Graziella Pagliarulo McCarron

Selected Publications

Books in Print

	Zhou, S., & McCarron, G. P. (2025). From first jobs to career: Research and narratives. Cambridge University Press. Find the book HERE.
	Silver, B. R., & McCarron, G. P. (Eds.). (2024). Supporting college students of immigrant origin: New insights from research, policy, and practice. Cambridge University Press. Find the book HERE.
	Chen, C. W., McCarron, G. P., Owen, J. E., & Grande, S. (2025). Activism, burnout, and community: The stories of student activists. Routledge.  Find the book HERE.

Peer-Reviewed Publications (select)

McCarron, G. P. (forthcoming 2026). What’s working for first-generation college transfer students: The importance of mattering. Journal of Student Affairs Research & Practice. [Special Issue: What’s Working Now: Promising Student Affairs Practices Promoting Student Success]

Rizzo, J., McCarron, G. P., Harris, T. N., Visser, V, Schrum, K., Khan, M., & Corso, A. R. (2025). Employing augmented reality to foster sense of belonging for first-generation college transfer students transitioning to a four-year university. Journal of First-generation Student Success, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1080/26906015.2025.2516191

Holton-Thomas, A., McCarron, G. P., Lewis-Semien, L., Aguilar Cardenas, R., & Hassan, S. M.(2024). Reforming a broken narrative on student affairs and academic affairs collaboration: One program's partnership model to foster summer bridge program success. Journal of First-generation Student Success, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/26906015.2024.2424526

Hogan, K. M.*, Gilmore, M., McCarron, G. P., Griffiths, B. M., Koehler, J. W., García, G. A., & von Fricken, M. E. (2024). Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding malaria transmission and prevention in an indigenous Maijuna community: A qualitative study in the Peruvian Amazon. Malaria Journal, 23(1), 314. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12936-024-05121-8

Chen, C. W., McCarron, G. P., & Owen, J. E. (2024). The emotional labor of college student activism: An interview-based study. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 16(3), 964–980. https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/huae025

McCarron, G. P., Chen, C. W., April, J., & LaMagdeleine, I. (2024). An exploratory study of the relationship between college student activists’ labor and their subjective well-being: Perspectives from a U.S. institution. Journal of American College Health.

McCarron, G. P., Chen, C. W., Blanton, S., Guerrieri, G., Lucioni, R. G., Gurung, E., Sreevals, A., & Enciu, J. (2023). College student activists’ perceptions of mattering to campus educators. Journal of College Student Affairs Research and Practice. 

McCarron, G. P., McKenzie, B., & Yamanaka, A. (2023). Leadership identity development. New Directions in Student Leadership (No. 178). Wiley.

McCarron, G. P., & Yamanaka, A. (2022). Reflecting back and going forward: Promising pedagogical practices for culturally relevant/sustaining and equitable online leadership education. Journal of Leadership Studies.

McCarron, G. P., Yamanaka, A., Schierbeek, E., & Fojtik, G. (2022). Socially just and culturally relevant experiential leadership learning: Centering equity and inclusion in learners’ praxis. Journal of Leadership Studies. Online first.

Owen, E., McCarron, G. P., & Chen, C. W. (2022). “Never ‘because of’, always ‘in spite of’”: Implications of the CRLL for student social justice activists’ leadership learning. Journal of Leadership Studies. Online first. http://doi.org/10.1002/jls.21820

McCarron, G. P. (2022). First and flourishing?: An exploration of how first-generation college students make meaning of their well-being through purpose, relationships, and multiple identities. Journal of First-generation Student Success.

Garner, P. W., & McCarron, G. P. (2022). Perceptions of competence, autonomy, and relatedness among women of immigrant origin working as family childcare providers in the U.S. Community, Work, & Family.

