David E DeMatthews

Ph.D. in Education Policy and Leadership, University of Maryland, College Park, 2012

M.A. in Teaching: Secondary Social Studies, Johns Hopkins University, 2007

B.A. in Political Science, Rutgers University - Newark, 2005

Focuses on urban school and district leadership, inclusive practices for students with disabilities, and school improvement with an emphasis on addressing inequities in classrooms, schools, and communities.

President-Elect, University Council of Educational Administration(2020 - 2021)

Chair, American Educational Research Association Leadership for School Improvement Special Interest Group(2020 - 2021)

Executive Committee Member, University Council of Educational Administration(2019 - 2022)

DeMatthews, D. (2020). Addressing racism and ableism in schools: A DisCrit leadership framework for principals.. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 93(1), 27–34.

DeMatthews, D. & Izquierdo, E. (2020). Supporting Mexican American immigrant students on the border: A case study of culturally responsive leadership in a dual language elementary school.. Urban Education, 25(2), 164–182.

DeMatthews, D., Serafini, A. & Watson, T. (2020). Leading inclusive schools: Principal perceptions, practices, and challenges to meaningful change. Educational Administration Quarterly.

Edwards, D., DeMatthews, D., Spear, A. & Hartley, H. (2020). Community participation and empowerment in marginalized contexts: Leveraging parental involvement, adult education, and community organizing through social justice leadership. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education.

Kotok, S., DiMartino, C. & DeMatthews, D. (2020). Principals and district leaders navigating the marketplace: Lessons from Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania. Journal of School Leadership.

DeMatthews, D., Billingsley, B., McLeskey, J. & Sharma, U. (2020). Principal leadership for students with disabilities in effective inclusive schools. Journal of Educational Administration.

Farr, B., Gandomi, M. & DeMatthews, D. (2020). Implementing restorative justice in an urban elementary school: A principal's commitment and experiences eliminating exclusionary discipline. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 23(3), 48–62.

DeMatthews, D., Knight, D., Reyes, P., Benedict, A. & Callahan, R. (2020). From the field: Education research during a pandemic. Educational Researcher.

DeMatthews, D., Scheffer, M. & Kotok, S. (2020). Useful or useless? Principal perceptions of the Texas principal evaluation and support system. Journal of Researcher on Leadership Education.

DeMatthews, D. (2020). Undoing systems of exclusion: Exploring inclusive leadership and systems thinking in two inclusive elementary schools. Journal of Educational Administration.

Duncheon, J. & DeMatthews, D. (2019). Early college high school principals: Preparing historically underrepresented students for college success. NASSP Bulletin, 42(1), 269–290.

DeMatthews, D. & Brown, C. (2019). Urban school leadership and community violence: Principal perspectives and proactive responses in meeting the mental health needs of students.. Educational Forum, 83(1), 28–43.

DeMatthews, D. & Tarlau, R. (2019). Activist principals: Leading for social justice in Ciudad Juarez, Baltimore, and Brazil.. Teachers College Record, 121(4), 1–36.

DeMatthews, D. & Knight, D. (2019). The Texas special education cap: An investigation into the statewide delay and denial of support to students with disabilities.. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 27(2), 1–34.

Callahan, R., DeMatthews, D. & Reyes, P. (2019). The impact of Brown on EL students: Addressing linguistic and educational rights through school leadership practice and preparation.. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 14(4), 281–307.

DeMatthews, D. & Knight, D. (2019). Denying special education to students in need: A case of accountability, compliance, and fear in a Texas elementary school.. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 22(1), 55–72.

DeMatthews, D., Kotok, S. & Serafini, A. (2019). Leadership preparation for special education and inclusive schools: Beliefs and recommendations from successful principals.. Journal of Research on Leadership Education.

DeMatthews, D. & Serafini, A. (2019). Do good principals do bad things? Examining the bounds of ethical behavior in the context of high-stakes accountability.. Leadership and Policy in Schools.

DeMatthews, D. & Izquierdo, E. (2019). Dual language education: Teaching and leading through two langauges. Netherlands: Springer. (View)

Pazey, B. & DeMatthews, D. (2019). The quest for identity, stability, recognition and voice within a turnaround urban high school: An account of students with dis/Abilities seeking to break loose from accountability reform. Urban Education, 54(7), 919–956. doi:10.1177/0042085916666930.

