Tara DiMattia has been an English teacher at James Caldwell High School for over a decade and has always been known as Ms. DiMattia, the 10th grade English teacher in room 502 known for her creative and meaningful lessons and assignments. But as of May 7, 2025, Ms. DiMattia finished her doctoral studies and is now proudly known around the hallways as Dr. DiMattia.
On Wednesday, May 7, 2025, Montclair State University held its Spring Commencement Ceremony at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, where Dr. DiMattia received her Ph.D in Teacher Education and Teacher Development, officially earning the title of Doctor of Philosophy.
Dr. DiMattia’s path to earning her doctorate was unique as it was closely aligned with her doctoral thesis.
Her dissertation, titled The Gaps Between the Stories: MotherTeachers and the Impact of The Patriarchy in K-12 Education explores how the roles that women play in both education and caregiving are undervalued, and often trivialized. In an exclusive interview with The Caldron, Dr. DiMattia emphasized how teaching is a career field dominated by women and their work, yet the policies that govern it are largely created and controlled by men.
The research design of the study she conducted to obtain research offers a fascinating look into her process. Dr. DiMattia utilized a co/autoethnography methodology method, which is a qualitative method of study design to collect data in the form of personal stories and experiences by way of group meetings and written reflections, for example, to make one an expert on whichever subject they are collecting information on. Throughout a ten month period, Dr. DiMattia held a total of fourteen meetings with a group of nine “MotherTeachers” —a term she coined in her dissertation— who provided Dr. DiMattia with data based solely on their experiences balancing their dual roles as mothers and teachers.
Dr. DiMattia is uniquely qualified to write on this subject. Known to JCHS students and staff as a dedicated educator, she is also a mother of three school-aged children who inspired much of her work. Reflecting on the most difficult part of her process in earning her doctorate, Dr. DiMattia stated that she struggled with, “the balancing of being a MotherTeacher and a mom.” In her dissertation abstract, she writes, “women’s knowledge and their ways of knowing (Belenky et al., 1986), specifically in relation to their roles as mothers, is marginalized in the world of PreK–12 schooling” — a theme that echoes her own lived experiences.
Although Dr. DiMattia’s journey to a doctorate has been a long and laborious one, it has also been a deeply rewarding one. Dr. DiMattia describes herself as a lifelong learner, someone “invested and passionate” about learning, and she embraced this process wholeheartedly.
The students who have had the privilege of learning from Dr. DiMattia as their English teacher at JCHS can see her love of learning reflected through her ways of teaching, and her thesis reveals her love of teaching, as well. The title of Dr. DiMattia’s thesis: The Gaps Between the Stories: MotherTeachers and the Impact of The Patriarchy in K-12 Education references Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, a novel she has been teaching students in her English 10 Honors course for years. The phrase speaks to the overlooked experiences of women, whose voices are often absent from dominant narratives—a powerful representation of both her scholarly work and her identity as an educator.
Congratulations, Dr. DiMattia, on this incredible achievement! Your dedication to both your students and your scholarship is truly inspiring.