Melinda Mangin

Professor and Department Chair
Educational Theory Policy & Administration

Contact

melinda.mangin@gse.rutgers.edu

10 Seminary Place, Room 18, New Brunswick, NJ 08901

Melinda Mangin is a Professor in the Department of Educational Theory, Policy, and Administration in the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University. Dr. Mangin’s scholarship is informed by her previous experience as a public high school Spanish teacher in New York City. Dr. Mangin’s scholarly interests fall into two primary categories: teacher leadership and inclusive schools for transgender people. Additional related subfields include instructional leadership, professional learning, education policy, and diverse students and families. Dr. Mangin is the author of Transgender Students in Elementary School: Creating an Affirming and Inclusive School Culture (Harvard Education Press) and Tran Studies in K-12 Education: Creating an Agenda for Research and Practice (Harvard Education Press). Her scholarship on trans studies in education has been supported by three grants from the Spencer Foundation including a research grant, conference grant, and learning community grant. Dr. Mangin served as guest editor for a special issue of Educational Researcher titled: Toward Trans Studies in K-12 Education. Professor Mangin is a frequent speaker on the topic of transgender children, presenting at professional conferences, LGBTQIA+ events as well as at local schools and teacher education preparation programs. Dr. Mangin is a founding member and organizer for Stepping Stones, a New York City-based support group for families of trans, nonbinary, and gender expansive children. Dr. Mangin currently serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Queer and Trans Studies in Education. In addition to her scholarship in support of trans communities, Dr. Mangin is a nationally recognized scholar of teacher leadership. She is the author of Effective Teacher Leadership: Using Research to Inform and Reform (Teachers College Press) and Examining Effective Teacher Leadership: A Case Study Approach (Teachers College Press) and 15 peer-reviewed journal articles related to teacher leadership. Dr. Mangin served as associate editor for Educational Administration Quarterly, 2013-2018. Professor Mangin’s work draws upon a variety of theoretical lenses, including queer theories, instructional and distributed leadership theories, learning theories, and organizational theories. These conceptual frames coalesce around a theory of action that posits teachers as key contributors in the improvement process— building the shared knowledge necessary to facilitate improvements in schools for all students.

Education:
• Ph.D. in Education, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (2005)
• Ed.M in Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (2002)
• B.A. in Education Studies and Spanish, Guilford College, NC (1994)

Affiliations:
• American Educational Research Association, Divisions A, K, L and Learning & Teaching in Educational Leadership Special Interest Group
• University Council for Educational Administration

Expertise & Research Interest
Trans Studies in PK-12 Education

Teacher Leadership

Educational Leadership

Qualitative Methods
Recent & Selected Publications
Books

Trans Studies in K-12 Education: Creating an Agenda for Research and Practice. (2022). Harvard Education Press.

Transgender Students in Elementary School: Creating an Affirming and Inclusive School Culture. (2020). Harvard Education Press.

Examining Effective Teacher Leadership: A Case Study Approach. (2010). Teachers College Press.

Effective Teacher Leadership: Using Research to Inform and Reform. (2008).Teachers College Press.

Journal Articles and Book Chapters

Connor Scott and Melinda M. Mangin (2025). Critically reflexive school leadership and the racial-discipline gap: Leading for racial justice. In David DeMatthews and Sharon D. Kruse, Eds., Reimagining School Leadership: Sustaining Improvement Through and Beyond Uncertainty. Emerald Publishing.

Carolyn L. Ross and Melinda M. Mangin (2022). Informal teacher leadership: How and why classroom teachers engage in leadership. In, Nathan Bond, Ed., The Power of Teacher Leaders: Their Roles, Influence, and Impact (2nd ed.). Kappa Delta Pi Publications, 7-21.

Andrew Leland and Melinda M. Mangin (2022). Queer in school: The experiences of youth and educators in the United States. In Roland S. Coloma & J. Rhee (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Education. Editors in Chief: Tierney, R., Rizvi, F., Ercikan, K., & Smith, G. Oxford, UK: Elsevier, 179-187.

Melinda M. Mangin (2022). Teachers’ Strategies for Supporting Transgender and/or Gender-Expansive Elementary School Students. Educational Researcher, 51(5), 324-335.

Melinda M. Mangin, Harper B. Keenan, Elizabeth J. Meyer, Mollie T. McQuillan, Mario I. Suárez, Lee Iskander (2022). Editor’s Introduction, Toward Trans Studies in K-12 Education. Educational Researcher, 51(5), 302-306.

Melinda M. Mangin (2020). Transgender Students in Elementary Schools: How Supportive Principals Lead. Educational Administration Quarterly, 56(2), 255-288.

Melinda M. Mangin (2018). Supporting transgender and gender-expansive children in school. Phi Delta Kappan, 100(2), 16-21.

Jill H. Berg, Cynthia L. Carver, and Melinda M. Mangin (2018). Teacher leadership: Building a research community, developing a coherent field of study. International Journal of Teacher Leadership, 9(1), 9-32.

Melinda M. Mangin (2016). Teacher leadership and high-stakes teacher evaluation: Complementary or conflicting approaches to improvement. Journal of School Leadership, 26(6), 938-974.

Melinda M. Mangin and KaiLonnie L. Dunsmore (2015). How the framing of instructional coaching as a lever for systemic or individual reform influences the enactment of coaching. Educational Administration Quarterly, 51(2), 179-213.

Melinda M. Mangin (2014). Capacity building and districts’ decision to implement coaching initiatives. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 22(56), 1-25.

Melinda M. Mangin and KaiLonnie L. Dunsmore (2013). Conflicting storylines in teacher leadership: How one literacy coach struggled to position herself and her work. The New Educator, 9(13), 226-249.
Honors & Awards

Faculty Scholar-Teacher Award, Rutgers University, 2020-2021

2019 Article of the Year Award, American Educational Research Association Queer Studies Special Interest Group. For: “Transgender Students in Elementary Schools: How Supportive Principals Lead” in Educational Administrative Quarterly, 56(2), 255-288.
Files

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