Knight, D. & DeMatthews, D. (2018). Expanding the use of educational data for social justice: Lessons from the Texas cap on special education and implications for practitioner–scholar preparation.. Journal of Research on Leadership Education. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775118783710.

DeMatthews, D. (2018). Community engaged leadership for social justice. New York, NY: Routledge. (View)

DeMatthews, D. (2018). Urban principal narratives on including black boys with emotional disabilities. Journal of School Leadership, 28(3), 401–430.

DeMatthews, D. (2018). School leadership, social capital, and community engagement: A case study of an elementary school in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. School Community Journal, 28(1), 167–194.

DeMatthews, D. & Izquierdo, E. (2018). The role of principals in developing dual language education: Implications for social justice leadership and preparation.. Journal of Latinos and Education, 17(1), 53–70.

Carey, R., Yee, L. & DeMatthews, D. (2018). Power, penalty, and critical praxis: Employing intersectionality in educator practices to achieve school equity. Educational Forum, 8(2), 111–130.

Kotok, S. & DeMatthews, D. (2018). Challenging school segregation in the 21st century: How districts can leverage dual language education to increase school and classroom diversity. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues, and Ideas, 17(1), 53–70.

Billingsley, B., DeMatthews, D., Connally, K. & McLeskey, J. (2018). Leadership for effective schools: Considerations for preparation and reforms. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 42(1), 65–81.

Knight, D. & DeMatthews, D. (2018). The Texas "cap" on special education: A call for proactive measures for preventing the next scandal. Journal of Research on Leadership Education.

DeMatthews, D. (2018). Now is the time for superintendents to get political: Harmful immigration policies highlight the need for advocacy that puts children first. Education Week. (View)

DeMatthews, D., Carey, R., Olivarez, A. & Moussavi-Saeedi, K. (2017). Guilty as charged? Principals' perspectives and enactment of suspension and the racial discipline gap. Educational Administration Quarterly, 53(4), 519–555.

DeMatthews, D., Pazey, B. & Gregory, B. (2017). Are students with disabilities being denied special education in Texas?. Teachers College Record. (View)

Edwards, D., DeMatthews, D. & Hartley, H. (2017). Accountability and competition for charter schools? Theory versus reality in concession schools in Bogota, Columbiao. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 25(10), 1–32.

DeMatthews, D., Izquierdo, E. & Knight, D. (2017). Righting past wrongs: A superintendent's social justice leadership for dual language education along the U.S.-Mexico border. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 25(1), 1–28.

DeMatthews, D. & Izquierdo, E. (2017). Authentic and social justice leadership: A case study of an exemplary principal. Journal of School Leadership, 27(3), 333–360.

DeMatthews, D. (2017). Preparing principals on the U.S.-Mexico border and beyond: A call to confront fear, uncertainty, and marginalization of Mexican American students. Journal of Latinos and Education. (View)

DeMatthews, D. (2016). Social justice dilemmas: Evidence on the successes and shortcomings of three principals trying to make a difference. International Journal of Leadership in Education.

DeMatthews, D. & Edwards, D.. (2016). Social justice leadership and community engagement: A successful case from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Educational Administration Quarterly, 52(5), 754–792.

DeMatthews, D. (2016). Competing priorities and challenges: Principal leadership for social justice along the U.S.-Mexico border. Teachers College Record, 118(11), 1–38.

DeMatthews, D. (2016). Effective leadership is not enough: Critical approaches to closing the racial discipline gap. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues, and Ideas, 89(1), 7–13.

DeMatthews, D. (2016). The racial discipline gap: Critically examining policy, culture, and leadership in a struggling urban district. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 19(2), 82–96.

Coviello, J. & DeMatthews, D. (2016). This too shall pass: A new principal's experience with school improvement. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 19(2), 43–51.

DeMatthews, D. & Izquierdo, E. (2016). School leadership for Latina/o bilingual children: A social justice leadership approach. Educational Forum, 80(3), 278–293.

