CAMPUS DIRECTORY

Education

Ed.D., Reading/Writing/Literacy, University of Pennsylvania 2016

M.P.A., School Administration and Supervision, Baruch College, City University of New York 2006

M.S., Special Education, College of Saint Rose 1995

B.A., English and Photography, State University of New York at Buffalo 1992

Areas of Expertise

• Special education

• Disability studies

• Literacy

• Teacher education

• Access and equity

• Supporting LGBTQ+ students

• Qualitative research

Biography

Dr. Erin Whitney is a teacher educator with professional experience teaching K-12 students in rural and urban settings, both in the classroom and as a school leader and coach. As a special education teacher, she focused on literacy, co-teaching, collaboration, and inclusion. At Chico State, she coordinates and teaches in the Education Specialist and Dual Credential programs.  Rooted in a commitment to antiracism and social justice in education, Dr. Whitney’s research focuses on teacher education, inclusive practices for students with disabilities, literacy, culturally sustaining pedagogies, and support for LGBTQ+ students in K-12 schools and universities.  

Affiliations

• American Educational Research Association (AERA)

• California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE)

• National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)

• Council for Exceptional Children (CEC)

Grants & Contracts Awarded

Co-Principal Investigator: Northern California (NorCal) Growing Responsive, Equitable, Adaptable and Transformative (GREAT) Teachers Pipeline Program. US. Dept. of Education: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education. $13,349,551 (2022-2025).

Center for Transformational Educator Preparation Programs (CTEPP), California State University, Co-Primary Investigator, Chico State (2022-2025).

Internal Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (RSCA) Grant, Experiences of Preservice Teachers with Disabilities, Chico State Enterprises, 2021-2022.

Publications 

Whitney, E.H. (Spring/Summer 2022). Fostering joy in reading: Implementing culturally and historically responsive book clubs with Black girls with disabilities. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners 22 (1), 24–38. https://doi.org/10.56829/2158-396X-22.1.24

Whitney, E.H., Cox, J., Hambley, M., Wenzel, C., Nilsson, J. (2022). Inviting discomfort in workshops on supporting LGBTQIA+ students with educators in rural schools. Journal of Homosexuality, 69(12), 2104-2125. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918369.2021.1984785

Whitney, E.H. (2018). Reenvisioning writing pedagogy and learning disabilities through a Black girls’ literacies framework. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 62(6), 643-651. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.934

Stornaiuolo, A. & Whitney, E.H. (2018). Writing as worldmaking. Language Arts, 94(4), 205-217. https://library.ncte.org/journals/la/issues/v95-4.

Presentations

Whitney, E.H., Aguilar-McKay, N., Lemmi, C., Bertolone-Smith, C., Seipel, B., Schreder,  K. (2024, October). Developing and sustaining high school Grow Your Own  programs. Poster presentation at the 2024 Fall Conference of the California Council on Teacher Education (CCTE). (San Diego, CA).

Whitney, E.H., Aguilar-McKay, N. Lemmi, C., Bertolone-Smith, C., Seipel, B. (2024, April). University faculty co-teaching a high school course to introduce BIPOC students to the field of education. Poster Session in Session: A University System  Transforming Teacher Preparation Through Initiatives to Recruit, Support, and Retain  BIPOC Teachers. Poster presented at the 2024 Annual Conference of the American        Educational Research Association. (Philadelphia, PA).

Whitney, E.H., Slemrod, T., Schreder, K. (2022, April). Experiences of credential       candidates with disabilities on the path to becoming teachers. Roundtable  presentation at the American Educational Research Forum annual meeting, San Diego, CA.

Whitney, E.H., Lemmi, C., Stevens, E. (2020, October). Infusing culturally sustaining pedagogies into foundational literacy courses for preservice teachers. Video presentation at Annual Conference of the California Council on Teacher Education       (CCTE).

Whitney, E.H. (2019, February). Reframing disability through a social model in teacher education. Paper presentation in panel session: Moving from Theory to Practice and   Back Again: Navigating New Roles as Teacher Educators with Bethany Silva and Karin Lange at Ethnography in Education Research Forum, Philadelphia, PA.

Whitney, E.H. (2018, November). Pre-service teachers emerging understandings of inclusive education and the relationships between literacy, dis/ability and technology.  Roundtable presentation at the Literacy Research Association annual meeting, Indian Wells, CA.

Whitney, E.H. (2018, February). Multimodal writing: Black girls with learning disabilities enacting agency and identity. Paper session at the Council for Exceptional Children  (CEC) annual meeting, Tampa, FL.

Whitney, E.H. (2017, November). Collaborative composition as inclusive practice: A study of girls with learning disabilities writing together across modalities and spaces. Paper presentation at the Literacy Research Association annual meeting, Tampa, FL.