About

Dr. Goins is an Assistant Professor in the Educational Leadership and Specialties Department and the Project Director for the First Americans' Educational Leadership (FAEL) Program. She has over 23 years of experience working with K-12 and higher education having served as a teacher, coordinator, and district administrator. She is committed to providing support and inspiring teachers and administrators to improve instruction that enhances student learning. Additionally, she has served on School Turnaround Teams, Focus Intervention Teams, and the SREB Making Middle Grades Work and High Schools that Work Team to help improve low-performing schools. She enjoys working with educators to provide professional development and coaching that leads to excellence in teaching and learning and has led multiple workshops and professional development sessions at the local, state, and national levels. She has extensive experience in writing and managing Federal Grants with the US Department of Education (Office of Indian Education and the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education). Her research interests are Career and College Readiness, Career Education, Culturally Relevant Teaching, Transformative Educational Leadership, and Effective Online Teaching Strategies.

She is a product of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration ('02) and a Master of Public Administration ('08). She completed her studies in Educational Leadership at Liberty University with an Educational Specialist Degree ('12) and a Doctorate ('15). She is certified in the areas of Business Education, Career Development, Career and Technical Education Director, Handicapped & Disadvantaged, School Administrator: Principal and Superintendent. Additionally, she recently completed the Transformative Educational Leadership (TEL) program and currently serves on the Alumni Steering Committee (2022-2023) for TEL.  She was recently accepted to the inaugural cohort of the American Indian Leadership Development Program at Campbell University for the 2023-2024 Academic Year. 

She stays active on campus by serving on the Southeast American Indian Studies Committee, leads the Teaching and Learning Shared Interest Group (Culturally Responsive Teaching), and serves on the Faculty Senate as the Faculty Senate Secretary along with several other university committees. As a first-generation college student and Native American, she has served as a mentor to Native American students with SBSS where she enjoys working with students to help align their interests and abilities with their college and career goals. Off-campus, she serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Scotia Village, works with local public schools, and stays actively engaged in her community.

She resides in Pembroke with her husband. She has four children and two grandchildren.

One of her favorite quotes reads: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” ~ Confucius

Recent Selected Publications

• Jones, E., Hicks, S., Busman, J., Barber-Lester, K., Locklear-Jones, J., & Goins, C. (2023). Indigenous cultures and communities in higher education teaching and learning. Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, 6(2), 35-50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36021/jethe.v6i2.382
• Goins, C.L. (2023). Engaging students with culturally responsive teaching practices in an online learning environment. UNC System Learning and Technology Journal, 1(1).  https://journals.charlotte.edu/ltj/issue/view/137
• Warren, J. M., Goins, C.L., Locklear, L., Locklear, T. Unger, D. Neal, G. Nickolson, C. & Robinson, G. (2020). Culturally responsive perceptions and practices of instructors at a minority-serving institution: A mixed methods study. Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, 3(2), 76-91. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36021/jethe.v3i2.124
• Warren, J.M. & Goins, C.L. (2019). Exploring the relationships between high school course enrollment, achievement, and first-semester college GPA. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 9(1), 386-399. DOI:  10.5590/JERAP.2019.09.1.27

Featured Interviews and Panel Discussions

• UNCP Teaching and Learning Center (2022, November 17). Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL). Halladay, J., Akers, W. & Goins, C. Guest Presenter (invited) in Panel Discussion with the UNCP Professional Development Institute in SoTL, Pembroke, NC.  
• Faculty Panel: Best Practices Teaching Online. (2022, April). Goins, C. (invited) Panel presenter. UNCP Office of Online Learning, Pembroke, NC.
• Featured in the UNCP Pine Needle News published September 22, 2021 “First Generation College Student to Three-time Graduate” https://pineneedle.news/2021/11/02/first-generation-student-to-three-time-graduate/   
• Featured on UNCP Celebration of Teaching and Learning published March 18, 2021. https://www.uncp.edu/departments/teaching-learning-center/celebration-teaching-learning  
• Goins, C. & Locklear, L. (2020, October). Tar Heel teachers at home: Increasing the # of American Indian Administrators & Teachers in NC. Tarheel Teachers at Home. https://youtu.be/6FGB9wP1Eac