Biography
Nathan Durdella’s (he/him/his) work focuses on graduate education and support for students in master’s and doctoral degree programs. Nathan writes about qualitative research methodology, human participant research, and—most recently—family involvement effects on children who are graduate students. Nathan has published two books with SAGE Publishing Inc.—Conducting Research with Human Participants: An IRB Guide for Students and Faculty (2023) and Qualitative Dissertation Methodology: A Guide for Research Design and Procedures (2019)—and has previously authored or co-authored journal articles, chapters in edited volumes, blog posts, and more. Nathan is a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at California State University, Northridge, where he advises doctoral students, supervises doctoral student dissertation studies, and teaches graduate-level courses. Nathan has a Ph.D. in education from UCLA.
Academic Social Media
Nathan Durdella's academic social media sites can be found here: LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Academia.edu, ORCID, SAGE, MethodSpace, Amazon Author, GoodReads.
Education
Ph.D. in Education, 2006
University of California Los Angeles
School of Education & Information Studies
Division of Higher Education and Organizational Change
M.A. in Education, 2003
University of California Los Angeles
School of Education & Information Studies
Division of Higher Education and Organizational Change
M.A. in Latin American Studies, 2000
University of California Los Angeles
Latin American Studies Interdisciplinary Program
B.A. in Sociology and Political Science, 1998
University of California Los Angeles
College of Letters and Science
Academic Experience
Professor, August 2019-present
Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Michael D. Eisner College of Education
California State University, Northridge
Director of Doctoral Programs, August 2020-January 2024
Ed.D. in Educational Leadership Program
Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Michael D. Eisner College of Education
California State University, Northridge
Associate Professor, August 2014-August 2019
Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Michael D. Eisner College of Education
California State University, Northridge
Assistant Professor, August 2009-July 2014
Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Michael D. Eisner College of Education
California State University, Northridge
Visiting Assistant Professor (Non-Tenure Track), July 2008-August 2009
Benerd College, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California
Related Professional Experience
Project Manager, Grant Research, January 2009-August 2009
Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, California
Office of Institutional Research
Director of Research and Planning, 2006-2009
Cerritos College, Norwalk, California
Office of Research and Planning
Publications
Books (Peer-Reviewed)
Durdella, N. (2023). Conducting research with human participants: An IRB guide for students and faculty. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Durdella, N. (2019). Qualitative dissertation methodology: A guide for research design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Chapters in Edited Volumes (Peer-Reviewed)
Ghaus-Kelley, H. & Durdella, N. (2018). Understanding leadership with women community college executives. In Kirsti Cole and Holly Hassel (Eds.), Surviving sexism in academia: Strategies for feminist leadership. New York: Routledge.
Franco, J., & Durdella, N. (2018, March). The influence of social and family backgrounds on college transition experiences of foster youth. In Delores E. McNair and Stacy Heldman-Holguin(Eds.), New Directions for Community Colleges, 181.
Articles (Peer-Reviewed)
Michel, R. & Durdella, N. (2018): Exploring Latino/a college students’ transition experiences: An ethnography of social preparedness and familial support, Journal of Latinos and Education, DOI: 10.1080/15348431.2017.1418356
Korgan, C, & Durdella N. (2016, April). Exploring capacity for meaning-making in relation to educational resilience in first-year, full-time college students. Journal of The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 28(1), 109-127.
Korgan, C., Durdella, N., & Stevens, M. (2013). The development of academic self-efficacy among first-year college students in a comprehensive public university. Higher Education in Review, 10, 11-37.
Durdella, N. R., & Kim, Y. K. (2012). Understanding patterns of college outcomes among student veterans. Journal of Studies in Education, 2(2), 109-129.
Durdella, N.R. (2010, Spring). Evaluations that respond: Prescription, application, and implications of responsive evaluation theory for community college instructional support programs. Journal of Applied Research in the Community College, 17(2), 13-23.
Sheldon, C.Q., & Durdella, N.R. (2010, January-February). Success rates for students taking compressed and regular length developmental courses in the community college. Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 34(1/2), 39-54.
Entries in Reference Collections (Non-Peer-Reviewed)
Durdella, N.R. (2012). GI Bills. In J.A. Banks (Ed.), Encyclopedia of diversity in education. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Sheldon, C.Q., & Durdella, N.R. (2006, Summer). Key resources on benchmarking in community colleges. New Directions for Community Colleges, 134, pp. 91-98.
