Xiu Cravens, Ph.D.
Ed.D. Program
Associate Professor of the Practice
Department of Leadership, Policy and Organizations; Associate Dean for International Affairs
Xiu Cravens’ research interests focus on the analysis of educational reform policies that are particularly related to the organizational and cultural contexts of schools in the United States and other countries in the world. Her academic work has been devoted mainly to two areas: understanding the role of school leaders (principals and superintendents) in a changing policy environment, and addressing the conceptual and methodological challenges of cross-cultural comparison and generalization in international education policy research.
Recently, she participated in research studies on developing teacher capacity through shared instructional leadership in Shanghai and Tennessee, charter school effects with the National Center on School Choice, the development and validation of the Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education® (the VAL-ED), and the cross-cultural validity and reliability of the VAL-ED in Chinese urban schools. She has authored or co-authored research articles that appear in academic journals such as Comparative Education Review, Educational Administration Quarterly, Journal of Educational Administration, Elementary School Journal, Leadership and Policy in Schools, and American Journal of Education.
Xiu Cravens teaches courses in international education policy analysis and research methods as a faculty member in the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations. She holds an administrative appointment as Peabody College’s associate dean for international affairs, directs Vanderbilt’s U.S.-China Center for Education and Culture, and serves as the China liaison for the Vanderbilt International Office.