DeMatthews, D. (2016). Texas campus carry law's implications on social justice preparation. Teachers College Record.

Carrola, P., DeMatthews, D. & Shin, S. (2016). Managing the duality of security and mental health needs through sense making. Clinical Supervisor, 35(2), 249–267.

Knight, D., Izquierdo, E. & DeMatthews, D. (2016). A balancing act: School budgeting and resource allocation on a new dual language campus. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 19(4), 32–46.

Sorenson, R., Goldsmith, L. & DeMatthews, D. (2016). The principal's guide to managing time: Instructional leadership in the digital age. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. (View)

DeMatthews, D. (2016). The principal as community advocate, pp. 20–24. (View)

DeMatthews, ZD. (2015). Making sense of social justice leadership: A case study of a principal's experiences to create a more inclusive school. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 14(2), 139–166.

DeMatthews, D. & Mawhinney, H. (2015). Social justice leadership and inclusion: Exploring challenges in an urban district struggling to address inequities. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50(5), 844–881.

DeMatthews, D. (2015). Getting teacher evaluation right: What principals need to know. Educational Forum, 79(1), 81–89.

DeMatthews, D., Mungal, A. & Carrola, P. (2015). Despite best intentions: A critical analysis of social justice leadership and decision making. Administrative Issues Journal, 5(2), 1–21.

DeMatthews, D. (2015). Clearing a path for inclusion: Distributing leadership in a high performing elementary school. Journal of School Leadership, 25(6), 139–166.

DeMatthews, D. & Edwards, D. (2014). Preparing school leaders for special education: Old criticisms and new directions. School Leadership Review, 9(2), 41–50.

DeMatthews, D. (2014). Deconstructing systems of segregation: Leadership challenges in an urban school. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 17(1), 55–69.

Edwards, D. & DeMatthews, D. (2014). Historical trends in educational decentralization in the United States and developing countries: A periodization and comparison in the post-WWII context. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 22(46), 1–39.

DeMatthews, D. (2014). Principal and teacher collaboration: An exploration of distributed leadership in professional learning communities. International Journal of Educational Leadership and Management, 2(2), 176–206.

DeMatthews, D. (2014). How to improve curriculum leadership: Integrating leadership theory and management strategies. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues, and Ideas, 87(5), 1–5.

DeMatthews, D., Edwards, D. & Nelson, T. (2014). Identification problems: U.S. special education eligibility for English language learners. International Journal of Educational Research, 68, 27–34.

DeMatthews, D. (2014). Dimensions of social justice leadership: A critical review of actions, challenges, dilemmas, and opportunities for the inclusion of students with disabilities in U.S. schools. International Journal of Education for Social Justice, 2(3), 197–222.

DeMatthews, D. (2014). Looks like ten miles of bad road: Cheating, gaming, mistrust, and an interim principal in an urban Texas high school. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 17(4), 19–33.

DeMatthews, D. & Mawhinney, H. (2013). Addressing the inclusion imperative: An urban school district's responses. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 21(61), 1–30.

DeMatthews, D., Carrola, P., Knight, D. & Izquierdo, E. (n.d.). Principal burnout: How urban school leaders experience secondary trauma on the U.S.-Mexico border.. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 18(4), 681–700.

William J. Davis Award, University Council of Educational Administration (2018)

Jack A. Culbertson Award, University Council of Educational Administration (2017)

Paula Silver Case Award, University Council of Educational Administration (2017)

Leadership for Social Justice Teaching Award, American Educational Research Association, Leadership for Social Justice SIG (2016)

Reviewer of the Year, Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership (2016)

Kimberly D Clarida, Ph.D., expected 2024 (Supervisor)
Her research interests revolve around educational equity and policy, community-school partnerships, and the historical and sociocultural contexts of education as it relates to the achievement of black and brown students.

Lebon D James, Ph.D., expected 2022 (Supervisor)
His research examines the role of principals, K-12 educational leadership preparation, and school improvement.

Kermit D Ward, Ph.D., expected 2019 (Committee Member)
School Leadership’s Most Effective Uses of Title 1 Funds

Grant R Prentice (Supervisor)

Angela D Dominguez (Supervisor)

Torrye Hooper (Committee Member)