Dr. Kaitlin Jackson

Adjunct Assistant Professor of Special Education

Dr. Kaitlin Jackson (she/her) is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Special Education at Fayetteville State University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Social Behavior (Cum Laude) with a minor in educational studies from the University of California, Irvine; a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction specializing in special education from Louisiana State University and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Kentucky. She holds active teaching licenses in special education, elementary education, and birth-kindergarten, and she is a state-certified instructor in NC SIP’s Reading Research to Classroom Practice and Foundations of Math courses. Dr. Jackson also serves as a NC Dyslexia Delegate and has completed ACUE’s Effective Teaching Practices certificate program.

Dr. Jackson previously served as an Adjunct Instructor, instructional coach, teacher trainer and supervisor, and both a general and special education teacher in early childhood and elementary classrooms in California, Louisiana, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. She is a member of the North Carolina Reading Association, the North Carolina Reading League, the International Dyslexia Association, and North Carolina's Council for Exceptional Children (NC CEC). She serves as the President Elect of NC CEC's Division for Early Childhood, a member of the Board of Directors for a public charter school in Wake County, and the Chair of FSU’s Autism Advisory Council.

Dr. Jackson’s research area focuses on interdisciplinary and community-focused autism supports, structured literacy in elementary and special education, and special education teacher preparation. Her academic areas of interest include evidence-based literacy and math instruction for diverse and exceptional learners, accessible instructional design, teacher retention, and neurodiversity-affirming behavior supports. Dr. Jackson’s current research projects include examining the effects of intensive teacher professional development on literacy outcomes in diverse learners, identifying best practices for effective implementation of Universal Design for Learning in higher education, and bringing the social model of disability into special education.

Publications since coming to FSU

Jackson, K. (2022). Dual pandemics: How a global health crisis exposed educational inequity to White, middle-class America. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education. In press.

Jackson, K. (2022). When diversity isn’t the point: Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors in the classroom. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education. In press.

Jackson, K. (2023). Dual pandemics: How a global health crisis exposed educational inequity to White, middle-class America. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 22(1), 18-21.

Jackson, K. (2023). When diversity isn’t the point: Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors in the classroom. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 22(1), 54-63.

Jackson, K. & Parker, L. (2023) Building resilience: Strategies to combat burnout and attrition in new special education teachers. Journal of Special Education Preparation, 3(3), 56-70.

Jackson, K. (2024, March). Supporting diverse students through UDL in online education. In M. Bartlett & S. Ehrlich (Eds.), Unlocking learning potential with universal design in online learning environments. IGI Global Publishing. DOI: 10.4018/979-8-3693-1269-8

Presentations since coming to FSU

Jackson, K. & Parker, L. (2023, February 17). Building resilience: Strategies to combat burnout and attrition in new special education teachers. [Conference session]. NC Council for Exceptional Children 36^th Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC.

Jackson, K. & Smith-Gray, J. (2023, July 15). Empowering families to support early literacy learning at home. [Conference session]. NC Council for Exceptional Children Exceptional Learner Summit, Wake Forest, NC.

Bock, A., Jackson, K., & Mockovciak, A. (2023, July 15). Decoding the science of reading for transformative teaching. [Panel discussion]. NC Council for Exceptional Children Exceptional Learner Summit, Wake Forest, NC.

Jackson, K. (2023, September 28). Demystifying differentiation: Preparing pre-service and residency teachers to bring UDL to life. [Conference session]. NCACTE 41^st Annual Fall Forum, Raleigh, NC.

Parker, L., Mills, B., & Jackson, K. (2023, September 27). What every residency teacher needs to know about SPED on Day 1. [Conference session]. NCACTE 41^st Annual Fall Forum, Raleigh, NC.

Jackson, K. (2024, February 24). Neurodiversity-affirming behavior supports in the inclusive classroom. [Conference session]. NC Council for Exceptional Children 37^th Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC.

Parker, L., Mills, B., & Jackson, K. (2024, February 24). What every residency teacher needs to know about SPED on Day 1. [Conference session]. NC Council for Exceptional Children 37^th Annual Conference, Raleigh, NC.

Parker, L., Jackson, K., & Mills, B. (2024, April 13). Maintaining wellness while serving students with challenging behavior. [Conference session]. FSU Excellence in Teaching Conference, Fayetteville, NC.

Jackson, K. & Mills, B. (2024, April 13). Equipping families with tools to support early literacy learning at home. [Conference session]. NC Council for Exceptional Children Special & Academically Gifted Education Summit (Virtual).

Jackson, K. (2024, September 20). Building bridges: How a University Autism Council supports the local autism community. [Conference session]. NCACTE 42nd Annual Fall Forum, Raleigh, NC.