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Bio

Tim Drake is an Associate Professor in Educational Leadership and Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis in the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development at North Carolina State University. He studies the policies and practices that influence the effectiveness of school leaders, working at the intersection of research, policy, and practice to inform the ways in which school leaders are trained and supported. His current research projects include educator data use, leadership preparation and development, early grades/pre-K leadership, and turnaround school leadership.

Courses Taught

• ELP 550 Principles of Educational Leadership and Empowerment
• ELP 551 Context and Challenges of School Improvement
• ELP 555 Data Use for School Leaders
• ED 710 Quantitative Methods in Education I
• ED 711 Quantitative Methods in Education II
• ELP 753-001 Data-driven Decision Making for School Administrators

Publications

• Case for Closing Superintendent Gender Gap: Pre-K Commitment , Educational Researcher (2025)
• Interns to Leaders? Assessing Whether Principal Internship Characteristics Predict Entry into the School Administrator Workforce , Journal of Research on Leadership Education (2025)
• Is Second Grade a Zone of Instructional Development for Teachers? Rethinking Strategic Staffing With a Mixed-Methods Study of Elementary Principals’ Assignment Decisions , Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (2025)
• A Synthesis of Research on Principal Internships , Review of Educational Research (2024)
• Beyond Prescriptive Reforms: An Examination of North Carolina’s Flexible School Restart Program , Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (2024)
• Leadership for School Improvement , Education Sciences (2024)
• Preparing Early Education Leaders: An Analysis of UCEA Principal Preparation Programs , Educational Administration Quarterly (2024)
• Principal Leadership of Pre-K Programs in Elementary Schools: Evidence from North Carolina , Educational Policy (2024)
• The Geography of Principal Internships in North Carolina , AERA Open (2024)
• Isolated or Integrated? Tracing the Principal Mentor–Intern Relationship across an Academic Year , Education Sciences (2023)

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