Book Reviews (Non-Peer-Reviewed)
Rhoads, R.A., & Durdella, N. (2005, March/April). Power and politics in university governance: Organization and change at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (review). Journal of Higher Education, 76(2), 234-237.
Blog posts (Non-Peer-Reviewed)
Durdella, N. (2022, August). Ethical research with individuals and groups who have been historically excluded. Methodspace by SAGE Publishing. https://www.methodspace.com.
Durdella, N. (2022, June). Using new and emerging methods in your work: Challenging dominant research approaches and building rigorous research frameworks. Methodspace by SAGE Publishing. https://www.methodspace.com.
Blog posts (Non-Peer-Reviewed)
Durdella, N. (2022, March). Relationally approaching fieldwork: Using Indigenous methodologies as ethical practices in the context of human participant research. Methodspace by SAGE Publishing. https://www.methodspace.com.
Durdella, N. (2018, June). Sharing story ownership in qualitative research. Methodspace by SAGE Publishing. https://www.methodspace.com.
Technical Reports (Non-Peer-Reviewed)
Durdella, N., Durdella, C.Q., Paez, J.M., & Saxena, P. (May 2021). Summary report of campus climate for employees in Fall 2020 at California State University Channel Islands. Camarillo, California: California State University, Channel Islands.
Durdella, N. Durdella, C.Q., Paez, J.M., & Saxena, P. (May 2021). Summary report of campus climate for students in Fall 2020 at California State University Channel Islands. Camarillo, California: California State University, Channel Islands.
Durdella, N. (November 2019). Summary report of a thematic analysis of open-ended responses from the Spring 2018 Campus Climate Survey at California State University, Channel Islands. Camarillo, California: California State University, Channel Islands.
Academic Videos (Non-Peer-Reviewed)
Durdella, N. (Academic). (2018). Key skills in writing a qualitative research proposal[Streaming video]. Retrieved from SAGE Research Methods.
Durdella, N. (Academic). (2018). Developing skills in formulating qualitative research questions [Streaming video]. Retrieved from SAGE Research Methods.
Select Presentations
Heinrich, H. & Durdella, N. (2021, May 5). Exploring factors that shape faculty decisions to adopt learning management systems in face-to-face classes in large public universities. [Conference presentation/virtual]. Fourteenth International Conference on e-Learning & Innovative Pedagogies, University of Aegean, Rhodes, Greece and virtual.
Cohen, R. & Durdella, N. (2021, April 10). Exploring how social media marketing practices in community college academic programs shape student engagement.[Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association 2021, virtual.
Johnson, D. & Durdella, N. (2021, April 12). Untapped and unstoppable: Exploring the experiences of Black undergraduate women in engineering and computer science. [Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association 2021, virtual.
Durdella, N. (January 4, 2020). Exploring research participation of first-year and first-time transfer Latinx undergraduate students in engineering and computer science fields: A community cultural wealth study of aspirational and navigational capital in college transitions. [Conference presentation]. Hawaii International Education Conference, Waikiki, Hawaii.
Durdella, N., Ramesh, S.K., Ryan R., Lawrence, C., & Montes Alvarado, A. (2017, October). The role of validation for low-Income Latino/a engineering transfer students. [Conference presentation]. 24th National Conference on Students in Transition, Costa Mesa, California.
Ozaki, C.C., Spaid, R.L., Cohen, A., Durdella, N., Horton, D., & Zamani-Gallaher, E. (2016, April). New Directions in Publishing: The Ins and Outs of Publishing in New Direction for Community Colleges. [Conference presentation]. 58th Annual Conference for the Council of the Study of Community Colleges., Plano, Texas.
Ryan, R., Durdella, N. & Cortez, R. (2014, March). Increasing the STEM pipeline: A community college/CSUN partnership. [Conference presentation]. 6th Annual Conference of the Association of Hispanic-Serving Institution Educators, La Verne, California.
Durdella, N., Korgan, C., & Stevens, M. (2013, June). The development of academic self-efficacy among first-year college students in a comprehensive public university. Paper presented at the 26th International Conference on the First-Year Experience, Waikaloa, Hawaii.
