Kelly Wickersham

Research Associate

Kelly Wickersham is a research associate at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER), where she is part of a research team on the Contextualize to Learn (C2L) and Crisis as Catalyst for Change and Innovation (CCCI) projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Dr. Wickersham received her doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017. Kelly’s research interests focus on qualitative and mixed methods exploration of community college student pathways, mobility, and success in higher education, as well as community college STEM education, experiences, transfer, and completion.

Selected Publications

Wickersham, K., & Wang, X. (2021). Making sense to make change: How community college faculty perceptions of math contextualization shape instructional change. Community College Review. https://doi.org/10.1177/00915521211047671

Wickersham, K. (2020). Where to go from here? Toward a model of two-year college students’ postsecondary pathway selection. Community College Review, 48(2), 107-132.

Wang, X., & Wickersham, K. (2019). Women, community colleges, and STEM careers. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2019(179), 71-88.

Wang, X., Wickersham, K., Lee, Y., & Chan, H. -Y. (2018). Exploring sources and influences of social capital on community college students’ first-year success: Does age make a difference? Teachers College Record, 120(10).

Wang, X., Wickersham, K., & Sun, N. (2017). The evolving landscape of transfer research: Reconciling what we know in preparation for a new era of heightened promise and complexity. New Directions for Institutional Research, 2017(170), 115-121.

Wickersham, K., & Wang, X. (2016). What’s life got to do with it? The role of life experiences in shaping female community college students’ transfer intent in STEM fields of study. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 40(12), 1001-1012.

Current Projects

Crisis as Catalyst for Change and Innovation - Targeted Research on Institutional Response and Enduring Impacts on Advanced Technological Education

A Transformative Mixed Methods Study of and With Community College Students Navigating Mental Health Issues

Completed Projects

Expanding STEM Talent Through Upward Transfer: Factors Influencing Transfer in STEM Fields from Two-Year to Four-Year Institutions

Contextualize to Learn: Preparing Faculty Toward Math Contextualization for Student Sucess in Advanced Technological Education

Contact Information

krconrad@wisc.edu
Office: 677 Ed Sciences