Education

Ph.D. in Education (Specialization in Educational Psychology), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.A. and Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) in School Psychology, East Carolina University
B.A. Psychology, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

Research

Irvin’s research focuses on the academic, social, and behavioral development of adolescents from rural communities.  This includes students’ risk and resilience, motivation and engagement, learning in online courses, youth with disabilities, and peer relations. 

Background

Matthew J. Irvin is an associate professor of Educational Psychology and Research in the Department of Educational and Developmental Science. His research focuses on the academic, social, and behavioral development of adolescents from rural communities. This includes students' risk and resilience, motivation and engagement, learning in online courses, youth with disabilities, and peer relations. Irvin has been an author on 30 peer reviewed journal articles and book chapters as well as received federal grant funding as principal investigator from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Irvin teaches or has taught graduate-level courses on educational psychology, adolescent development, cognition, motivation, and instructional theories. He has also developed and taught a graduate seminar on youth in rural schools and served as Program Co-Chair for the 2013 annual meeting of the American Psychological Association - Division 15 (Educational Psychology).

Selected Publications

Farmer, T. W., Irvin, M. J., Leung, M-C., Hutchins, B. C., Petrin, R., & Hall, C. (in press). Externalizing and internalizing behavior problems, peer affiliations, and bullying involvement across the transition to middle school. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders.

Irvin, M. J., Hannum, W. H., de la Varre, C., Farmer, T. W., & Keane, J. (2012). Factors related to rural school districts' satisfaction with distance education. Distance Education, 33, 331-345. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2012.723163

Irvin, M. J. (2012). Role of student engagement in the resilience of African American adolescents from low income rural communities. Psychology in the Schools, 49, 176-193. doi:10.1002/pits.20626

Irvin, M. J., Byun, S-Y., Meece, J. L., Farmer, T. W., & Hutchins, B. C. (2012). Educational barriers of rural youth: Relation of individual and contextual difference variables. Journal of Career Assessment, 20, 71-87. doi:10.1177/1069072711420105

Irvin, M. J., Farmer, T. W., Weiss, M. P., Meece, J. L., Byun, S-Y., McConnell, B., & Petrin, R. A. (2011). Perceptions of school and postsecondary aspirations of rural high school students with learning disabilities and their nondisabled peers. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 26, 2-14. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5826.2010.00320.x

Irvin, M. J., Meece, J. L., Byun, S-Y., Farmer, T. W., & Hutchins, B. C. (2011). Relationship of school context to rural youth's educational achievement and aspirations. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 40, 1225-1242. doi:10.1007/s10964-011-9628-8

Irvin, M. J., Farmer, T. W., Leung, M-C., Thompson, J. H., & Hutchins, B. C. (2010). School, community, and church activities: Relationship to academic achievement of low-income African American early adolescents in the rural Deep South. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 25(4), 1-21. 

Irvin, M. J., Hannum, W. H., de la Varre, C., & Farmer, T. W. (2010). Barriers to distance education in rural schools. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 11, 73-90.

Farmer, T. W., Irvin, M. J., Leung, M-C., Hall, C. M., Hutchins, B. C., & McDonough, E. M. (2010). Social preference, social prominence, and group membership in late elementary school: Homophilic concentration and peer affiliation configurations. Social Psychology of Education, 13, 271-293

Irvin, M. J., Hannum, W. H., Farmer, T. W., de la Varre, C., & Keane, J. (2009). Supporting online learning for Advanced Placement students in small rural schools: Conceptual foundations and intervention components of the Facilitator Preparation Program. The Rural Educator, 31(1), 29-36.

Farmer, T. W., Irvin, M. J., Sgamatto, A. N., Dadisman, K., & Thompson, J. H. (2009). Interpersonal competence configurations in rural Appalachian fifth graders: Academic achievement and associated adjustment factors. Elementary School Journal, 109, 301-321.

Hannum, W. H., Irvin, M. J., Banks, J. B., & Farmer, T. W. (2009). Distance education use in rural schools. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 24(3). 

Hannum, W. H., Irvin, M. J., Lei, P.-W., & Farmer, T. W. (2008). Effectiveness of using learner-centered principles on student retention in distance education courses in rural schools. Distance Education, 29, 211-229.

Selected presentations

Irvin, M. J., & Byun, S-Y. (2013, April). School extracurricular activities and the academic resilience of youth from high poverty rural backgrounds. In Sarah Kiefer (Chair), Schools Supporting Success: Exploring Aspects of Risk and Resilience. Roundtable session conducted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

Irvin, M. J., Smiley, W., Hannum, W. H., & Farmer, T. W. (2013, April). Profiles of multiple learning goals among students in an online course: Relationship with final grade. In Jatila K. van der Veen (Chair), Online Learning: Maximizing the Impact for Students. Roundtable session conducted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

Keane, J., de la Varre, C., & Irvin, M. J. (2012, April). The contributions of on-site facilitators to teaching presence in a blended learning environment. In Norman Davis Vaughan (Chair), Online Teaching and Learning: Community of Inquiry Research. Symposium of Online Teaching and Learning SIG conducted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, BC.

Byun, S-Y., & Irvin, M. J. (2012, April). Effects of advanced math course taking on math achievement, high school completion, and postsecondary entry: Evidence from the Educational Longitudinal Study. In Sylvia Martinez (Chair), Student Engagement, Coursework, and High School Trajectories. Roundtable session of Sociology of Education SIG conducted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, BC.

Irvin, M. J., & Byun, S-Y. (2011, August). Rural gap in advanced math course-taking: Relation to math achievement and college enrollment. In Catherine Riegle-Crumb (Chair), Math from K-12: Curriculum, course-taking, confidence, and culture. Roundtable session conducted at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Las Vegas, NV.

Irvin, M. J., Hannum, W. H., de la Varre, C., & Keane, J. T. (2011, April). Factors related to rural school districts' satisfaction with distance education. In Mansureh Kebritchi (Chair), Online learning: The role of effective communication. Roundtable session conducted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.

Irvin, M. J., Petrin, R. A., Farmer, T. W., & Hamm, J. V. (2011, March). Effects of an intervention to promote productive schools contexts for early adolescents: Academic outcomes and peer relations. In Jamilia J. Blake & Kyongboon Kwon (Chairs), Peer influences on academic functioning in late elementary school. Symposium conducted at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Montreal, Canada.

Irvin, M. J. (2011, March). The impact of Project REAL on students' peer context. In Thomas W. Farmer (Chair), Impact and mechanisms of change of a multi-component intervention designed to promote productive classroom contexts for rural early adolescents. Symposium conducted at the bi-annual meeting of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness.

Irvin, M. J., Byun, S-Y., Meece, J., & Farmer, T. W. (2010, May). Educational barriers of rural youth: Individual and contextual differences. In Kai A. Schafft (Chair), Rural education SIG: paper session. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO.