Associate Professor of Education and Human Development in the College of Education; Founder of the Context of Learning and Development Lab
Education, K 12 Education, Student Teacher Interactions, Teacher Behavior
At A Glance
Focusing on the psychological processes at play among teachers, students and their communities, Faiza Jamil’s research focuses on the underlying reasons for teacher behavior and career decisions as well as how student-teacher interactions influence a child’s learning and development. Jamil’s experience studying real-world examples of schools and teachers in crisis allows her to shed light on what makes a resilient school that can provide equitable and safe education amid economic or social disruption.
Bio
Faiza M. Jamil has focused her research on both sides of the student-teacher relationship. She seeks to understand the underlying psychological processes — cognitive, social and emotional — that influence teachers’ classroom behaviors and career decisions across complex school and community contexts. At the same time, she also researches the ways in which teacher-child interactions influence children’s learning and development. Jamil conducts research that leverages her expertise in rigorous quantitative methodologies and professional development to better understand and improve the educational experiences of teachers and students, with a particular focus on issues of educational equity. Starting in Fall 2023, Jamil conducted research funded through the William T. Grant foundation that developed a publicly available database on teacher demographics and diversity policies to ensure policies promoting recruitment and retention of teachers of color can be backed up by data. The project also analyses the relationship between teacher diversity, student academic outcomes and district contextual characteristics over time.
Jamil is the co-author of “Public Education in Turbulent Times: Innovative Strategies for Leadership and Learning,” which features four distinct case studies designed to provide perspectives across the educational system. The book highlights key challenges in schools that emerge during economic or social disruption, and how resilient schools and communities successfully navigate these times of instability. Jamil can illustrate the real-world effects that trauma, danger, economic inequality and racial injustice — to name a few — can have on a community, school, classroom, teacher and student.
Jamil’s work has been featured in prominent educational journals, including Child Development, Teaching and Teacher Education, Early Childhood Education, Elementary School Journal, Journal for Research in Mathematics Education and Teacher Education Quarterly.
As an associate professor in the Clemson University College of Education, Jamil teaches courses related to human development in the Clemson’s Learning Sciences Doctoral Program and Teacher Education Programs, to which she brings her own experiences as a K-12 teacher in three countries.
Schools are the central hub of resilient communities. They are responsible for ensuring that students have the critical thinking skills required in the 21st century economy and the critical consciousness expected of 21st century citizens in a diverse society. A professional teacher workforce that is representative of the student population is essential for successfully navigating these complex responsibilities, especially in times of adversity.
