Research

I study leadership, collaboration, and organizational change in complex environments. Much of my work – including that which addresses education in contexts of homelessness – is situated in settings where individuals and/or organizations from different sectors attempt to work together toward achieving some specific end(s). I consider how collaborative planning, implementation, and outcomes are affected by issues such as leadership, organizational culture, and social capital. I also examine multi-level issues of leadership in athletics. I consider how athletics contributes to institutional missions and the cultivation of opportunity for students.

Selected Publications

  • Miller, P., Scanlan, M., & Phillippo, K. (in press). Rural cross-sector collaboration: A social frontier analysis. American Educational Research Journal. (Centennial Issue)
  • Miller, P. (in press). Brokering leadership in complex environments. Pedagogia Social. (English and Spanish versions)
  • Pavlakis, A., Goff, P., Miller, P. (in press). Contextualizing the impacts of homelessness on academic growth. Teachers College Record.
  • Hopson, R., Miller, P., & Lovelace, T. (2016). Community-University Partnerships as Vehicles of Radical Leadership, Service and Activism. Leadership & Policy in Schools.
  • Miller, P., Pavlakis, A., Samartino, L., Bourgeois, A. (2015). Educational opportunity for homeless students. Focus, Institute for Research on Poverty, 0195-5705, 6-11.
  • Miller, P., Pavlakis, A., Samartino, L., & Bourgeois, A. (2015). Brokering opportunity for homeless students. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education.
  • Hallett, R., Miller, P. & Skrla, L. (2015). Homeless and highly mobile students: Equity, access, and institutional response. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education.
  • Miller, P., Pavlakis, A., Lac, V., & Hoffman, D. (2014). Responding to Poverty and Its Complex Challenges: The Importance of Policy Fluency for Educational Leaders. Theory into Practice.
  • Miller, P. & Bourgeois, A. (2013). Considering the Geographic Dispersion of Homeless and Highly Mobile Students and Families. Educational Researcher.
  • Miller, P., Wills, N., & Scanlan, M. (2013).Educational Leadership on the Social Frontier: Promise Neighborhoods in Urban and Tribal Settings. Educational Administration Quarterly.
  • Miller, P. (2013). Families’ Experiences in Different Homeless and Highly Mobile Settings:            Implications for School and Community Practice. Education and Urban Society.
  • Miller, P. (2013). Educating (More and More) Students Experiencing Homelessness: Recession Era Considerations. Educational Policy.
  • Miller, P., Diaz-Gibson, J., Balslev, G., & Scanlan, M. (2013). Looking Beyond Harlem: International Insights for Area-Based Initiatives. Middle School Journal.
  • Scanlan, M. & Miller, P. (2013). In Fits and Starts: Learning to Create a Neighborhood Educational Opportunity Zone. Teachers College Record.
  • Miller, P. (2012). Mapping Educational Opportunity Zones: A Geospatial Analysis of Neighborhood Block Groups. The Urban Review.
  • Miller, P., Pavlakis, A., Bourgeois, A. (2013). Homelessness here? A district administrator encounters an unexpected challenge. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership.
  • Miller, P. & Schreiber, J. (2012). Multi-Level Considerations of Education in the Midst of the Escalating Homeless Crisis. Journal of School Leadership.
  • Miller, P. (2011). A Critical Review of the Research on Student Homelessness. Review of Educational Research.
  • Miller, P. (2011). Homeless Families’ Education Networks: An Examination of Access and Mobilization. Educational Administration Quarterly.
  • Miller, P., Brown, T., Hopson, R. (2011). Centering Love, Humility, Hope, and Faith in the Community: Transformative Urban Leadership Informed by Paulo Freire. Urban Education.
  • Miller, P. (2011). Youth entrepreneurship at the Richardson Community Center: A capital theory-based examination. Education and Urban Society.
  • Miller, P. (2011). The impact of the McKinney-Vento Act upon the homeless education situation. Educational Policy.
  • Miller, P. (2011). Homeless Education and Social Capital: An Examination of School and Community Leaders. Teachers College Record.
  • Miller, P. & Engel, M. (2011). Forging vertical linkages in the public sphere: Schools, churches, and social justice. Educational Foundations.
  • Miller, P. (2009). Boundary spanning in the homeless education situation: Notes from an emergent faculty role in Pittsburgh. Educational Administration Quarterly.
  • Miller, P. (2009). Leadership and collaboration for homeless students: Examining community perceptions. The Urban Review.
  • Miller, P. (2008). Examining Boundary Spanning Leaders in Community Contexts.  International Journal of Leadership in Education,11 (4), 353-377.
  • Miller, P. & Hafner, M. (2008). Moving toward dialogical collaboration: A critical examination of a university-school-community partnership. Educational Administration Quarterly, 44 (1), 66-110.
  • Miller, P., Caponigro, J, & Tyson, L. (2008). Centering Faith-Based Identities in Collaborative Contexts: Critically-Prophetic Action at the Robinson Community Learning Center. Christian Higher Education, 7, 185-199.
  • Engel, M. & Miller, P. (2008). Personal Faith and Public Religious Neutrality: A Brief History of the Separation of Church and State for School Leaders, Academic Leadership, 6( 2).
  • Miller, P. (2008). Neighbors engaged in dialogue: The Rogers Center and the Northeast Neighborhood. Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, 12 (1), 71-95.
  • Miller, P. & Engel, M. (2008). Critically Prophetic Action in the Public Square: Transformational Insights for School and Community Leaders. Academic Leadership, 6 (2).
  • Miller, P. (2008). Objectivity. Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods.
  • Miller, P. (2008). Reliability. Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods.
  • Miller, P. (2008). Social Justice. Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods.
  • Miller, P. (2008). Validity. Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods.
  • Miller, P. (2007). Examining boundary spanning leadership in university-school-community partnerships. Journal of School Public Relations, 28 (2), 189-211.
  • Miller, P. (2007). Getting on the balcony to see the patterns on the dance floor below: Considering organizational culture in a university-school-community partnership. Journal of School Leadership, 17 (2), 222-245.
  • Alonzo, J., Bushy, L., Gardner, D., Hasazi, S., Johnstone, C., &  Miller, P. (2006, May). Connecting leaders, families, and communities: Broadening leadership preparation through community-family internships.  Equity and Excellence in Education, 39 (2).
  • Miller, P. (2006). Viewing leadership succession through an organizational socialization lens. The College Quarterly, spring.
  • Miller, P. (2006). Striving For Mutual Collaboration:  The Case of Mountain University and the Westside. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, June.
  • Miller, P. (2005). Dialogue facilitating collaboration: A critical perspective.  Journal of School Public Relations, 26 (1).
  • Welch, M., Miller, P., & Davies, K. (2005). Reciprocal validity: Description and outcomes of a hybrid approach of triangulated qualitative analysis in the research of civic engagement.  Advances in Service-Learning Research, 5.
  • Hafner, M., Miller, P., Crow, G., & Hardman, M. (2004). Moving our thinking about family-school relationships: From deficit-based to assets-oriented. National Institute on Leadership, Disability, & Students Placed At Risk, University of Vermont.