James Christian Edgar, EdD

Educator | Researcher | Writer on School Culture and Discipline

I am a veteran high school science educator with nearly two decades of classroom experience teaching physics, chemistry, mathematics, and astronomy. I hold a Doctorate of Education in K–12 Leadership and have worked in public and private schools across multiple states, as well as in higher education as an associate instructor and dissertation committee member.

My work focuses on the intersection of school culture, student behavior, and institutional order — particularly how consistent expectations, predictable consequences, and adult authority shape student outcomes. While much of the public debate around education and discipline is framed in ideological terms, my perspective is grounded in both empirical research and daily classroom reality.

I write about school discipline, student behavior, and education policy using frameworks drawn from criminology, behavioral science, and educational research. My approach emphasizes that structure and support are not opposing values, but mutually reinforcing conditions for learning.

This site serves as a public archive of my professional background and longer-form work, including my doctoral dissertation and current policy-focused writing. Course materials for my students are maintained separately at macarthur.christianedgar.com.

Areas of focus

School discipline and behavioral policy
Order maintenance and institutional culture
Classroom management and instructional climate
Student behavior, motivation, and engagement
Education policy and evidence-based reform

Selected Work

Order, Opportunity, and Consequences: What Urban Crime Policy and School Discipline Have in Common
Determination of the Relationship between Students’ Perceived Value of Education and High School Dropout Rates in an East Tennessee High School (Doctoral Dissertation)

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