About

Dr. Christopher Redding is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of Florida’s College of Education. Dr. Redding earned his doctorate in Leadership and Policy Studies from Vanderbilt University. Guided by a commitment to equity and diversity, he studies how students’ learning opportunities and outcomes can be improved within schools, whether through the recruitment and retention of a high-quality, racially diverse teacher workforce, school improvement, or equitable access to school programs. He has published over thirty peer-reviewed articles that apply rigorous research methods using survey and administrative data to answer pressing education policy questions in these areas. His work has been supported by grants from the Office of Special Education Programs as well as the American Educational Research Association and has been published in outlets including the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Researcher, and Review of Educational Research. His work has also been featured in a number of media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and Education Week, among others.

Research Interests

Gifted Education, Leadership Development, Mixed Methods, Quantitative Research, Teaching and Licensure, Turnaround School Leadership

Education

• Ph.D. in Leadership and Policy Studies from Vanderbilt University

Professional Appointments

• Faculty Affiliate, Education Policy Research Center, University of Florida

Activities and Honors

• Emerging Education Policy Scholar,Thomas B. Fordham and the American Enterprise Institute
• B.O. Smith Research Professor-College of Education, University of Florida
• Diana E. Haines Teaching Excellence Award-College of Education, University of Florida

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Articles

• Redding, C. Are homegrown teachers who graduate from urban districts more racially diverse, more effective, and less likely to exit teaching? American Educational Research Journal. In press.
• Richter, E., Lucksnat, C., Redding, C., & Richter, D. Retention intention and job satisfaction of alternatively certified teachers in their first year of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education. In press.
• Hunter, S. H. & Redding, C. Instructional coaching programs and coaches' teaching expertise across Tennessee schools. Educational Policy. In press.
• Myers, J. A., Redding. C., Brownell, M. T., Gage, N. A., Leite, W. Teacher qualification typologies and their relationship with the math achievement of adolescents at-risk for math difficulties: A latent class analysis study. Teacher Education and Special Education. In press.
• Redding, C. Changing the composition of beginning teachers: The role of state alternative certification policies. Educational Policy. In press.
• Swain, W. & Redding, C. (2022). Teachers’ union power in a budget crunch: Lasting ramifications of differential spending responses to the Great Recession. Educational Policy, 36(2), 343-376.
• Bettini, E., Gilmour, A., Nguyen, T., & Redding, C. (2022). Disparities in access to well-qualified, well-supported special educators across higher versus lower poverty schools over time. Exceptional Children, 88(3), 283-301.
• Redding, C. (2022). Is teacher–student and student–principal racial/ethnic matching related to elementary school grade retention? AERA Open, 8(1), 1-20.
• Redding, C. & Nguyen, T. (2021). Greener than ever? A look at the newest teachers in our public schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 103(3), 8-12.
• Redding, C. & Grissom, J. A. (2021). Do students in gifted programs perform better? Linking gifted program participation to achievement and nonachievement outcomes. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 43(3), 520-544.
• Redding, C., & Myers, T. (2021). Who are America’s Teachers of the Year? AERA Open, 7, 1-14.
• Joshi, E., Redding, C., & Cannata, M. (2021). In the NIC of time: How sustainable are networked improvement communities? American Journal of Education, 127(3).
• Redding, C. & Nguyen, T. (2020). The relationship between school turnaround and student outcomes: A meta-analysis. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 42(4), 493-519.
• Redding, C. & Nguyen, T. (2020). Recent trends in the characteristics of new teachers, the schools in which they teach, and their turnover rates. Teachers College Record, 122(7).
• Baker, D. J., Skinner, B. T., & Redding, C. (2020). Affirmative intervention to reduce stereotype threat bias: Experimental evidence from a community college. The Journal of Higher Education, 91(5), 722-754.
• Redding, C. & Searby, L. (2020). The map is not the territory: Considering the role of school improvement plans in turnaround schools. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 23(3), 63-75.
• Henry, G. T. & Redding, C. (2020). The consequences of leaving school early: The effects of within-year and end-of-year teacher turnover. Education Finance and Policy, 15(2), 332-356.
• Redding, C., Booker, L., Smith, T. M., Desimone, L. (2019). School administrators’ direct and indirect influences on middle school math teachers’ turnover. Journal of Educational Administration, 57(6),708-730.
• Grissom, J. A., Redding, C., & Bleiberg, J. (2019). Can a child be poor and gifted? Socioeconomic gaps in receipt of gifted services. Harvard Educational Review, 89(3), 337-369.
• Cannata, M., Redding, C. & Nguyen, T. (2019). Building student ownership and responsibility: Examining outcomes from a research-practice partnership. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 12(3), 333-362.
• Redding. C. & Smith, T. M. (2019). Supporting early career alternatively certified teachers: Evidence from the Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Survey. Teachers College Record, 121(11).
• Redding, C. (2019). A teacher like me: A review of the effect of student-teacher racial/ethnic matching on teacher perceptions of students and student academic and behavioral outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 89(4), 499-535.
• Redding, C. & Baker, D. (2019). Understanding racial/ethnic diversity gaps among early career teachers. AERA Open, 5(2), 1-17.
• Redding, C. & Henry, G. T. (2019). Leaving school early: An examination of novice teachers’ within- and end-of-year turnover. American Educational Research Journal, 56(1), 204-236.
• Redding, C. & Henry, G. T. (2018). New evidence on the frequency of teacher turnover: Accounting for within-year turnover. Educational Researcher, 47(9), 577-593.
• Nguyen, T. D. & Redding, C. (2018). Changes in the demographics, qualifications, and turnover of American STEM Teachers, 1988-2012. AERA Open, 4(3), 1-13.
• Redding. C. & Viano, S. (2018) Co-creating school reform: Should self-determination be a component of school improvement? Teachers College Record. 120(11), 1-32.
• Redding, C., Cannata, M., & Miller, J. (2018). System learning in an urban school district: A case study of intra-district learning. Journal of Educational Change. 19(1), 77-101.
• Redding, C. Cannata, M., Haynes, K. T. (2017). With scale in mind: A continuous improvement model for implementation. Peabody Journal of Education. 92(5), 589-608.
• Redding, C. & Smith, T.M. (2016). Easy in, easy out—Are alternatively certified teachers turning over at increased rates? American Educational Research Journal. 53(4), 1086-1125.
• Grissom, J. A. & Redding, C. (2016). Discretion and disproportionality: Teacher race and the underrepresentation of high-achieving students of color in gifted programs. AERA Open, 2(1): 1-25.
• Nicholson-Crotty, S., Grissom, J. A., Nicholson-Crotty, J., & Redding, C. (2016) Disentangling the causal mechanisms of representative bureaucracy: Evidence from assignment of students to gifted programs. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory. 26(4), 745-757.

