V. Darleen Opfer
Position/Status
Senior Lecturer
E-mail Address: vdo20@cam.ac.uk
Phone: 01223 767 699
Qualifications
BA - Education, Stetson University, Deland, Florida,
Med - Special Education, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia,
PhD - Education Policy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Membership of Professional Bodies/Associations
American Educational Research Association
American Educational Finance Association
American Evaluation Association
British Educational Research Association
Profile
Darleen Opfer is a senior lecturer in School Improvement and Research Methods. She has research interests including interest group influence, the political aspects of policymaking, and the impact of high stakes accountability policies on schools, teachers, and students. Funded research projects have included the impact of accountability policies on teacher professional development, school districts' efforts to close achievement gaps, teacher mobility and attrition, and charter school accountability. Darleen Opfer has worked in the United States in the Florida and Virginia Legislatures and as a policy specialist for the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development in Washington, DC. She taught severely emotionally disturbed children in both Florida and Virginia. She has also served as a research and policy consultant for the integrated schools in Northern Ireland.
Academic Area/Links
Educational Research
Educational Leadership and School Improvement
Research Topics
Interest group influence
The political aspects of policymaking
The impact of high stakes accountability policies on schools, teachers, and students
Charter school accountability
Teacher distribution and attrition
Current Research Projects
A Study of Highly Effective School Districts - funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Course Involvement
MPhil in Educational Research
Core Research Training for Thematic MPhil Courses
MPhil in Educational Leadership and School Improvement
Publications
Books, Chapters, and Editorships
Lance Fusarelli, V. Darleen Opfer, and Tamara Young (2007). Beyond Interest Groups: Advocacy Coalitions, Issue Networks, and the Politics of Personalism. In Bruce Cooper, Lance Fusarelli, and James Cibulka (Eds.) Understanding the Politics of Education: A Handbook of Theory, Application and Research. New Jersey: Lawrence Earlbaum and American Educational Research Association. Accepted for Publication.
Cynthia Gerstl-Pepin and V. Darleen Opfer (Guest Editors) (2007). The Politics of the Media and Education. Special Issue of Peabody Journal of Education. In Press.
V. Darleen Opfer (2005). Personalism of Interest Groups and the Resulting Policy Nonsense: The Cobb County School Board's Evolution Debate. In George J. Petersen and Lance D. Fusarelli (Eds.) The District Superintendent and School Board Relationship. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
V. Darleen Opfer and Kenneth Wong (Eds.) (2002). The Politics of Elections and Education: The Politics of Education Association Yearbook, 2001. New York: Corwin Press.
Journal Articles
V. Darleen Opfer (2007). A Research Agenda on the Media and Education. Peabody Journal of Education, In Press.
V. Darleen Opfer (2006). Evaluating Equity: A Framework for Understanding Action and Inaction on Social Justice Issues. Educational Policy, 20 (1), 271-290.
V. Darleen Opfer and Vicki Denmark, (2002). Sorting Out a Sense of Place: Principal and School Board Relationships in the Midst of Decentralization Rhetoric. Peabody Journal of Education, 76 (2), 102-118.
V. Darleen Opfer (2002). The Politics of Elections and Education: A Question of Influence. Educational Policy, 16 (1), 5-14.
V. Darleen Opfer (2001), Charter Schools and the Panoptic Effect of Accountability. Education and Urban Society, 33(2), 201-215.