Amanda Pickett

Amanda Pickett is a Ph.D. in Education student specializing in Sociocultural and Community-Based Approaches to Research in Education at the University of Delaware. She currently serves as a graduate research assistant to Assistant Professor James Bridgeforth on mixed-methods and qualitative research projects related to equity in education and school and district leadership. 

Amanda earned her M.A. in English from West Chester University in 2022, where she studied Writing, Teaching, and Criticism and completed her thesis “The Relationship between Mentoring and Leadership.”

Education

• M.A., English, West Chester University, West Chester, PA, 2022
• B.A. English, minor in History, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 2020

Professional Experience

• Graduate Research Assistant, School of Education, College of Education and Human Development, Univeristy of Delaware, 2024–present
• Graduate Research Assistant, Analysis of Middle School Math Systems Study, College of Education and Human Development, University of Delaware, 2023–2025
• Graduate Research Assistant, Partnership for Public Education, College of Education and Human Development, University of Delaware, 2022–2025

Recent Publications

• Bridgeforth, J. C., & Pickett, A. (2026). Getting Back to “Traditional” Education: Racialized Norms in School Governance. AERA Open, 12.
• Bridgeforth, J., Lu, A., & Pickett, A. (2025). Reclaiming Educational Fraud and Waste: A Conceptual Framework to Locate the True Sources of Resource Leakage and Harm in The U.S. K-12 System. (EdWorkingPaper: 25-1267). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University.
• Lentz, A.K., Ramirez, A.G., Pickett, A., Purinton, A.B., and Farley-Ripple, E.N. (2024). Initiating and sustaining partnerships between research and practice: Lessons learned from school and district leaders. School-University Partnerships, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. 

Honors and Awards 

• Dean’s Award, College of Education and Human Development, University of Delaware, 2022-2026
• Graduate Advisory Committee Award for Excellence, West Chester University, 2022