Dr. Karyn Allee earned degrees in Elementary Education (BAE and MEd) with a concentration in Early Childhood Education from the University of Florida and Educational Leadership (EdS) from Stetson University. She came to the College of Education from the University of Central Florida, where she earned a PhD in Education (Elementary). Dr. Allee’s professional experiences include teaching primary grades at high-need schools, working in a large urban district as a coach and PD facilitator, and working for three education companies to facilitate customized PD, support large-scale district implementations and school improvement efforts, to evaluate programs, and to develop early childhood curriculum. Dr. Allee works predominantly with MAT in Elementary Education initial teacher certification candidates and Curriculum and Instruction PhD students. Currently, her primary research focuses on how poverty affects cognitive development, executive function/self-regulation as predictors of school readiness and achievement, and purposeful play as an instructional mechanism to reduce gaps in children’s outcomes across domains. Her secondary line of research focuses on preservice teacher candidates' understanding and application of socially just, culturally and linguistically responsive, and developmentally appropriate instructional practices to increase equitable outcomes for all students. Dr. Allee is the founding PI of the Collaboratory for Critical and Transformative Elementary Education and has been published in multiple journals including Early Childhood Education Journal, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, and The Reading Teacher. She is also a member of multiple professional organizations such as the American Educational Research Association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. Dr. Allee serves on editorial boards for the Journal of Research in Childhood Education, Journal of Education, and Journal of Modern Educational Research.
Dr. Annemarie Kaczmarczyk is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Education at Mercer University. Dr. Kaczmarczyk earned her Ph.D. in Education along with a certificate in Urban Education from the University of Central Florida. Additionally, she earned a M.Ed. in Educational Leadership and B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Central Florida. Dr. Kaczmarczyk has a passion for integrating picture books and other literature to discuss issues related to social justice and advocacy. She has co-published several journal articles related to using literature to engage children in conversations around these topics. Dr. Kaczmarczyk’s current research focuses on the examination of teacher identity and teachers’ understanding of critical issues in education. She integrates constructivist learning theory into each of her courses through thoughtful design of course objectives and engagement activities.
Dr. Yuan He, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Education Studies at Stephen F. Austin State University. She earned a PhD in early childhood education from Nanjing Normal University and an EdD in educational leadership from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Dr. He’s career experiences encompass early childhood teaching, conducting professional development for in-service early childhood teachers, and teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at the university level. She believes in the importance of providing students with engaging, interactive, and reflective learning experiences. Her research interests include curriculum and instruction in early childhood education, early childhood teacher education, and comparative and international education. She has multiple articles published in international peer-reviewed journals. She serves as a co-PI on the National Professional Development grant sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education and the Humanities and Social Science Research grant sponsored by the China Ministry of Education. All these scholarly works are under the umbrella of early childhood education related to constructivist theory and practice. She is a member of several professional organizations, such as American Educational Research Association (AERA), National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and International Literacy Association (ILA).
Laura McNeice (PhD Student, Baylor University)
Stephanie Moore (PhD Student, Mercer University)
Chair: The Chair shall be responsible for the general administration of the SIG, for ensuring that the SIG Bylaws are followed, and shall act as liaison between the SIG and AERA and the SIG and the SIG Executive Committee. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the SIG’s Executive Committee and at the Annual Business Meeting. The Chair shall act as parliamentarian or shall appoint a SIG member to serve in that role for each meeting. The Chair shall appoint ad hoc committees as needed. Unless otherwise specified in these Bylaws, the Chair of the SIG shall appoint persons to assist officers, to chair committees or to carry out other work of the SIG.
Program Chair: The Program Chair shall be responsible for determining sessions, reviewers, discussants and chairs for the annual meeting along with sending acceptance and rejection notices to authors of submitted proposals. In addition, the Program Chair will act as Chair in the event of the absence of the Chair. The Program Chair becomes the SIG Chair in the succeeding year.
Secretary/Treasurer: The TreasurerSecretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for managing and reporting on the financial accounts of the SIG and the safe keeping of all financial documents of the SIG.