Special Education

Student sits with special education program participant

The Special Education concentration within the Educational Studies Ph.D. program offers multiple opportunities for doctoral students to pursue their research interests with faculty who are established in the special education field. This concentration enables students to focus on both needs and strengths of a wide range of students with disabilites ranging from mild-to-moderate to intense.

Special education faculty provide opportunities for doctoral students to research interventions for learners with a range of intellectual and developmental disabilities, both on campus in university programs and off-site in K-12 and post-secondary settings such as the Warren County Educational Services Center.

In the Special Education concentration within the Educational Studies Ph.D. program, doctoral students learn via a host of hands-on experiential opportunities, including:

Close up of young female teacher sitting at desk with a Down syndrome schoolboy. Color painting on the paper for disabled kids, autism childs who are down syndrome and student teacher.
  • Working with students of all ages with mild disabilities in urban, suburban and rural school districts in the K-12 setting and across all academic subjects
  • Participating in inter-disciplinary research with other fields such as school, cognitive, clinical and community psychology, as well as speech and language pathology
  • Partnering with organizations like Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Su Casa and the Greater Islamic Center of Cincinnati
  • Collaborating with researchers focused on behavior interventions in K-12 and post-secondary settings
  • Assisting students with mild disabilities as they transition to post-secondary settings

For more information on the Special Education concentration, please contact Casey Hord at casey.hord@uc.edu.

 

PROGRAM & APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
  • Higher education professor and/or researcher
  • Special education director
Headshot of Mary Boat

Mary Boat

Assoc Professor, CECH Education

615B Teachers College

513-558-9007

Dr. Mary Boat received her PhD. in Educational Psychology-Special Education with concentrations in early childhood and developmental disabilities from the University of Minnesota. Prior to coming to the University of Cincinnati, Dr. Boat was a faculty member at Western Carolina University where she worked with the interdisciplinary birth through kindergarten teacher licensure program. Dr. Boat's primary focus is young children with or at risk for disabilities. She has conducted research and published in the areas of social competence in preschool age children with disabilities, program development in teacher education, effective instruction in preschool settings/Head start, and assessment in early childhood. She is the recipient of federal and state funding including grants related to assessment and instruction in early childhood/Head Start and developing  on-line teacher education for working with infants and toddlers and their families.
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Headshot of Christina R Carnahan

Christina R Carnahan

Professor, CECH Special Education

505A Teachers College

Dr. Christina R. Carnahan is Professor of Special Education in the School of Education, College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services at the University of Cincinnati. Additionally, Dr. Carnahan is the director of IDD Education Center (https://cech.uc.edu/schools/education/IDDEdCenter.html) in the School of Education. Dr. Carnahan's research interests include literacy and communication interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorders and other complex communication and behavioral support needs, and creating efficient and effective instructional practices across the lifespan. Dr. Carnahan has published in journals such as Exceptional Children, Journal of Special Education, and Focus on Autism and Developmental Disabilities. She is also the co-author of two books including Quality Literacy Instruction for Learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Facilitating Evidence Based Practice for Students with ASD: A Classroom Observation Tool for Building Quality Education.
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Headshot of Kathryn Ann Doyle

Kathryn Ann Doyle

Assoc Professor - Educator (F2), CECH Special Education

Teachers College

513-556-3600

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Headshot of Todd F Haydon

Todd F Haydon

Professor, CECH Special Education

600F Teachers College

Todd Haydon PhD, BCBA-D, LISW is a Professor in the Special Education Program. He earned his doctorate from the University of Florida in Special Education with a focus on emotional and behavioral disorders and Autism. Dr. Haydon’s current research interests include effective teaching practices, functional behavior assessments, positive behavior and supports, and mental health services for students with Autism.
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Headshot of Alyssa Rose Henry

Alyssa Rose Henry

Asst Professor (F2), CECH Special Education

Teachers College

513-556-3600

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Headshot of Casey Hord

Casey Hord

Professor (F2), CECH Special Education

600G Teachers College

(513) 556-2481

Casey Hord is a Professor in the Department of Special Education. His primary research interest is developing mathematics interventions for students with learning disabilities and students with mild intellectual disability. Other research interests include the role of visual representations and strategic questioning in mathematics teaching, the training of pre-service teachers to teach mathematics to students with mild disabilities, and the potential role of mathematics tutors for students with mild disabilities in urban, suburban, and rural settings.

For more information on UC student involvement in tutoring contexts in the community, please see this link: http://cech.uc.edu/headlines/2016/hughes-tutoring.html and, if you have an interest in volunteering as a tutor at a local school, please email Dr. Hord at casey.hord@uc.edu

For more information about Dr. Hord's National Science Foundation project (in collaboration with Anna DeJarnatte) and related research, please see the following links:
https://cadrek12.org/users/casey-hord
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1813903
https://sites.google.com/ucmail.uc.edu/trainingpreserviceteachers/home

If you are interested in getting a PhD in Educational Studies with a concentration in Special Education, please contact Dr. Hord at casey.hord@uc.edu.
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Headshot of Song Ju

Song Ju

Associate Professor, CECH Special Education

511G Teachers College

513-556-5693

Song Ju is an associate professor in the program of Special Education at School of Education. She earned her Ph.D. degree in 2012 from Texas A&M University. Her primary research interest is secondary transition for students with disabilities, with specific foci on transition to employment and postsecondary education. Other research interests include students with disabilities in the Juvenile Justice System and self-determination.
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Headshot of Yvette McDaniel-Pennington

Yvette McDaniel-Pennington

Assoc Professor - Educator (F2), CECH Special Education

Teachers College

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