Erin Suzanne Huggins

About Erin
Erin Huggins is a Research Associate on the Friday Institute Research and Evaluation (FIRE) Team. Mrs. Huggins has over fifteen years of experience in the field of education as a special education teacher, a graduate research assistant in NC State’s College of Education, and an educational researcher and evaluator for the Friday Institute for Educational Innovation at NC State University. She is currently working to complete her PhD in Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and a minor in Educational Psychology at NC State University and holds a Masters degree in Special Education.
Mrs. Huggins has extensive evaluation experience working with K-12 schools and districts, institutes of higher education, state-level organization, and nonprofit organizations. Recent evaluation projects include work with Durham Public Schools; The Broadband Infrastructure Office’s Homework Gap Hotspot initiative and ARC Telehealth Grant; PBS North Carolina’s CPB/Kirby Grant, At-Home Learning Initiative, Kenan Rootle Ambassador Grant, and the Glaxosmithkline Science Grant; NC New Teacher Support Program; Digital Durham; DPI’s School Business System Modernization Initiative; Wake Tech’s IMLS Homework Gap Grant; and NC Charter Charter Schools’ NC ACCESS Grant.
Her research interests focus on digital equity, new teacher support, teacher efficacy and motivation, and improving educational opportunities in rural and underserved communities. She has presented, at national conferences, to state-level stakeholders, and to media outlets about the digital divide in North Carolina, and she is a member of several digital inclusion groups at the state and national levels.
Updates
-
Friday Institute Partners with NCCU, IEI to Help NCDIT Develop Digital Equity Plan for North Carolina
In partnership with North Carolina Central University and the Institute for Emerging Issues, the Program Evaluation and Education Research (PEER) Group at the Friday Institute will lead the effort to manage the development of a Digital Equity Asset Inventory for North Carolina, conduct a series of listening sessions across the state and facilitate the implementation and analysis of a statewide digital equity survey to help the North Carolina Department of Information Technology Division of Broadband and Digital Equity (NCDIT) develop a five-year digital equity plan.
-
New Research on Literacy Teaching Innovations During the COVID-19 Pandemic Highlights Model for Broadcast Pedagogy
A recent research study published by Friday Institute staff highlights how literacy classroom instructional approaches can be adapted for television through the concept of broadcast pedagogy.
-
Through a Mutually-Beneficial Model, the Friday Institute PEER Group is Making Space for Historically Marginalized Students in Education Research and Evaluation
In 2020, the PEER Group launched an internship program for undergraduate students that allowed student interns to receive training in leadership, educational research and evaluation techniques while contributing to PEER Group projects.