Research Labs

Each focus area and lab is individually led by faculty and reports to the Center steering committee. Each lab or focus area(s) may include graduate research assistants or undergraduate research assistants. The individual lab or focus area faculty project leads supervises the graduate and undergraduate research assistants. Please contact each individual faculty member about their research program in their lab.

U-RESEARCH Lab

Dr. Chetanath Gautam
Contact: cgautam [at] desu.edu

The U-RESEARCH Lab (Urban and Rural Education Research Lab) is a globally focused research hub dedicated to advancing educational equity and justice in urban and rural spaces. This lab was conceptualized and led by Dr. Chetanath Gautam, through interdisciplinary research, policy analysis, and community engagement. U-RESEARCH investigates systemic disparities, amplifies marginalized voices, and promotes transformative educational practices. By examining the cultural, social, and policy-driven dynamics that shape education worldwide, the lab seeks to inform and drive meaningful change in educational access, leadership, and learning outcomes. With a commitment to equity-centered scholarship, U-RESEARCH explores global urban-rural challenges, innovative policy solutions, and the role of technology in bridging educational divides. In collaboration with educators, policymakers, and researchers, the lab generates impactful knowledge that supports inclusive and sustainable education systems. Through research, advocacy, and partnerships, U-RESEARCH envisions a world where all learners—regardless of geography or background—have access to high-quality, just, and inclusive education.

The Africana Instructional Leadership Lab (AIL-Lab)

Dr. Darren D. Rainey
Contact: drainey [at] desu.edu

The Africana Instructional Leadership Lab (AIL-Lab) focuses on strengthening the Black Teacher Pipeline. AIL-Lab aims to inspire, recruit, develop, retain, sustain, and empower a diverse, African-centered instructional leadership pipeline. The AIL-Lab programs aim to increase the number of Africana instructional leaders through a comprehensive pipeline that includes middle and high school engagement, undergraduate preparation and mentorship, in-service professional development, and leadership advancement. One of our flagship programs is Project L.E.A.D., which provides yearlong leadership development for Black male youth in Delaware high schools. Program participants engage in leadership workshops, community-building, cultural immersion, experiential learning opportunities, and mentorship, culminating in a summer experience. The Changemakers GYO program, in partnership with Rodel, offers high school students dual enrollment opportunities through a teacher pathway that gives them early exposure to college courses and the profession. The AIL-Lab also supports the Male Educator Activist Coalition (MEAC), which provides mentorship, coaching, and professional development to undergraduate male students, including participation in the Black Men in Education Convening (BMEC), the BOND Academy, and the Capital City Black Male Educator Summit. Additionally, through the BlkEd Collab, a partnership between the DSU Education Department, the Delaware Society of Black Educators (DSBE), and Noir EDU, the AIL-Lab leverages the Black Teaching Tradition to engage Delaware instructional leaders in culturally grounded community and development that centers equity, cultural competence, and systemic change, preparing educators to design culturally relevant systems that meet the needs of diverse learners.

DSU Noyce Program

Dr. Tina Mitchell
Contact: tmitchell [at] desu.edu

The Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program at DSU is led by Dr. Tina Mitchell and provides opportunities to engage in structured professional development and a career pathway to become highly effective elementary and secondary mathematics and science teachers and teacher leaders who persist as classroom teachers in high-need Local Education Agencies (LEA). The overall program goal is to increase the number of K-12 teachers with strong STEM content knowledge who teach in an LEA.

Literacy Innovation and Teaching (LIT) Lab

Dr. Christine Craddock
Contact: ccraddock [at] desu.edu

The Literacy Innovation and Teaching (LIT) Lab encompasses multidisciplinary and integrative approaches to engaging and teaching equitable literacy practices including youth development in multiple content areas. Led by Dr. Christine Craddock, she engages teacher candidates with models of culturally responsive teaching and content literacy practices as they create lesson plans and activities using related content literacy materials and methods, expanding its applications to student teaching coursework and field experiences. The literacy innovation work started as a collaborative research initiative between Dr. Craddock and her Kinesiology colleague Dr. Brittany Pinkerton, to provide a free interdisciplinary activity program in a community center in Georgia. The program promotes equitable access to holistic health and development to underrepresented youth through integrative sessions of content and disciplinary literacy exercises. They use physical activity to empower urban elementary and middle-level youth to engage in math, reading, and writing activities with agency and ownership through culturally relevant pedagogy. Plans are underway to provide access to content literacy tutoring and enrichment in partnership with DSU’s Early College Middle and High School afterschool program on campus. The first phases of tutoring and mentorship with teacher candidates began in Spring 2025. Dr. Craddock also continues this research implementing the same framework and materials in public school classrooms with practicing teachers.

Project Delaware Special Educator Certification (Project DE-SPEC).

Dr. Rachel Juergensen
Contact: rjuergensen [at] desu.edu

Project DE-SPEC is led by Dr. Rachel Juergensen and designed to address the special education teacher shortage. Project DE-SPEC will prepare approximately 64 current practicing teachers to provide effective, culturally and linguistically responsive and equitable instruction, interventions, and services to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. Using a focus on evidence-based practices and interwoven culturally responsive teaching, scholars who successfully complete the coursework in Project DE-SPEC will be eligible for K-12 special education certification through the state of Delaware. With this certification these teachers will be qualified to teach students with disabilities which will contribute to a reduction in the current special education teacher shortage in Delaware. Scholars will be given full tuition support to remove the financial burden of pursuing a certificate in special education.