Kemi Oyewole

Bio

Dr. Kemi Oyewole is an academic researcher specializing in educational leadership. Her research at Penn focuses on the emergence and persistence of instructional coaching roles in K12 schools across the United States. She investigates whether coaching expanded to mimic the private sector, prepare schools for standardized test-based accountability, secure funding, or provide emotional support to teachers. Leveraging the resources and networks at Penn, including the newly established McGraw Center for Educational Leadership and the Penn Civic House, she will work with Dr. Rand Quinn to incorporate critical political perspectives into her study.

Dr. Oyewole’s commitment to fostering equitable K12 schools led her to explore how professional learning networks can support instructional coaches. Using a mixed-methods approach, she examines how these networks can provide low-cost, organic tools for promoting professional learning. Her dissertation further investigates the role of instructional coaches in school improvement through participant observations, interviews, and survey data.

Dr. Oyewole’s diverse academic background has laid the groundwork for her research and commitment to justice in academia. Actively involved in community engagement, she has organized events to discuss training for collaborative research and has served on various committees advocating for equity and inclusion. Her life experiences and dedication to justice shape her teaching and service, exemplified by her efforts to integrate practitioners and communities into the research process and promote institutional change.