McCarron, G. P., Zhou, S., Schierbeek, E., Campbell, A., & Muscente, K. K. (2022). We’re not working with a blank slate: Students’ pre-college leadership activities and perceived parenting behavior as predictors of college-based leader emergence and leader self-efficacy. Journal of Leadership Education, 21(1), 33-47. https://doi.org/10.12806/V21/I1/R3

McCarron, G. P., Olesova, L., Calkins, B. (2021). An exploratory examination of student-led, asynchronous collaborative online discussions in fostering higher-order cognitive skills and ethical leadership learning. Online Learning, 25(4), 198-219. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v25i4.2895

Frye, S., & McCarron, G. P. (2021). Leveraging high-impact, collaborative learning in an undergraduate nonprofit studies course toward bolstering career readiness. Journal of Nonprofit Education and Leadership, 11(2), 65-85. https://doi.org/10.18666/jnel-2020-10126 

Maskell, S., McCarron, G. P., Zhou, S., Cannon, J., Goldstein, T., & Zaccaro, S. J. (2021). The leadership stories our children are told: An examination of the characterizations of leadership behaviors and orientations in popular youth TV shows. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01502-3

Owen, J. E., Rigaud, S., & McCarron, G. P. (2021). Hidden costs and commitments: Leadership, social class, and experiential learning. New Directions in Student Leadership, 2021(169), 103-110. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.20426

Garner, P., McCarron, G. P. (2020). Developing leadership in early childhood education and care through the integration of theory, policy engagement, and advocacy. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2020.1799117

McCarron, G. P., Jackson, G., McNaughtan, J., Olesova, L., Schmidt, G. B., & Adams, T. T. (2020). Centering dialogic and digital approaches in leadership education pedagogy: Priority 6 of the national leadership education research agenda 2020–2025. Journal of Leadership Studies, 14(3), 72-77. https://doi.org/10.1002/jls.21716

Owen, J. E., Krell, M., & McCarron, G. P. (2019). An exploration of civic identity in first-generation college students: From charity to solidarity. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 56(5), 535-549. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2019.1648275

McCarron, G. P., & Inkelas, K. K. (2006). The gap between educational aspirations and attainment for first-generation college students and the role of parental involvement. The Journal of College Student Development, 47(5), 534-549. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2006.0059

Chapters in Edited Volumes (Select)

McCarron, G. P., & Yamanaka, A. (In Press). Virtual education (includes influences of social media, ai, and virtual workforce). In J. P. Dugan, S. E. Patterson, K. Cilente Skendall (Eds.), The handbook for leadership education & impact (pp. TBD). Edward Elgar Publishing. 

McCarron, G. P., Suero, C., & Hassell-Goodman, S. (In Press). Barriers and bolsters to first-generation college students’ flourishing in higher education. In P. Sasso & J. DeVitis (Eds.), Human flourishing in higher education: Critical social and cultural perspectives (pp. TBD). Information Age.

Silver, B., & McCarron, G. P. (2024). An introduction to supporting students of immigrant origin. In B. Silver & G. Pagliarulo McCarron (Eds.), Supporting college students of immigrant origin: New insights from research, policy, and practice (pp. 3-14). Cambridge University Press.

McCarron, G. P., Montiel, S., & Hassell-Goodman, S. (2024). First-generation college women of immigrant origin and perspectives on the role of gender in their experiences on- and off-campus. In B. Silver & G. Pagliarulo McCarron (Eds.), Supporting college students of immigrant origin: New insights from research, policy, and practice (pp. 176-199). Cambridge University Press.

Case Study or Instructional Scenario Chapters (Select)

McCarron, G. P. (2021). Module 5.2: The effects of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination on women’s leadership. In J. M. Pigza, J. E. Owen, & Associates (Eds.), Women and leadership development in college: A facilitation resource (pp. TBD). Stylus.

McCarron, G. P., & Pigza, J. M. (2021). Module 6.3: On-ramps and off-ramps: Narratives of professional journey. In J. M. Pigza, J. E. Owen, & Associates (Eds.), Women and leadership development in college: A facilitation resource (pp. TBD). Stylus.

Courses Taught

HE 646 Student Development Theory

INTS204 Leadership Theory and Practice

INTS391 Introduction to Integrative Studies

INTS404/575 Ethics and Leadership

INTS435/535 Leadership in a Changing Environment

INTS451/575 Leadership and Organizational Problem-Solving

INTS498/595 Leadership in Social Change in Italy

INTS498/585 Ethical Leadership: The Italian Perspective

Education

	Ph.D., Counseling & Personnel Services, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
	M.A., Counseling & Personnel Services, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
	B.S.B.A., International Business, American University, Washington, DC
	Certificate in Media and Technology in Education, Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Professional Ed

Recent Presentations

Peer-Reviewed Presentations/Posters (Select)

McCarron, G. P. (2025, June 28). First-generation transfer students’ perceptions of mattering on the four year campus and recommendations for holistic student support. [Workshop]. NASPA Conferences on Student Success in Higher Education: First-generation Student Success Conference, Denver, CO.

