Senior Education Researcher, SRI Education
Douglas Gagnon, PhD, has a wide array of experience conducting applied research and evaluation studies in education. He specializes in supporting efforts to use data in rural education, particularly with respect to educator staffing, remote learning, and student access to educational opportunities.
Prior to joining SRI, Gagnon was a senior researcher at Marzano Research, where he served as the lead of applied research and the Cross-Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Rural Education Working Group for REL Central. This work required Gagnon to work in close partnership with education partners across the region, leading numerous projects to conduct research, supply technical support, and disseminate work to broad audiences. Before his time with Marzano Research, Gagnon was with the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School of Public Policy, where he conducted research on education policy related to equity, rural schooling, teacher quality, and trends in student discipline. Gagnon also served as a data fellow with the Delaware Department of Education through Harvard University’s Strategic Data Project.
Gagnon provides technical support to state and local educational agencies and applies a range of descriptive and causal methodologies to answer questions of relevance in educational research. Some of his recent work can be found in the Journal of Research in Rural Education, Educational Policy, Phi Delta Kappan, and The Bloomsbury Handbook of Rural Education in the USA.
Gagnon holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from Ithaca College, a master’s degree in physics education from Cornell University, and a doctorate in education policy from the University of New Hampshire. He is also a What Works Clearinghouse-certified reviewer for group design studies (version 4.1).
Key projects
- Regional Educational Laboratory, Appalachia
- CSU Chico’s Residency in Secondary Education
- Alder Graduate School of Education Teacher Residency
Selected Publications
- Racial/Ethnic Test Score Gaps and the Urban Continuum *
- Promoting Rural Opportunity through Teaching: Strategies to Promote the Teacher Workforce in Rural Schools *
- The Restraint and Seclusion of Students With a Disability: Examining Trends in U.S. School Districts and Their Policy Implications *
- Holistic School Quality Measurement and the Future of Accountability: Pilot-Test Results *
- ESSA and Rural Teachers: New Roads Ahead? *
- Advanced Placement and Rural Schools: Access, Success, and Exploring Alternatives *
- Steps to Develop a Model to Estimate School- and District-Level Postsecondary Success *
- State Policy Responses to Ensuring Excellent Educators in Rural Schools *
- Adding “student voice” to the mix: Perception surveys and state accountability systems *
- Student achievement in rural America *