Megan Kennedy

Biography

Dr. Megan Kennedy joined the education faculty of Westfield State University in 2010. She earned her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Teacher Preparation from the University of Denver. Dr. Kennedy earned her initial elementary teacher licensure at Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, IN and her M.Ed. degree at Smith College in Northampton, MA. Before pursuing her PhD she was a sixth grade teacher in Southampton, MA at the William E. Norris Elementary School. While in Denver, she also spent two years as the Gifted and Talented facilitator at a k-8 charter school.

Dr. Kennedy teaches courses that focus on the interconnection between curriculum, instruction, assessment and content at the elementary and middle levels. Dr. Kennedy has also designed an elective course on Anti-Bullying Effective Practices and Interventions. In addition she teaches graduate courses in advanced pedagogy while serving as the Program Administrator for Graduate Education Programs. Dr. Kennedy is counselor for the Iota Iota Chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, the International Education Honor Society at WSU. Her current research interests include teacher identity in the classroom, creating inclusive spaces in schools and communities for LGBTQ youth, anti-bullying curriculum, and literature as a tool for creating socially just classrooms. Dr. Kennedy is a co-author of Safe Spaces: Making Schools and Communities Welcoming to LGBT Youth, Praeger Publishing, 2011.

Besides teaching, Megan loves reading, playing golf, and traveling to DC to visit her niece Kennedy and nephews Cullen and Charlie.