James Noonan

James Noonan is an assistant professor in the McKeown School of Education at Salem State University, where he teaches courses in adaptive leadership, school-community partnerships, and culturally responsive teaching. His research interests include the intersection of leadership, learning, and identity as well as the dynamic effects of district- and school-level equity initiatives. Dr. Noonan holds an Ed.D. and Ed.M., both from Harvard University, and a B.A. in English and B.S. in English Education, both from Boston University. He lives in Roxbury, MA with his wife, a long-time elementary school teacher and math coach. They have two daughters enrolled in the Boston Public Schools.

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James Noonan, Ashley J. Carey, Hilary Lustick, & Peter Piazza. (2024). Safety first: The hidden curriculum of whiteness in race-conscious professional learning. Whiteness and Education.

James Noonan. (2024). “Regard me”: A case study of learner engagement and the satisfaction of basic needs in continuing professional development. Professional Development in Education, 50(5), 894-908.

Travis J. Bristol, Makaela E. Jones, & James Noonan. (2024). Mixed messages and diversity management: Misalignment between district intention and action aimed at hiring teachers of color. American Journal of Education, 130(3), 339-362. 

James Noonan. (2023). Reciprocity in practice: Using deliberative democratic theory to reframe and improve teacher professional development. In H. Haste and J. Bempechat (Eds.), New Civics, New Citizens: Critical, Competent, and Responsible Agents (pp. 182-199). Brill.

James Noonan & Peter Piazza. (2023). Accountability Systems and the Persistence of School Segregation: Research Evidence and Future Directions. Research Brief No. 16. National Coalition on School Diversity.

James Noonan & Jack Schneider. (2022). Beyond ‘good’ and ‘bad’: Disrupting narratives about school quality. Phi Delta Kappan, 104(3), 6–11. 

Jack Schneider, James Noonan, Rachel S. White, Douglas Gagnon, & Ashley Carey*. (2021).  Adding “student voice” to the mix: Perception surveys and state accountability systems. AERA Open, 7(1), 1-18

James Noonan & Travis J. Bristol. (2020). “Taking care of your own”: Parochialism, pride of place, and the drive to diversify teaching. AERA Open, 6(4), 1-12.

James Noonan. (2018).  An affinity for learning: Teacher identity and powerful professional development. Journal of Teacher Education.

Karen L. Mapp & James Noonan. (2015).  Organizing for Family and Community Engagement in the Baltimore City Public Schools (Case No. PEL-074.) Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing.

James Noonan. (2014).  In here, out there: Professional learning and the process of school improvement. Harvard Educational Review, 84 (2), 145-161.

James Noonan, Makaela E. Jones*, & Travis J. Bristol. "Meritocracy, backlash, and fatalism: Tempering discourses in teacher diversity efforts." American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO (April 2025).

James Noonan, Megin Charner-Laird, & Jacy Ippolito. "The developmental demands of leadership From state standards to leadership preparation." University Council for Educational Administration, Minneapolis, MN (November 2023).

James Noonan, Jacy Ippolito, & Megin Charner-Laird. “Leaders of learning: Adult development, teacher learning, and leadership.” International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching, University Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy (July 2023).

James Noonan, Ashley J. Carey*, Hilary Lustick, & Peter Piazza. “Safety first: Whiteness and the role of norms in race-conscious professional development.” American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL (April 2023).

James Noonan, Jacy Ippolito, & Megin Charner-Laird. “Understanding the relationship between adult development and a leadership preparation program: A pilot study.” American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL (April 2023).

James Noonan, Hilary Lustick, Ashley J. Carey*, & Peter Piazza. “Facilitating change: How leaders’ (non-)enforcement of norms shape the quality of race-conscious professional learning.” University Council for Educational Administration, Seattle, WA (November 2022).

Megin Charner-Laird, James Noonan, Jacy Ippolito, & Christina L. Dobbs. “Becoming a community of novices: How teacher agency bolstered professional learning in a pandemic context.” American Educational Research Association, San Diego, CA (April 2022).

James Noonan. “(Re-)learning to lead: Helping educators manage crises of professional identity and loss.” International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, virtual meeting (March 2021).

James Noonan, Travis J. Bristol, & Makaela E. Jones, “‘Taking care of our own’: Parochialism, pride of place, and the drive to diversify teaching.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Toronto (April 2019).

James Noonan & Jack Schneider, “A technical problem, a just solution: School quality measurement as a tool for social justice and equity.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Moral Education, Barcelona, Spain (November 2018).

James Noonan, “An affinity for learning: Teacher identity and powerful professional learning.” Paper presented at the 18th Biennial Conference of the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain (July 2017).