Kathryn Hayes

Kathryn Hayes, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at California State University East Bay. She specializes in studying the organizational and leadership factors that drive effective education reform in urban schools, particularly in science education. Her work emphasizes how organizational conditions influence teacher equity efficacy and instructional practices. Dr. Hayes holds a Ph.D. in Science Education and School Organization from UC Davis (2014), following a decade of teaching public elementary science.

• Education:
  • Ph.D. in Science Education & School Organization, UC Davis (2014)
  • 10 years as a public elementary science teacher
• Key Roles:
  • Co-Principal Investigator for the Science Partnership (NSF-funded)
  • Lead researcher on organizational capacity and leadership development projects

Research Focus: Dr. Hayes' research integrates socio-cultural and organizational theories to explore how leadership and institutional structures impact teacher effectiveness and equity outcomes. Key themes include professional development design, teacher noticing practices, and the interplay between educational reforms and classroom implementation. She has co-developed frameworks for climate justice learning outcomes and tools for measuring instructional practices under NGSS standards.

Grants & Collaborations:

• NSF-funded Integrated Middle School Science Partnership
• California Math-Science Partnership (Science Partnership for Instructional Innovation)

Labs/Teams: Active in the Science Partnership initiative, focusing on urban school collaborations between CSUEB and the Alameda County Office of Education to enhance science education through sustainable professional learning models.