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Bio
Lam D. Pham is an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Human Development at North Carolina State University. He received his Ph.D. in K-12 Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Vanderbilt University, specializing in quantitative methods. A first generation Vietnamese immigrant, Lam grew up attending schools serving low-income and minority race students. These firsthand experiences shape his research, which investigates how personnel policies (e.g., compensation, professional learning, performance evaluation) affect students in low-performing schools. In particular, he examines policies aimed at building and maintaining an equitable distribution of diverse and effective teachers and principals in chronically low-performing schools. Before his doctoral studies, Lam worked as a Fulbright Scholar in Vietnam, taught math in a turnaround high school in Oklahoma City, and served as an instructional coach for Oklahoma City Public Schools. He received a B.A. in chemistry from Harvard University.
Selected Scholarly Publications
- Pham, L. D., Matthews, G. F., Drake, T. A. (2024) Beyond Prescriptive Reforms: An Examination of North Carolina’s Flexible School Restart Program. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737231218735
- Pham, L. D. (2023). Teachers are Not Lemons: An Examination of Spillover Effects when Teachers Transfer Away from Turnaround Schools. Educational Researcher. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X231175148
- Pham, L. D. (2021). Why Do We Find these Effects? An Examination of Mediating Pathways Explaining the Effects of School Turnaround. Journal of Research in Educational Effectiveness. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2022.2081276
- Pham, L. D., Nguyen, T. D., & Springer, M. G. (2020). Teacher Merit Pay: A Meta-Analysis. American Educational Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831220905580
- Pham, L. D., Henry, G. T., Kho, A., & Zimmer, R. (2020). Sustainability and Maturation of School Turnaround: A Multiyear Evaluation of Tennessee’s Achievement School District and Local Innovation Zones. AERA Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858420922841
Courses Taught
- Applied Quantitative Methods in Education I
- Applied Quantitative Methods in Education II
Honors and Awards
- Emerging Scholar Award, AERA School Turnaround and Reform Special Interest Group
- Fulbright Fellowship, Vietnam
- Equity and Inclusion Fellowship, Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management
- Barbara L. Jackson Scholar, University Council for Educational Administration
- Russell G. Hamilton Dissertation Enhancement Grant
Area(s) of Expertise
education policy, quantitative analysis, school reform, teachers and leaders
Publications
- Investments That Pay Off: Pre-Pandemic Spending, Working Conditions, and Teacher Staffing in Low-Performing Schools During COVID-19 , Journal of Education Human Resources (2026)
- Advancing Educational Opportunity in Comprehensive Support for Improvement Schools: Dilemmas in Practice , Annual conference of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (2024)
- Beyond Prescriptive Reforms: An Examination of North Carolina’s Flexible School Restart Program , Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis (2024)
- Do the Effects Persist? An Examination of Long-Term Effects After Students Leave Turnaround Schools , American Educational Research Journal (2024)
- The Implementation of the North Carolina State Supplemental Salary Fund , Annual conference of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (2024)
- The Unintended Consequences of School Accountability on Racial Segregation: Evidence From North Carolina , Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (2024)
- Trickle-down autonomy? A multi-level examination of funding models and school leader discretion in low-performing schools , Annual conference of the Association for Education Finance and Policy (2024)
- What Are the Side Effects of School Turnaround? A Systematic Review , Review of Research in Education (2024)
- What are the Side Effects of School Turnaround? A Systematic Review , Review of Research in Education (2024)
- Advanced Teaching Roles: Evaluation Report , (2023)
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