Taylor V. Gara
Ph.D. Candidate
School of Education
Email: tgara@uci.edu
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-gara
Ph.D. Candidate
School of Education
Email: tgara@uci.edu
Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/taylor-gara
Biography
Taylor Gara is a fifth-year doctoral candidate studying education policy at the University of California, Irvine. Her research aims to use rigorous research methods to evaluate critical issues in educational policy, with an expertise in visual and performing arts education in K-12 public school contexts.
Her current work leverages panel data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics to investigate the effects of federal educational policy reforms on the state of arts education programs in K-12 public institutions. Taylor has also designed and implemented a longitudinal, mixed-methods research project to evaluate the impact of high school dance education programs on adolescents’ college and career readiness and motivation. This university-community project is in partnership with the Santa Ana Unified School District.
Her previous research, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with researchers at George Mason University, examined adolescents’ persistence and selection into music, visual art, drama, and dance courses in middle school, and the achievement differences of students enrolled in arts-related coursework, compared with non-arts students.
Taylor received her B.S. in Psychology from Old Dominion University, and her M.A in Applied Developmental Psychology from George Mason University. Taylor began dance training in ballet, jazz, and modern in her early adolescence. While attending community college, she served as a dance instructor teaching Pointe and Jazz classes at a private studio. In addition to dance, Taylor obtained her 200hr yoga teacher certification in 2016 and enjoys practicing yoga and playing with her dog in her free time.
Publications
Gara, T. V., Farkas, G., & Brouillette, L. (in press) Did consequential accountability polices decrease the share of visual and performing arts education in U.S. public secondary schools during the No Child Left Behind era? Arts Education Policy Review.
Gara, T. V., & Winsler, A. (2020). Selection into, and academic benefits from, middle school dance elective courses among urban youth. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. 14(4), 433–450.
Winsler, A., Gara, T. V., Alegrado, A., Castro, S., & Tavassolie, T. (2019). Selection into, and academic benefits from, arts-related courses in middle school for low-income, ethnically diverse youth. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. 14(4), 415–432.
Gara, T. V., Brouillette, L., & Farkas, G. (2018). Did the frequency of early elementary classroom arts instruction decrease after no child left behind? If so, for whom? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 45 (4), 263-276.
Gara, T. V., & Winsler, A. (2018). Art. In M. Bornstein (Ed.) The SAGE Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development. New York, NY: Sage Publications.
Working Papers
Gara, T. V., & Winsler, A. (working paper). Who is taking dance electives, when, and for how long? Adolescent dance participation in middle and high school. To be submitted to the Journal of Research in Dance Education.
Gara, T. V. (working paper). The association between high school dance elective enrollment and Hispanic adolescents’ college and career readiness.
December 2020
Taylor Gara is a fifth-year doctoral candidate studying education policy at the University of California, Irvine. Her research aims to use rigorous research methods to evaluate critical issues in educational policy, with an expertise in visual and performing arts education in K-12 public school contexts.
Her current work leverages panel data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics to investigate the effects of federal educational policy reforms on the state of arts education programs in K-12 public institutions. Taylor has also designed and implemented a longitudinal, mixed-methods research project to evaluate the impact of high school dance education programs on adolescents’ college and career readiness and motivation. This university-community project is in partnership with the Santa Ana Unified School District.
Her previous research, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts in collaboration with researchers at George Mason University, examined adolescents’ persistence and selection into music, visual art, drama, and dance courses in middle school, and the achievement differences of students enrolled in arts-related coursework, compared with non-arts students.
Taylor received her B.S. in Psychology from Old Dominion University, and her M.A in Applied Developmental Psychology from George Mason University. Taylor began dance training in ballet, jazz, and modern in her early adolescence. While attending community college, she served as a dance instructor teaching Pointe and Jazz classes at a private studio. In addition to dance, Taylor obtained her 200hr yoga teacher certification in 2016 and enjoys practicing yoga and playing with her dog in her free time.
Publications
Gara, T. V., Farkas, G., & Brouillette, L. (in press) Did consequential accountability polices decrease the share of visual and performing arts education in U.S. public secondary schools during the No Child Left Behind era? Arts Education Policy Review.
Gara, T. V., & Winsler, A. (2020). Selection into, and academic benefits from, middle school dance elective courses among urban youth. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. 14(4), 433–450.
Winsler, A., Gara, T. V., Alegrado, A., Castro, S., & Tavassolie, T. (2019). Selection into, and academic benefits from, arts-related courses in middle school for low-income, ethnically diverse youth. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. 14(4), 415–432.
Gara, T. V., Brouillette, L., & Farkas, G. (2018). Did the frequency of early elementary classroom arts instruction decrease after no child left behind? If so, for whom? Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 45 (4), 263-276.
Gara, T. V., & Winsler, A. (2018). Art. In M. Bornstein (Ed.) The SAGE Encyclopedia of Lifespan Human Development. New York, NY: Sage Publications.
Working Papers
Gara, T. V., & Winsler, A. (working paper). Who is taking dance electives, when, and for how long? Adolescent dance participation in middle and high school. To be submitted to the Journal of Research in Dance Education.
Gara, T. V. (working paper). The association between high school dance elective enrollment and Hispanic adolescents’ college and career readiness.
December 2020
