Bio

Tamara V. Young, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development. Her scholarship focuses on the implementation and impact of educational programs, policies, and practices, with particular attention to the politics of education, STEM initiatives, and facilitators and impediments to successful implementation. Along with colleagues from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, she is co-principal investigator for $3 million in grant funding for the Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Masters Program (IBMP) NC State funded by NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program (S-STEM) program.

Dr. Young has extensive experience leading and collaborating on large-scale, externally funded research and evaluation projects. In partnership with faculty in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, she is Co–Principal Investigator on more than $3 million in National Science Foundation funding for the Interdisciplinary Biochemistry Master’s Program (IBMP), supported through NSF’s Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, . Her work on IBMP examines program implementation, student supports, and outcomes designed to expand participation and success in STEM graduate education.

She has also served as Co–Principal Investigator on  state-funded evaluations, including A Comprehensive Evaluation of North Carolina’s Supplemental Salary Fund ($224,386), which examined the implementation and effects of bonus pay policies on teacher recruitment and retention. More recently, Dr. Young collaborated with College of Education faculty and researchers affiliated with the Friday Institute to evaluate North Carolina’s Advanced Teachers Roles initiative, contributing to statewide conversations about teacher leadership, compensation, and workforce sustainability.

Consistent with NC State’s land-grant mission, Dr. Young works closely with local education agencies, public school units, and nonprofit organizations. She provides consultation on the design and execution of implementation and impact evaluations and supports organizations in developing logic models that integrate planning, implementation, and evaluation to strengthen educational programs and policy initiatives.

Courses Taught

• ELP 344                School and Society (undergraduate preservice teachers)
• ELP 780                Theory and Practice in Educational Evaluation
• ELP 741/795a      Implementation Research and Evaluation in Education
• ELP 735                 Policy Research in Education
• ELP 795b              Academic Writing for Graduate Students in Education
• ELP 795c               Educational Issues and Policies: A Multidisciplinary Perspective
• ELP 795d               Continuous Improvement in Education
• ELP 795e               Theories in Education Research
• ELP 795f               AI in K-12 and Higher Education: Applications in Teaching, Leadership,
•                               Research, and Evaluation
• ED 710/ELP 741 Quantitative Research in Education (univariate and bivariate statistics)
• ED 711/ELP 742  Quantitative Research in Education (linear and logistic/probit regression)
• ELP 891/EAC 803 Problems in Research Design (i.e., dissertation proposal development)

Area(s) of Expertise

- Implementation of Educational Programs, Policies, and Practices
- Evaluation of Educational Programs, Policies, and Practices
- The Design, Implementation, and Utilization of Logic Models in Educational Policy and Practice