EDUCATION
| Degree | Area of Study | University |
|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Leadership & Policy Studies | Vanderbilt University |
| M.Ed. | Education | Vanderbilt University |
| B.Ec. | Economics | Sichuan University |
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Economics of Education
Education Policy
Program Evaluation
Causal Inference and Machine Learning
Teacher Effectiveness and Professional Development
Family Educational Investment
Student Achievement
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Andy Zhang is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership, Policy, and Economics at The University of Alabama. His research examines educational inequalities using large-scale experimental, quasi-experimental, and machine learning methods, with a focus on understanding how leadership actions and system-level policies shape teaching quality, family engagement systems, and student learning. Grounded in an evidence-driven approach, he develops clear hypotheses about how policies may improve teaching and student outcomes, designs interventions to test these ideas in real organizational settings, rigorously measures their effects, and, when the interventions are effective, identifies pathways for sustainable, system-level implementation.