Beth Brennan, Ph.D.

About

Dr. Brennan served as Director of Special Education Programs and Associate Professor in the Department of Learning and Teaching. Dr. Brennan joined the Graduate School of Education faculty in 2011 as an associate professor in the Special Education Department. She served as Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Education from 2014-2019. Her interest in supporting individuals with disabilities was ignited at an early age when she volunteered as a peer support in a summer camp for children with intellectual and physical disabilities. Later she began her professional career as an instructional aide in a county program for students with significant disabilities. Dr. Brennan went on to complete her Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Special Education from Kent State University. Dr. Brennan has worked in supervision and research at Family Child Learning Center in Ohio (a collaborative of Kent State University and Akron Children's Hospital), as a site coordinator with the Early Childhood Research Institute on Inclusion and as an Associate Professor and Program Director at Saint Mary's College of California. She has held teaching certificates in Ohio and California and most recently worked with the Oak Park Unified School District. Dr. Brennan's current work focuses on Social-Emotional skill development for students and teachers in K12 settings.

 

Education

Kent State University, Kent, Ohio; Ph.D. - Special Education
Kent State University, Kent, Ohio; M.Ed. - Special Education
Colorado State University, Ft. Collins, CO; B.A. - Social Work

 

Expertise

• Social-emotional learning needs in K12
• Co-teaching in Higher Education
• Family Systems Perspective and Disability
• Inclusive Classroom Supports for Students with Disabilities

 

Publications

Austin, K., Peña, E.V. & Brennan, E. (2017). Promising Instructional Practices for College Students with Autism. Currents in Teaching and Learning.

Brennan, E. & Peña, E.V.  (2016).  Autism, inclusion, and communication in higher education.  Developments, 3, 1-11.

Brennan, E. (2014). DAVID: Reinvention of Lutheran graduate education. In Duin, A.H., & Childers, E. (Eds.) Project DAVID: Vocation and reinvention in liberal arts colleges. University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy.

Brennan, E. (2006). A matter of difference: A contextual perspective on the history of children with mental retardation in the United States. In Safford P. & Safford, E. (Eds.). Children with Disabilities in America: A Historical Handbook and Guide. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 65-86.

Brennan, E. & Safford, P. (2000). The meaning of disability for grandparents of young children with special needs. In Rogers, L. & Swadener, E. (Eds.). Semiotics and Dis/ability: Interrogating Categories of Difference. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 233-253.

Hanson, M., Beckman, P., Horn, E., Marquart, J., Sandall, S., Greig, D., & Brennan, E. (2000). Entering preschool: family and professional experiences in the transition process. Journal of Early Intervention. 23(4), 279-293.

Hanson, M.J., Gutierrez, S., Morgan, M., Brennan, E.L., & Zercher, C. (1997). Language, culture, and disability: Interacting influences on preschool inclusion. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education. 17(1), 307-336.

Webb, J.M., Diana, E.M., Luft, P., Brennan, E.L., & Brooks, E.W. (1997). The influence of pedagogical expertise and feedback on assessing student comprehension from nonverbal behavior. The Journal of Educational Research. 91(2), 89-97.