Kira Hamann, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor
Phone: (618) 650‑2139
Office: Founders Hall 1138
About Dr. Hamann
Kira Hamann, Ed.D. is an Assistant Professor of Early Childhood Education in the School of Education, Health, and Human Behavior at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Dr. Hamann joined SIUE in the fall of 2020 after obtaining her Ed.D. in Teaching & Learning from the Illinois State University. Dr. Hamann teaches courses in Early Childhood Education, including creating and managing learning environments, assessment of young children, health, safety, nutrition, and physical activity, and methods and materials for teaching preschool and primary dual and secondary language learners. Before coming to SIUE, Dr. Hamann worked as an instructional assistant professor of Early Childhood Education at Illinois State University, and prior to this as an Early Childhood professional development contractor and PreK teacher in the Chicago Public Schools. She is a certified Positive Discipline Parent & Teacher Educator and leads professional development for in-service educators in the areas of teaching social-emotional skills, problem-solving, co-teaching, teacher identity development, and building family and classroom communities. She serves locally as a board member of Riverbend Head Start & Family Services, as well as a state-level team leader of the Illinois Professional Educator Competency Project.
Research Profile:
Dr. Hamann’s recent research revolves around various facets of early childhood teacher preparation including how early childhood educators bridge their teacher preparation with real world practice in relation to classroom management and community-building and what impact alternative grading has on early childhood teacher candidates’ motivation and beliefs about grading in their own practice. Additionally, Dr. Hamann has been exploring various pathways for early childhood teacher preparation, including the status of innovative early childhood cohort models of teacher preparation in Illinois and the status of preparatory options/ programs in Illinois related to inclusive ECE classroom settings. Related to this, she recently served as a Co-PI on a grant that supported this research, increased the capacity for inclusive early childhood teaching through alignment of the Illinois Early Childhood Gateways competencies, with standards and guidelines of inclusive practice, and created a set of resources for higher education faculty and Gateways trainers to incorporate these competencies into professional development.
Education:
- Ed.D., 2017: Illinois State University
- M.S.Ed., 2009: Erikson Institute
- B.S.Ed., 2005: Illinois State University
Specialization:
Teaching & Learning, Early Childhood Education, Teacher Preparation, Classroom Management/ Community-Building, Alternative Assessment in Higher Education
Publications:
- Hamann, K. A. (2019). Co-teaching in your first year: Professional marriages resulting in success or divorce? In B. Evans-Santiago (Ed.), Do as I say, not as I did: How new teachers can include social justice in their classrooms. Gorham, ME: Myers Education Press.
- Scritchlow, J., Hamann, K., Chamberlain, P., & Darragh-Ernst, J. (2019, December). Cohort pathways in Illinois: Innovative models supporting the early childhood workforce (Research Report). Illinois Governor’s Office Early Childhood Education.
- Mikulec, E. & Hamann, K. (2019, May). “My eyes have been opened”: A simulated classroom management project for pre-service secondary teachers. Action in Teacher Education. DOI:1080/01626620.2019.1612297
- Hamann, K., Latham, N. I., Darragh-Ernst, J. (2018). Preparing teachers to work with young children with special needs in Illinois: The Illinois early childhood special education teacher preparation landscape study (Research report). High-Quality Inclusion Practices within the Illinois EC Professional Development System: New Approaches to Breaking Down Barriers Grant funded by the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities.
- Quesenberry, A. C., Hamann, K., Sanden, S., Bates, A., & Hartle, L. (2018). Examining the Impact of a Year-Long School-University Partnership. Action in Teacher Education, 40(3), 288-304.
- Sanden, S., Darragh-Ernst, J., Hamann, K., Quesenberry, A., Latham, N., Christianson, D., & Smyrniotis, A. (2016). Supporting early childhood workforce development and pathways: Developing a competency-based assessment system in Illinois. In S. Bernotoit, N. Latham, & J. Darragh- Ernst (Eds.), Voices from the field: Collaborative innovations in early childhood educator preparation (pp. 201-224). Edwardsville, IL: Illinois Education Research Council.
- Latham, N., Mertens, S., & Hamann, K. (2015, November). Comparison of teacher preparation models and implications for teacher attrition: Evidence from a 14-Year longitudinal study. School-University Partnerships, 8(2), 79-89.
- Quesenberry, A., Hemmeter, M. L., Ostrosky, M., & Hamann, K. (2014, July/September). Child care teachers’ perspectives on including children with challenging behavior in childcare settings. Infants & Young Children, 27(3), 241-258.
- Hamann, K. & Krummel, A. (2012, June). Executive summary of research related to teaching by elementary and secondary students (Research report). Hoenny Center for Research and Development in Teaching.
