College of Education and Human Development

Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement

People

Alyssa Parr

  • Pronouns: she/her/hers

  • Research Associate

Racial equity and developmental science

    DEGREES

    PhD, Applied Developmental Psychology, University of Pittsburgh
    MEd, Educational Psychology, University of Virginia
    BA, Psychology and Spanish, Lake Forest College

      AREAS OF INTEREST

      Racial equity in education
      Ethnic Studies
      Community engaged research
      Qualitative and mixed methods
      Program evaluation

        BIOGRAPHY

        As a research associate at the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), Alyssa Parr has led and supported more than 15 research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects in local K-12 school, community, and higher education settings. Topics have included K-12 Ethnic Studies courses; recruiting, retaining, and sustaining Black, Brown, and Indigenous teachers; postsecondary programs supporting racially and economically marginalized student populations; predictors of wages and wage growth for Minnesota students; experiences with education during the COVID-19 pandemic; and school mental health services. She has received awards as a principal investigator from the Joyce Foundation, Minnesota Office of Higher Education, and the University's Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality (RIDGS).

        Through transdisciplinary and applied research, her goal is to strengthen the theoretical and empirical foundations for and implementation of policies and practices that foster wellbeing and contribute to dismantling unjust systems that perpetuate inequities. Her training has uniquely prepared her to conduct school-based research grounded in psychological and developmental approaches to advance educational equity. Methodologically, she has expertise in qualitative and mixed methods.

        Her current projects focus on evaluating and uplifting stories of K-12 ethnic studies courses, studying how to improve school mental health systems, and promoting the use of the state's Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (ECLDS) and Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System (SLEDS) across Minnesota.

          PUBLICATIONS

          Parr, A., DeVlieger, S., & Cesare, C. (2025). A Critical Case Study of White Teacher Candidates’ Motivation and Resistance During Race-Related Transformative Activities. Whiteness and Education, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/23793406.2025.2495138

          Vue, M., Xiong, X., Parr, A., Oertel, J., Mayes, K., & Chang, N. (2024). An overview and evaluation of critical ethnic studies in Saint Paul Public Schools. Ethnic Studies Pedagogies, 2(4), 174-186.

          Parr, A., Gladstone, J., Rosenzweig, E., & Wang, M. (2021). Why Do I Teach? A Mixed-Methods Study of In-Service Teachers’ Motivations, Autonomy-Supportive Instructional Practices, and Emotions. Teaching and Teacher Education, 98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103228

          Huguley, J., Delale-O’Connor, L., Wang, M., & Parr, A. (2020). African American parents’ educational involvement in urban schools: Contextualized strategies for student success in adolescence. Educational Researcher, 50, 6-16. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X20943199

          Wallace, T. L., Parr, A., & Correnti, R. (2020). Assessing teachers’ classroom management competency: A case study of the classroom assessment scoring system–secondary. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 38, 475-492. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282919863229

            PRESENTATIONS

            DeVlieger, S., & Parr, A. (April 2024). A Causal Exploration of White Teacher Candidates’ Transformative Race-Related (Un)learning Using Qualitative Attribution Coding. AERA Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.

            Stewart, N., Stanley, D., Rajendran, A., Parr, A., Lowery, C., & Diedra, C. (2024, April 11). Historicizing Black, Brown, and Indigenous Teachers’ Sustainment in the Twin Cities [Paper Session]. AERA Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA.

            Parr, A., Su, M., & Kaihoi, C. (2023, November 16). Exploring Differential Pathways to Teaching for Black, Brown, and Indigenous and White Minnesotans. University Council For Educational Administration (UCEA) Annual Convention. Minneapolis, MN.

            Parr, A., Vue, M., & Mayes, K. (2023, August 3). Partnering to Evaluate Critical Ethnic Studies in SPPS. University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development LEAD Conference. Minneapolis, MN

            Alyssa Parr