Research Interests
Ana Elfers
Dr. Elfers presently researches issues of teaching quality and the teacher workforce, particularly within the context of Washington state. She is interested in research and analyses that can help sharpen the questions that state and district policymakers need as they consider ways to improve the equity of access to a high quality education for Washington’s school children. Other research interests include professional development, school community, teacher and school leadership, and in the ways in which these can support effective teaching, and ultimately learning for students. Dr. Elfers has lived, worked, and studied extensively overseas, and has a continuing interest in international issues in education, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe.
For more information on Dr. Elfers’s research, please visit the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy
Elfers, A. M. Plecki, M. L., Kim, Y.W. & Bei, N. (2022): How retention and mobility rates differ for teachers of colour, Teachers and Teaching, DOI:
10.1080/13540602.2022.2098271
Elfers, A. M., Plecki, M. L., & Ungco, C. (2022). Creating a Sustainable Web of Support for Early Career Teachers: Examining Induction and Mentoring Practices in Washington State. Seattle WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington.
Elfers, A. M., & Plecki, M. L. (2021). Working Toward Educational Justice at State and District Levels: Perspectives of Educational Leaders. College of Education, University of Washington.
Varghese, M., Elfers, A. M., & Plecki, M. L. (2021). A Roadmap to Reducing Barriers to Educational Justice in Washington State. College of Education, University of Washington.
Elfers, A. M., Plecki, M. L., Bei, N., & Kim, Y. (2020). Examining the Beginning Teacher Workforce in Washington State: An Update with a Special Focus on Teachers of Color. Seattle WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington.
Elfers, A. M. & Plecki, M. L. (2019). Hiring and Educator Workforce Issues in Washington's Comprehensive Support Schools. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington.
Elfers, A. M. & Plecki, M. L. (2019). School Leaders and Teacher Evaluation: Learning, Leading, and Balancing Responsiblities. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington.
Elfers, A. M. & Plecki, M. L. (2017). Washington’s teacher and principal evaluation system: Examining the implementation of a complex policy. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington.
Plecki, M. L., Elfers, A. M., & Van Windekens, A. (2017). Examining Beginning Teacher Retention and Mobility in Washington State. Research commissioned by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington.
Elfers, A. M., Plecki, M. L., & Van Windekens, A. (2017). Understanding Teacher Retention and Mobility in Washington State. Research commissioned by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington. Download Report.
Plecki, M. L., Elfers, A. M. & Wills, K. (2017). Understanding Principal Retention and Mobility in Washington State. Research commissioned by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington. Download Report.
Elfers, A. M. & Plecki, M. L. (2016). The role of a district teacher leadership program in supporting school and district improvement initiatives, The WERA Educational Journal, 9(1), 3-13).
Plecki, M. L., Elfers, A. M., St. John, E., & Yeh, T. L. (2016). “Practitioners’ responses to Washington’s required use of student growth measures in teacher evaluation,” in Kimberly Kappler Hewitt & Audrey Amrein-Beardsley, eds., Student Growth Measures in Policy and Practice: Intended and Unintended Consequences of High-Stakes Teacher Evaluations. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Plecki, M. L., Elfers, A. M. & Yeh, T. L. (2015). Washington's Teacher and Principal Evaluation System: Efforts to Support Professional Development. Research commissioned by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public. Seattle, WA: Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy, University of Washington.
Elfers, A. M. & Plecki, M. L. (2014). Results of a state incentive program on the supply and distribution of National Board Certified Teachers, Leadership and Policy in Schools,13(2), 147-168.
Elfers, A. M., & Stritikus, T. (2014). How leaders build systems of support for classroom teachers working with English language learners. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50(2), 305-344.
Elfers, A. M., Lucero, A. Stritikus, T., & Knapp, M. S. (2013). Building systems of support for classroom teachers working with English language learners. International Multilingual Research Journal, 7(2), 1-20.
Plecki, M. L., St. John, E., & Elfers, A. M. (2013). Examining the views of undergraduate STEM majors regarding K-12 teaching as a profession. Teacher Education and Practice, 26(4), 739-759.
Plecki, M. L., Elfers, A. M., & Nakamura, Y. (2012). The role of value-added measures in an evidence-based framework for improving teacher education and development. Journal of Teacher Education, 63(5), 318-334.
Loeb, H., Elfers, A. M., & Plecki, M. L. (2010). Possibilities and potential for improving instructional leadership: Examining the views of National Board Teachers. Theory into Practice, 49(3), 223-232.
Loeb, H. L., Knapp, M. S., & Elfers, A. M. (2008). Teachers’ response to standards-based reform: Probing reform assumptions in Washington State. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 16(8). Retrieved 4/41/08 from http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v16n8/.
Elfers, A .M., Plecki, M. L., & Knapp, M. S. (2006). Teacher mobility: Looking more closely at ‘the movers’ within a state system. Peabody Journal of Education, 18(3), 94-127.