Presentations

• Redding, C. (2022). Are homegrown teachers more racially diverse, more effective, and less likely to exit teaching? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
• Nguyen, T., Redding, C., Gilmour, A. & Bettini, E. (2022). Examining the disparate policy impacts of No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Act on Special Education Teachers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA.
• Redding, C. & Carlo, S. M. (2022). The adoption of mandatory test-based retention policies: An event history analysis. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education Finance and Policy, Denver, CO.
• Nguyen, T., Redding, C., Gilmour, A. & Bettini, E. (2022). Examining the disparate policy impacts of No Child Left Behind and the Individuals with Disabilities Act on Special Education Teachers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education Finance and Policy, Denver, CO.
• Bettini, E., Nguyen, T., Redding, C., Gilmour, A. (2022). Comparing teacher turnover intentions to actual turnover: Cautions and lessons for the field. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Education Finance and Policy, Denver, CO.

Other Publications

• Sheasley, C. & Matusek, S. (2022, January 26). What happens to US education if there’s no one to teach? The Christian Science Monitor.
• Mathews, J. (2021, October 3). Gifted programs can slight minorities and don’t accelerate kids. So why have them? The Washington Post.
• Redding, C. (2021, June 24). Gifted education programs don’t benefit Black students like they do white students. The Conversation.
• Aguila, G. (2021, June 15). Over a third of Alachua County Public Schools students fall behind as the school year closes. WUFT.
• Mahnken, K. (2021, May 4). Researchers combed through over 1,600 Teachers of the Year since 1988. Here’s what they learned about the winners. The 74.
• Sparks, S. D. (2011, April 23) Gifted education comes up short for low-income and Black students. Education Week.
• Barshay, J. (2021, April 19). Proof Points: Gifted programs provide little to no academic boost, new study says. The Hechinger Report.
• Barshay, J. (2020, September 21). Proof Points: A turnaround on school turnarounds. The Hechinger Report.
• Redding, C. (2020, January 16). Address teacher shortages by reducing turnover. The Gainesville Sun.
• Grissom, J. A., Redding, C., & Bleiberg, J. (2019, October 9). Low-income students are profoundly underrepresented in gifted programs. The Fordham Institute.
• Will, M. (2019, October 15). 4 things principals can do (and 4 things they shouldn’t) to build relationships with teachers. Education Week.

Selected Links

• Teacher turnover is a problem - here's how to fix it
• Which Teachers Are Most Likely to Leave School Mid-Year?
• Gap Growing in Teacher-Turnover Rates: Research
• Why Talented Black and Hispanic Students Can Go Undiscovered
• Proof Points: A turnaround on school turnarounds
• Address teacher shortages by reducing turnover
• 4 things principals can do (and 4 things they shouldn't) to build relationships with teachers
• Schools under-identify giftedness in low-socioeconomic status students