Education Ph.D. candidate aims to shed light on the need to provide teachers with better support in teaching writing and the best ways to make it happen. Juliet Wahleithner, former high school English teacher, hopes to hold an academic position that combines both of her passions. “I very much enjoy engaging in research, but, as a former high school teacher, I also enjoy having opportunities to teach,” she said.

An education at the University of California, Davis comes with a lot of opportunities, both as an undergrad and graduate student. Wahleithner encourages students to take advantage of all of them. “I did my undergraduate degree at UC Davis and was very pleased with my experience and the opportunities I had,” she said. “At the time I applied to graduate school, I was based in Sacramento, so UC Davis seemed like a natural choice.” She knew there would be experiences at her alma mater, both in her department and across the campus as a whole, which she would not have found elsewhere.

Wahleithner is currently involved with three research projects at UC Davis. With her advisor, Professor Steven Athanases, she is examining the role teacher inquiry plays in new teachers’ knowledge development. She is also working on an evaluation with the UC Evaluation Center. Under the direction of Professor Michal Kurlaender, Wahleithner is taking a look at the impact of a five-year California Academic Partnership Program grant focused on expository reading and writing at a local middle school.

For her dissertation, Wahleithner looks at how high school English teachers use knowledge of writing instruction to negotiate diverse student need and high stakes accountability pressures as they teach writing. Her information gathering included a survey of 171 high school teachers and observing eight teachers who teach in counties in Northern California.

As a Professors for the Future (PFTF) fellow, she has been able to take advantage of leadership opportunities outside of graduate school. Through PFTF, she received money that has helped her fund her dissertation research. To further her leadership development, Wahleithner attended a Summer Institute in 2011 through the UC Evaluation Center at UC Santa Barbara, which allowed her to network and gain knowledge that was useful for her work. During her studies at UC Davis, Wahleithner has also received Graduate Program Fellowships, which have helped support her financially so that she can focus on her research. She has also been a recipient of travel grants, which have enabled her to attend national conferences to share her work and continue networking with others in the field.

Wahleithner has taken her own advice by being involved in many capacities on campus. For the past four years, she has coordinated the Academic Literacy Summit, a one-day event for regional educators. “One of the things I really value from my experience at UC Davis is the opportunity I’ve had for collaboration, both with others in the School of Education and with people through the wider campus community,” she said.

When she's not busy studying, Wahleithner can be found running as a member of the Impala Racing Team, based in San Francisco.