10/23/2026
By Zakkiyya Witherspoon

The School of Education invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense in Leadership in Education by Melanie Pavao titled “From Problem to Solution: The Influence of Policy Narratives on Teacher Licensure Reform in Idaho, Arizona and New Jersey.”

Defense details

  • Defense date: Friday, Nov. 6, 2026
  • Time: 10:30 a.m.
  • Location:Zoom meeting

Committee member

  • Co-chair: Jack Schneider, Ph.D., Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  • Co-chair: Alex J. Angulo, Ed.D., Professor, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Committee member: James Nehring, Ed.D., Professor Emeritus, School of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Committee member: Dorothea Anagnostopoulos, Ph.D., Professor, Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut

Abstract

This dissertation addresses the following question: How do policy narratives shape teacher licensure reform? Between 2020 and 2022, at least 38 states proposed easing requirements for teacher licensure with varying outcomes. Policy proposals ranged from greater flexibility in licensure requirements, such as Praxis exam cut scores and minimum GPA, to creating pathways that completely eliminated pedagogical preparation requirements. In each case, policy actors developed narratives to frame the need for licensure reform and the proposed solution. In order to guide their policy proposals to successful passage within the legislature, these policy actors had to narrowly define and demonstrate strong alignment between the policy problem and proposed solution to find success. Using Idaho, New Jersey, and Arizona as case studies, this dissertation uses the Narrative Policy Framework to examine how narrative framing ultimately influenced the trajectory and outcome of each proposed teacher licensure policy reform. The results suggest that narrative scope and alignment function as policy levers contributing to the viability of a policy solution. In doing so, it contributes to our understanding of how policy narratives shape the adoption, modification, or rejection of education policy across states.