Corso, A., Harris, T. N., Visser, V., McCarron, G. P. (2025, March 22-26). Envisioning belonging: The role of augmented reality in supporting international student transition and success. [Presentation]. Comparative and International Education Society, Chicago, IL. 

Owen, J. E., Chen, C. W., McCarron, G. P. (2025, February 14). Exploring college student activism,burnout, and community. [Presentation]. Maryland Student Affairs Conference, College Park, MD.

Waguri, M, Okamura, R., Yamanaka, A., McCarron, G. P., & Owen, J. (2024, November 9 ). Gender norms and college students’ leadership development: Narratives across cultures. [Presentation]. International Leadership Association Global Conference, Chicago, IL.

Grande, S., Porter, M., Wagner, W., & McCarron, G. P. (2024, January 18). Fostering critical hope in troubling times through civic and community engagement. [Conference presentation]. Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.

Owen, J. E., Chunoo, V. S., McCarron, G. P., Pierre, D. E., Torres, M., Turman, N. T., & Yamanaka, A. (2023, October 12-15). Deepening leadership identity development: Cultivating liberatory leadership learning. [Conference presentation]. International Leadership Association (ILA) Annual Conference, Vancouver, Canada.

McCarron, G. P., & Zhou, S. (2022, October 14). The seeds of wisdom: An examination of the major pre-college influences on college students’ leadership. International Leadership Association Global Conference. Washington, DC.

Ardoin, S., Guthrie, K., Svoboda, T., Kidd Brown, S., Sasso, P., & McCarron, G. P. (2022, March 21). Leadership learning through a social class lens: Examining how the conceptualization and practice of student leadership in higher education is classed. [Conference presentation]. Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD.

McCarron, G. P., Montiel, S., Hassell-Goodman, S., Byrd, X., Kim, N. (2021, June 30). Honoring the intersections: Supporting first-generation immigrant-origin college students [Virtual conference presentation]. Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) - Student Success in Higher Education Conference.

McCarron, G. P., Yamanaka, A., & Lennon, N. (2021, June 30). Supporting ethical decision-making across culture: Leadership education on-campus and abroad [Virtual conference poster]. Association of Leadership Educators (ALE) Annual Meeting.

Schierbeek, E., McCarron, G. P., & Gilmore, M. (2021, June 21-July 2).Community position statements as tools for social change: Collective action and community engagement in the Peruvian Amazon. [Virtual conference poster]. Society for the Anthropology of Lowland South America – Biennial Meeting.

McCarron, G. P., & Olesova, L. (2021, April 8-12). Students’ cognitive learning and leadership development via virtual collaboration in online leadership education coursework [Virtual conference poster]. American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting.

Chen, C. W., & McCarron, G. P. (2021, April 7). Resilience and resistance: Social justice and human rights college student activists int the Washington Metropolitan Area during Covid-19. [Virtual conference presentation]. International Studies Association (ISA) Annual Convention.

Yamanaka, A., & McCarron, G. P. (2021, March 24). Fostering social justice awareness through face-to-face and online experiential learning. [Virtual conference presentation]. Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) Annual Meeting.

McCarron, G. P., & Yamanaka, A. (2021, March 23). High-touch and high-tech: Fostering student mattering and success in online learning communities [Virtual conference presentation]. Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education (NASPA) Annual Meeting.

McCarron, G. P., Kodama Muscente, K., Zhou, S., Campbell, A., Schierbeek, E. (2020, December 16). College students’ leadership development: Spotlighting parental influence and pre-college engagement [Virtual conference presentation]. NASPA - Leadership Educators Institute (LEI) Annual Conference.

Barnes, A., Haber-Curran, P., Hassell-Goodman, S., McCarron, G. P., Owen, J. E., Rocco, M., Yamanaka, A., Youngblood, RJ. (2020, December 15). Critical perspectives of women leadership development in college: Tools for facilitating student learning development [Virtual conference presentation]. NASPA - Leadership Educators Institute (LEI) Annual Conference.

Andenoro, T., Skendall, K. C., Middlebrooks, A., Satterwhite, R. J., Chunoo, V. S., Smith, D. N., & McCarron, G. P., (2020, November 5-8). The National leadership education research agenda 2020-2024: Advancing  collaboration & inclusion [Virtual conference presentation]. International Leadership Association Annual Conference.