teaching and Advising

Dr. Kim teaches courses in educational leadership, organizational theory, comparative and global education, and qualitative research methods. Dr. Kim advises students who aim to be critical, imaginative, and humanizing scholars and leaders in the Ed.D. and Ph.D. programs.

Select Publications

You can download her papers from the UNL Digital Commons. († Authorship equally shared)

Kim, T. Yang, M., & Oh, Y. (2024). Leading from equity: Changing and organizing for deeper learning. Journal of Educational Administration.
Kim, T., & Wright, J. (2024). Navigating Emotional Discomfort in Developing Equity-Driven School Leaders: A Conceptual-Pedagogical Framework. Journal of School Leadership.
Kim, T. (2023). The human side of accountability: Dilemmas of reaching all learners. Harvard Educational Review.
Kim, T., Jang, S. B., Jung, J. K., Son, M., & Lee, S. Y. † (2023). Negotiating Asian American identities: Collaborative self-study of Korean immigrant scholars’ reading group on AsianCrit. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education.
Kim, T. (2023). What is the meaning of educational leadership in a time of policy engineering? International Journal of Leadership in Education, 23(1), 37-53.
*Received the International Journal of Leadership in Education Emerging Scholar Manuscript Competition Award (2020)
Kim, T., & Weiner, J. (2022). Negotiating incomplete autonomy: Portraits from three school principals. Education Administration Quarterly, 58(3),487-521.
Kim, T., & Mauldin, C. (2022). Troubling heroic discourses in social justice leadership. Frontiers in Education.
Kim, T., Lim, S., Yang, M., & Park, S. J. (2021). Making sense of schooling during COVID-19: Crisis as opportunity in Korean schools. Comparative Education Review, 65(4), 617-639. * Received the 2022 CIES East Asia SIG Best Paper Award & 2022 KAERA Outstanding Research Paper Award.

Current Research and Projects

Taeyeon Kim currently works on several research projects: 1) exploring life history of Korean migrant civic leaders in the United States sponsored by the Academy of Korean Studies, 2) leading Research-Practice Partnership (RPP) to support humanizing practices for multilingual learners sponsored by the CEHS Ignite Grant, and 3) leading the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE) special issue on Asian American Research Agendas in Educational Leadership: Reflexive Praxis for Racial Justice .

Courses Taught

EDAD 830: Administrative Theory in Educational Organizations
EDAD 852: School Culture and Student Behavior
EDAD 983: Qualitative Methods for Educational Administration Research
EDAD 984N: Narrative Inquiry (Advanced Qualitative Methods Elective)
EDAD 930: Comparative International Education
EDAD 932: Global Issues in Higher Education

Honors and Awards

2024, Emerging Scholar Award, American Educational Research Association (AERA) Educational Change SIG
2024, Emerging Scholar Research/Creative Activity Award, UNL College of Education and Human Sciences
2021 – 2023, Early Career Scholar Program Inaugural Cohort, Korean-American Educational Researchers Association (KAERA)
2022, Best Paper Award, Comparative International Education Society (CIES) East Asia SIG
2022, Outstanding Research Paper Award, Korean-American Educational Researchers Association (KAERA)
2020, Emerging Scholar Manuscript Competition Award, International Journal of Leadership in Education
2015-2020, MSU College of Education Erickson Research Fellowship
2018-2020, UCEA Graduate Student Council Representative
2018-2019, MSU Summer Research Renewable Fellowship
2018, Shao Chang Lee Best Paper Competition Award, MSU Asian Studies Center

Experience

2020-Present, Assistant Professor, Educational Administration, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
2015-2020, Graduate Research Assistant, Michigan State University College of Education
2012-2013, Professional Development Consultant, Korean School Consulting Center, South Korea
2008-2015, Elementary School Teacher, Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education, South Korea

Memberships

American Educational Research Association (AERA)
University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA)
Comparative International Education Society (CIES)