Associate Professor of Education and Educational Leadership
I listen closely to my students and aim to help them to develop in to well rounded, thoughtful people who are able to affirm their unique personal attributes and incorporate them in their professional ambitions. My undergraduate students are well prepared to move beyond the college and university environment and begin to contribute to society in positive ways. With my graduate and particularly my doctoral students, I aim to bring them in to the academic culture of dialogue and discourse through understanding APA form, as well as focused disciplined, group and autonomous study. At the doctoral level, I design classes that meet the needs of working professionals that are relevant to their current positions and future ambitions as scholars, and practitioners. I strive to connect student research project linked to real world problems, engaging students not just with the academic discourse but, in the context of their professional interests, and the ever-changing and longstanding challenges and issues society presents. In my service, which is instrumental to my teaching, I am active at the university and department levels by serving on as well as creating several committees, by gaining increasing responsibilities in my professional service, and reaching out and building lasting relationships in the community to bring relevant and timely ideas beyond the ivory tower to the public.
My teaching philosophy revolves around the core values of respect, vision, community and excellence
Respect for Each Person: An essential disposition I maintain in practice and in thought are a singular respect for each person, their goals and essence and their integral part in this world. We live in a diverse and interdependent world, and students and colleagues come from many walks of life. The natural course of understanding and respect, as I see it, comes from being immersed with others in an environment, engaging in shared and individual endeavors, holding critical rational dialogues and discourses about what we care about and then reflecting and working towards mutual ends. It is through this process I strive to understand the needs of the environment and move forward as an active and positive contributing member.
Vision: An underlying and explicit message in my teaching is a vision of empowerment of the individual to overcome their limitations both self-imposed and societal, in order to be able to work in challenging conditions and contribute to improving them. For educators, this means learning to work across multiple platforms and organizational, professional, political, interpersonal and social boundaries. The aim is to improve the conditions for education for the students they work with directly; children specifically and families in general. I see teachers and school administrators as not only content specialists, but, also as important members of the community who continuously advocate for the best interest of children
Community Service: Service plays a significant role in my life as a professor and I have learned that learning how to serve others is one of the secrets of life. I believe it can be taught, and the lessons and ideas I present and discuss in class, as well as my actions as a member of the department, university and my professional field aim to fulfill this mission. As well, serving others is a grace, and I am still learning to best use my gifts in service to others. This is a life-long endeavor and challenge.
Commitment to Excellence:
In order for my students to see excellence, first and foremost I model a commitment to excellence in all of my work. As I see it, if work is worth doing, it is worth doing well. I inspire in my students the compelling reasons to find inspiration to do good work. This is in essence so they have an understanding of my broad academic expectations and their room for interpretation and improvement within the academic bounds drawn. I hold myself to high standards and see myself as a role model for my students. I have published in high quality academic journals and take pride in serving my students, colleagues, university and the community at large.
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About Joseph A. Polizzi Ph.D.
I listen closely to my students and aim to help them to develop in to well rounded, thoughtful people who are able to affirm their unique personal attributes and incorporate them in their professional ambitions. My undergraduate students are well prepared to move beyond the college and university environment and begin to contribute to society in positive ways. With my graduate and particularly my doctoral students, I aim to bring them in to the academic culture of dialogue and discourse through understanding APA form, as well as focused disciplined, group and autonomous study. At the doctoral level, I design classes that meet the needs of working professionals that are relevant to their current positions and future ambitions as scholars, and practitioners. I strive to connect student research project linked to real world problems, engaging students not just with the academic discourse but, in the context of their professional interests, and the ever-changing and longstanding challenges and issues society presents. In my service, which is instrumental to my teaching, I am active at the university and department levels by serving on as well as creating several committees, by gaining increasing responsibilities in my professional service, and reaching out and building lasting relationships in the community to bring relevant and timely ideas beyond the ivory tower to the public.
My teaching philosophy revolves around the core values of respect, vision, community and excellence
Respect for Each Person: An essential disposition I maintain in practice and in thought are a singular respect for each person, their goals and essence and their integral part in this world. We live in a diverse and interdependent world, and students and colleagues come from many walks of life. The natural course of understanding and respect, as I see it, comes from being immersed with others in an environment, engaging in shared and individual endeavors, holding critical rational dialogues and discourses about what we care about and then reflecting and working towards mutual ends. It is through this process I strive to understand the needs of the environment and move forward as an active and positive contributing member.
Vision: An underlying and explicit message in my teaching is a vision of empowerment of the individual to overcome their limitations both self-imposed and societal, in order to be able to work in challenging conditions and contribute to improving them. For educators, this means learning to work across multiple platforms and organizational, professional, political, interpersonal and social boundaries. The aim is to improve the conditions for education for the students they work with directly; children specifically and families in general. I see teachers and school administrators as not only content specialists, but, also as important members of the community who continuously advocate for the best interest of children
Community Service: Service plays a significant role in my life as a professor and I have learned that learning how to serve others is one of the secrets of life. I believe it can be taught, and the lessons and ideas I present and discuss in class, as well as my actions as a member of the department, university and my professional field aim to fulfill this mission. As well, serving others is a grace, and I am still learning to best use my gifts in service to others. This is a life-long endeavor and challenge.
Commitment to Excellence:
In order for my students to see excellence, first and foremost I model a commitment to excellence in all of my work. As I see it, if work is worth doing, it is worth doing well. I inspire in my students the compelling reasons to find inspiration to do good work. This is in essence so they have an understanding of my broad academic expectations and their room for interpretation and improvement within the academic bounds drawn. I hold myself to high standards and see myself as a role model for my students. I have published in high quality academic journals and take pride in serving my students, colleagues, university and the community at large.
| Present | Director-Associate Professor, The Pennsylvania State University | |
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| August 2007 - 2019 | Associate Professor of Education & Educational Leadership, Marywood University | |
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| Assistant Director of Scholarship & Research, New DEEL (Democratic Ethical Educational Leadership | ||
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| Fulbright Liasion, Marywood University | ||
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Disciplines
Research Interests
Education and Educational Leadership and Administration
Grants
| 2022 - Present | Pilot model to develop and support equity-driven school leaders |
| Collaborative for Effective Educator Development Accountability and Reform Center (CEEDAR) | |
| Colleague(s): Deirdra Preis & Joseph Polizzi | |
| $19,000 |
Professional Service and Affiliations
| 2017 - 2020 | Editorial Board Member, Educational Studies Journal-The Journal of the American Educational Studies Association | 2013 - 2020 | Editorial Board Member, International Journal of Education Management | 2013 - 2020 | Editorial Board Member, Journal of Ethical Educational Leadership | 2010 - 2020 | Editorial Board Member, Journal of Authentic Leadership in Education | 2011 - 2016 | Editorial Board Member, Journal of Educational Policy, Planning and Administration |
Honors and Awards
- Fulbright Teacher Exchange-Hungary-2000-2001
- Don Walters Lecture and Award-2017
Courses
- Philosophy of Education
- Administrative Theory for School Leaders
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Social Foundations of American Education
- Multi Disciplinary Foundations of Education
- Personnel Leadership
- School and Community Relations
- Labor and Negotiations
| 2002 - 2007 | PhD, The Pennsylvania State University ‐ Educational Leadership/Theory/Policy | |
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| 1992 - 1993 | MS Secondary Education-English, Hofstra University ‐ College of Education | |
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| 1986 - 1990 | B.A. English & Communications, Lemoyne College | |
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Contact Information
The Pennsylvania State University
Rackley Building
University Park, PA 16802
Email: