Wesley Edwards

Faculty, Teacher Education and Administration
Assistant Professor

Matthews Hall 206-C

940-565-2920

Wesley.Edwards@unt.edu

Wesley L. Edwards
About

Wesley Edwards is an assistant professor of Educational Leadership in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration at the University of North Texas. His research interests include teacher and school leader career trajectories, school organizational work environments, and the politics and policy of educational leadership. Dr. Edwards has published in journals such as Educational Policy, Teachers College Record, and Education Economics.

Edwards received a Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Texas at Austin, an M.A. in the Sociology of Education from New York University, and a Ph.D. in Educational Policy and Planning from the University of Texas at Austin. Prior to pursuing his Ph.D., he was a middle school math and science teacher and teacher leader in New York and Texas. 

Publications

 

  • Gist, C., Edwards, W. (2026). Community allies to classroom leaders: Examining pathways to a teaching position for Paraeducators of Color and Indigenous Paraeducators. School-University Partnerships. 
  • Edwards, W., Miller, A., Burden, K. (2025). Marketing the profession: Educational leaders’ perspectives on the implementation of high school Grow-Your-Own teacher programs. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas.  
  • Castro, A.J., Edwards, W. & Stanley, D. (2025). Racialized teacher tracking: the systematic exclusion of black teachers from advanced-level coursework. Race Ethnicity and Education. 
  • Edwards, W., Kirksey, J.J., Burden, K.Q. & Miller, A. (2024). Teaching close to home: Exploring new teachers’ geographic employment patterns and retention outcomes. Teaching and Teacher Education. 
  • Edwards, W. & Magill, K.R. (2024). The rise of for-profit teacher preparation programmes: investigating career outcomes for novice teachers. Educational Review. 
  • Gist, C.D., Edwards, W., Garcia, A., Brown, A. & Brown, K. (2024). Glancing back and looking forward: The role of education policy in creating pathways to the workforce for Teachers of Color and Indigenous Teachers. Education Policy Analysis Archives. 
  • Edwards, W. (2024). Persistence despite structural barriers: Investigating work environments for Black and Latinx teachers in urban and suburban schools. Urban Education. 
  • Edwards, W., Kirksey, J.J., Burden, K.Q., & Miller, A. (2024). Teaching close to home: Exploring new teachers' geographic employment patterns and retention outcomes. Teaching and Teacher Education.
  • Edwards, W., & Magill, K.R. (2024). The rise of for-profit teacher preparation programmes: Investigating career outcomes for novice teachers. Educational Review, 1-25.
  • Edwards, W. (2024). Persistence despite structural barriers: Investigating work environments for Black and Latinx teachers in urban and suburban Schools. Urban Education, 59(4), 1159-1190.
  • ​​​Edwards, W. & Anderson, C. (2023). Teacher-principal ethnoracial matching, geography, and novice teacher career outcomes. AERA Open. 
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