Janet Shefelbine, Ph.D.
Janet Shefelbine, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Educational Psychology
and Leadership Studies
Bio:
Dr. Janet Shefelbine is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Texas at Brownsville. She received her Ph.D. at the University of Texas-Austin as part of the UT-Austin cooperative superintendency program and has master’s degrees from Stanford University and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. At the University of Texas at Brownsville Dr. Shefelbine teaches Educational Leadership courses, including Curriculum Leadership for School Improvement, Administration of Special Programs, and Introduction to Research for Educational Leadership. These courses are part of the UTB Master’s for Educational Leadership and Texas principal certification programs. Dr. Shefelbine also teaches Instructional Leadership Development (ILD), the Texas certification requirement.
Before coming to UTB, Dr. Shefelbine served as a K-8 principal, a pre-school director, a Title I program director at the Texas Education Agency, and a field service agent/Title I program specialist in Texas education service centers. Dr. Shefelbine’s experience with English as second language learners has included consulting, coaching, and writing curricula for schools in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and California. She has taught in numerous ESL environments, including Rough Rock Demonstration School, a community-run Navajo PK-12 school.
Dr. Shefelbine’s research and teaching interests include the leadership of programs that provide equity and excellence for all students, particularly children living in low-income situations. Since entering academe she has presented regularly at national and state conferences-including the University Council of Educational Administration (UCEA), American Educational Research Association (AERA), and TABE (Texas Association of Bilingual Education). Additionally, at the 15th European Conference on Reading held n Berlin, Shefelbine presented a paper that described academic outcomes for immigrant students from schools along the Texas-Mexico border. Dr. Shefelbine has published numerous articles that focus on the leadership of programs for English as a second language learners.
Dr. Shefelbine is currently researching the development of effective approaches for the leadership of programs in diverse settings. She is interested in literacy policy and practice for ESL learners, the validity of federal and state accountability programs, and the development of professional development structures and strategies that will create successful leadership teams for diverse communities .
Degrees:
Ph.D. University of Texas-Austin Cooperative Superintendency Program, Educational Leadership Dissertation: Moving Toward Family-Community-School Relationships: A Study of Partnership Efforts in a Successful Urban High School, Dissertation Chair, Jim Scheurich
M. A. Stanford University, Curriculum and Instruction
M. S. University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Educational Psychology
B.S. Concordia College-Nebraska, Music and English
CV/Vitae:
Janet Shefelbine, Ph.D.
Teaching Interest:
Taught the following graduate courses for Educational Leadership Masters, principalship certificate and superintendency certificate programs: Instructional Leadership Development for Principals (EDAD 6370), Administration of Student Personnel Services (EDAD 6486), Administration of Special Instructional Programs (EDAD 6337), Introduction to Educational Administration (EDAD 6484); Educational, Social, and Political Issues in the Superintendency (EDAD 7398), Administration of Human Resources (EDAD 6393), and Curriculum Leadership for School Improvement (ELDR 6394). Also, am currently teaching a new course, Research Methods in Educational Leadership for Brownsville cohort.
Participated in program development and revision, assisted in development of updates to comprehensive exam, chaired personnel search committees, piloted the provision of continuing education courses in educational leadership, and participated in student advisement through individual and group student sessions.
Course Schedule:
EDLR 6337.60 7:20-10:00pm W EDBC 1.422
EDLR 6397.60 4:45-7:15pm W EDBC 1.422
EDPLR 6398.61 7:15-10:00pm TH EDBC 1.220
Area of Specialty and Responsibility:
Recent research has focused on the building a knowledge base that develops capacity of district and campuses for leading culturally and linguistically diverse learning communities. This knowledge base includes an understanding of the effects of high-stakes testing and a responsible response to the demands of accountability. The development of community and family connections with public schools, especially schools with cultural and linguistic diversity, is also an ongoing area of research. Currently I am focused on systematically expanding my research to include further development of a knowledge base for leadership of diverse districts and campuses leadership by utilizing additional case studies (using both qualitative and quantitative sources) combined with reliable surveys of students, staff and community.