Durdella, N.R., & Kim, Y.K. (2011, April). A predictive study of veterans’ educational benefits use: Implications for policy and practice. [Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Durdella, N.R., & Sheldon, C.Q. (2009, November). A self-assessment stakeholder toolkit: Using inventories to understand stakeholder research skills, experiences, and interests in educational evaluation and learning outcomes assessment. [Conference presentation]. Annual Meeting of the American Evaluation Association. Orlando, Florida.
Durdella, N.R. (2006, April). Responsive evaluation theory: Prescription, application, and implications for the evaluation of community college instructional support programs. [Conference presentation]. 48th Annual Meeting of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges, Long Beach, California.
Sheldon, C.Q., & Durdella, N.R. (2009, April). The long and short of it: An examination of success rates for students taking compressed and regular length developmental courses. [Conference presentation]. 51st Annual Meeting of the Council for the Study of Community Colleges, Phoenix, Arizona.
Invited Talks
Durdella, N. (2022, August 5). Five successful strategies to develop qualitative dissertation methodology and secure IRB protocol approval. [Invited talk]. Doctorate in Educational Leadership Program, Sacramento State University, Sacramento, California.
Durdella, N. (2021, November). Exploring the foundations of qualitative research: from traditions to patriarchy, sexism, and racism. [Invited talk]. Department of Social Work, California State University, Northridge, virtual (via Zoom).
Durdella, N. (2021, April 15). Academic publishing for graduate students: Seven strategies for success. [Invited talk]. College of Media, Communication and Information University of Colorado, Boulder, virtual (via Zoom).
Durdella, N. (2018, November 9). Disseminating scholarship with academic publishers: Seven strategies for success. [Invited talk]. Learning Community for Research and Publication, Central Piedmont Community College, virtual (via WebEx).
Durdella, N. (2017, July 11) Exploring the development of higher education in the U.S. [Invited talk]. Visiting students and scholars from Shanghai, China. California State University, Northridge
Durdella, N. (2016, July). Exploring community college education in California. [Invited talk]. Iowa State University (instructor: Zoe Thornton), virtual (via video).
Durdella, N. (2016, July 12) Exploring the development of higher education in the U.S. [Invited talk]. Visiting students and scholars from Shanghai, China. California State University, Northridge
Select Sponsored Projects
Evaluator, 2023-present
Strengthening Equitable Culturally Responsive Environments” (SECURE) for Student Success: Using a Servingness Model to Support Hispanic and Underrepresented Students
California State University, Northridge
Funded by Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) Program – Title V, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education
Evaluator, 2016-2022
Bridging the Gap: Enhancing AIMS2 (Attract, Inspire, Mentor and Support Students) for Student Success
College of Engineering and Computer Science – California State University, Northridge
Funded by Hispanic-Serving Institutions - Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics and Articulation Programs, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education
Co-Principal Investigator and Evaluator, October 2019-September 2021
Attract, Inspire, Mentor, and Support Students-Future Teachers in STEM (AIMS-FT-STEM)
Supplemental Award to Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Attract, Inspire, Mentor, and Support Students (AIMS2) for Student Success
Title III Hispanic-Serving Institutions – Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Articulation Program, Office of Postsecondary Education,
U.S. Department of Education
Co-Principal Investigator and Evaluator, October 2011-September 2017
Attract, Inspire, Mentor and Support Students—AIMS2
College of Engineering and Computer Science – California State University, Northridge
Funded by Hispanic-Serving Institutions - Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics and Articulation Programs, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education
Select Professional Service
Reviewer (2023), Diversifying and Decolonizing Research [Online Library Content], SAGE Research Methods
Reviewer, Council for the Study of Community Colleges 58th Annual Conference, March 31-April 2, 2016 "Contexts, Methods, and Foundations"Strand, and 2009-2010.
Reviewer, SAGE Publications, Inc. Qualitative Research: Analyzing Life, December 2016
Associate Editor, New Directions for Community Colleges. April 2013-December 2019
Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Community College Review, April 2008-April 2011
Professional Memberships
American Educational Research Association (AERA), Division J
Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE)
Latin American Center Associates, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
Fellowships and Awards
Fellow, 2010-2011
CSUN Academic Affairs Research Fellows Program
Michael D. Eisner College of Education
California State University, Northridge
Recipient, 2007
Award for Excellence in Dissertation Research
Research and Planning Group for the California Community Colleges