Deborah Byrnes, Ph.D.

Deborah Byrnes

Professor of Elementary Education
Graduate and Undergraduate Faculty
Appointed 1983
Email: Email: deborah.byrnes@usu.edu
Phone (435) 797-0396
Office: Jones Education Building, Room 399

Academic Degrees:

Fall 2004

  • Ph.D. Arizona State University, 1981: Child Development
  • M.A. Arizona State University, 1978 Counselor Education
  • B.A. Arizona State University, 1974 Elementary Education

Professional Experience

  • 1983-Present: Utah State University
  • 1999(1/2 yr.) Faculty, Semester at Sea, University of Pittsburgh
  • 1992(1/2 yr.) Kindegarten Teaching / Edith Bowen Laboratory School
  • 1989-1990 Visiting Scholar, University of California, Berkeley
  • 1981-1983 Faculty, New Mexico State University
  • 1979-1981 Graduate Assistant, Arizona State University
  • 1974-1979 Public School Teacher

Faculty and Administrative Load:

  • Director, Curriculum & Instruction Doctoral Program
  • Educ 7670 Literature Reviews
  • ELED 6550 Research for Classroom Teachers, 3 sem. Credits
  • ELED 4050 Teacing Social Studies

Fall 2004

Other Collegiate Assignment:

  • ELED Honors Program Coordinator
  • USU Scholarly Publications Committee
  • Group Assessment Coordinator

Current Professional and Academic Association Memberships:

  • National Council for Social Studies Education, member
  • Association for Childhood Education International member
  • American Educational Research Association, member

Selected Recent Publications:

  • Byrnes, D. & Kiger, G. (Eds.). (2005), Common bonds: Anti-bias teaching in a diverse society (3rd ed.). Washington DC: Association for Childhood Education International.
  • Byrnes, D. (1995). "Teacher they called me a !" Confronting prejudice and discrimination in the classroom. (2nd ed.). New York: Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.

Recent Selected Articles & Chapters:

  • Byrnes, D.A. & D'sa, B. (2004). Docudramas, human rights, and civic engagement. A chapter in G.E. Hamot, J.J. Patrick & R.S. Leming, Civic learning in teacher education: International perspectives on education for democracy in the preparation of teachers. Bloomington, IN: Social Studies Development Center.
  • Byrnes, D.A. (2003). Grading with backbone and heart. International Social Studies Forum, 3(1), 269-271.
  • Falconer, R. & Byrnes, D. A. (2003). When good intentions are not enough: A response to increasing diversity in an early childhood setting. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 17(2), 188-200.
  • Byrnes, D. A., Kiger, G. & Shechtman, Z. (2003). Evaluating the use of group interviews to select students into teacher-education programs. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(2) 163-172.
  • Byrnes, D. A. (2002). Road scholars: Using student travel as a resource. Social Studies and the Young Learner, 14(3), 13-17.
  • Dever, M. T., Whitaker, M. L., & Byrnes, D. A. (2001, September/October). The 4th R: Teaching ABOUT religion in the public schools. The Social Studies, 92(5), 220-229.
  • Byrnes, D. A. (2001). War and conflict: Educators advocating for the protection of children. Educational Forum, 65, 227-232.
  • Byrnes, D. A. (2001). Travel schooling: Helping children learn through travel. Childhood Education, 77(6), 345-350.

Recent Presentations:

  • Presenter and Panel Organizer. "Obfuscation, Evasion, and Puffery: Ethics and Our Role as Evaluators in Social Studies." National Council of the Social Studies/CUFA. Kansas City, November 2005.
  • Discussant. "Teaching Social Studies Courses On-Line: Lessons Learned by Teacher Educators." National Council of the Social Studies/CUFA. Kansas City, November 2005
  • Presenter. "Selecting teachers with emotional intelligence" 4th Annual Emotional Intelligence Conference, Orlando, Florida, January, 2004.
  • Presenter. "Using film to engage students in discourse on human rights" (with Benicia D'sa). National Council of Social Studies, Chicago, Illinois, November, 2003.
  • Presenter. "Using Electronic Technology to Deliver an Instructional Leadership Ed.D." American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Annual Meeting, New Orleans, January 2003.
  • Presenter. "Effective and Time-Efficient Grading Practices for Teacher Educators." Annual Association of Teacher Educators Meeting, Denver, February 2002
  • Presenter. "Teaching for Global Justice: Advocating for the Rights of Children in War." American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA, April 2001.

Current Research Intereests:

  • Novice Teacher Performance Anti-Bias Education
  • Emotional Intelligence
  • Assessing Affective Qualities in the Selection of Teacher Education Students

Upcoming Deadlines

  • October 1
    Apply to the Teacher Education Program

  • October 1
    Apply for Student Teaching