Dr. Beth Tuckwiller

Department Chair and Associate Professor, Special Education and Disability Studies

School: Graduate School of Education and Human Development

Department: Special Education and Disability Studies, Cross-Disciplinary

Contact:

Email: Dr. Beth Tuckwiller

Office Phone: (202) 994-9860

Dr. Beth Tuckwiller is an Associate Professor of Special Education and Disability Studies (SEDS) at the Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the George Washington University and serves as the SEDS Department Chair. She earned her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Virginia and holds a B.S. in Psychology and an M.S. in Counseling Psychology. Dr. Tuckwiller was trained as a mental health counselor and specialized in child and adolescent mental health in her clinical work. After transitioning to the field of special education, she taught high school students identified with emotional, behavioral, and learning differences and co-coordinated school-based programming designed to enhance student mental health, wellbeing, and academic outcomes.

Her interdisciplinary research program investigates schools as complex systems in which individual, interpersonal, and sociopolitical factors interact to affect experiences of individual and collective wellbeing and holistic educational outcomes. She grounds her research in participatory and advanced mixed methods designs and engages in community-based, practice-focused participatory projects focused on increasing access and inclusion. Transformative paradigms serve as cornerstones of her research and field-based projects, undergirded by a fundamental ethic that these efforts should be co-constructed, use-oriented, and equity-focused. She has been funded by the Spencer Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, regional school districts, and currently serves as the Principal Investigator of Project EXPAND, funded by the DC Department of Employment Services.

Dr. Tuckwiller is a faculty affiliate at the GW Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders Institute and a Center Associate at GW's Center for Health and Health Care in Schools at the Milken Institute School of Public Health. She also serves as an advisory board member for the GW Center for Applied Developmental Science and Neuroeducation.

Education

Ph.D., University of Virginia

M.S., Radford University

B.S., Virginia Tech

Programs

PhD in Education: Education and Inequality Concentration

Doctorate in Special Education

Master's in Special Education

Master's in Early Childhood Special Education

Master's in Special Education for Children with Emotional and Behavioral Disabilities

Expertise

Mental health and well-being (teacher and student)
Teacher stress and burnout
Care-based education

Publications

Isaacson, K. B., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (in press). Students with chronic illnesses navigating the college transition: A thematic analysis. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability.

Ball, K. B., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2024). Sick of subpar support: An exploratory study of chronically ill college student experiences. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000564

Tuckwiller, E. D., Fox, H. B., Ball, K. B., & St. Louis, J. (2024). More than just a “nod” to care: Expanding Nel Noddings’ ethics of care framework to sustain educator resilience. Leadership and Policy in Schools. https://doi.org/10.1080/15700763.2024.2311249

Walter, H. L. Tuckwiller, E. D., Howard, L. C., Spencer, K. H., & Frey, J. R. (2023). A mixed methods approach to understanding early childhood special educators’ well-being. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 65(4), 374-384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2023.08.002

Walter, H. L., Kutscher, E. L., Fox, H. B., Tuckwiller, E. D., & Ball, K. B. (2023). A tale of caution: Navigating special education teacher resistance to well-being professional development. International Journal of Educational Research (Open), 4, Open Access. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2023.100253

Vaknin-Nusbaum, V., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2022). Reading motivation, well-being and reading achievement in second grade students. Journal of Research in Reading. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9817.12414

Walter, H. L., Kutscher, E. L., Fox, H. B., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2022). Profiles of early childhood special educator well-being. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2022.2093296

Price, O. A., Tuckwiller, E. D., Clayton, J., Fox, H. B., Sadlon, R., & Nagarajan, S. S. (2022). Addressing the effects of the pandemic on educators: Tap into a multi-tiered school-community approach. Principal Leadership, 22, Open Access: https://www.nassp.org/publication/principal- leadership/volume-22-2021-2022

Naples, L. H., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2021). Taking students on a strengths safari: A multidimensional pilot study of school-based wellbeing for young neurodiverse children. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(13). Open Access. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18136947

Fox, H. B., Tuckwiller, E. D., Walter, H. L., & Kutscher, E. L. (2020). What makes teachers well: A mixed methods study of special education teacher well-being. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 9(2), 223-248. https://doi.org/10.32674/jise.v9i2.2170

Milman, N. B., & Tuckwiller, B. (2020). Fostering blended and online students' well-being. Distance Learning, 17(1), 48-52.

Kutscher, E. L., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2020). A mixed methods study of K-12 influences on college participation for students with disabilities. Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals, 43(2), 101-114. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165143420905104

Tuckwiller, E.D., & Milman, N. B. (2019). What is student well-being? A definition for those who teach students in blended and online higher education settings. Distance Learning, 16(3), 54-56. Uniform resource locator.

Dardick, W. R., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2019). Optimism shapes mindset: Understanding the association of optimism and pessimism. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 8(1), 21-56. https://doi.org/10.32674/jise.v0i0.1244

Tuckwiller, E. D., Dardick, W. R., & Kutscher, E. L. (2019). A mixed methods investigation of mindset, grit, optimism, and self-determination in adolescents with learning disabilities and differences. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 24(1), 19-32. https://doi.org/10.18666/LDMJ-2019-V24-I1-8849

Kutscher, E. L., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2019). Persistence in higher education for students with disabilities: A mixed systematic review. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 12(2), 136-155. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000088

Tuckwiller, E. D., & Dardick, W. R. (2018). Mindset, grit, optimism, pessimism, and life satisfaction in university students with and without anxiety and/or depression. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 6(2), 32-48. https://www.ojed.org/index.php/jise/article/view/1413

Tuckwiller, E. D., Dardick, W. R., & Kutscher, E. L. (2017). Profiles of and correlations among mindset, grit, and optimism in adolescents with learning disabilities: A pilot study. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 6(1), 44-63. https://www.ojed.org/index.php/jise/article/view/1759

Tuckwiller, E. D., & Dardick, W. R. (2015). Positive psychology and secondary transition for children with disabilities: A new theoretical framework. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Education, 4(1), 3-20. https://www.ojed.org/index.php/jise/article/view/1598

Pullen, P. C., Tuckwiller, E. D., Ashworth, K., Lovelace, S. P., & Cash, D. B. (2011). Implementing intensive vocabulary instruction for students at risk for reading disability. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 26(3), 145-157.

Azano, A., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2011). GPS for the English classroom: Understanding executive dysfunction in secondary students with autism. Teaching Exceptional Children, 43(6), 38-43.

Tuckwiller, E. D., Pullen, P. C., & Coyne, M. (2010). The use of the Regression Discontinuity Design in tiered research: A pilot study exploring vocabulary instruction for at-risk kindergarteners. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 25(3), 137-150.

Pullen, P. C., Tuckwiller, E. D., Maynard, K. M., Konold, T. R., & Coyne, M. (2010). A tiered intervention model for early vocabulary instruction: The effects of tiered instruction for young students at risk for reading disability. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 25(3), 110-123. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-5826.2010.00309.x

Lindstrom, J. H., & Tuckwiller, E. D. (2009). Extended test time, read aloud and student characteristics: A summary of empirical findings. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 15(3), 93-104. https://js.sagamorepub.com/ldmj/

Lindstrom, J. H., Tuckwiller, E. D., & Hallahan, D. P. (2008). Assessment and eligibility of students with disabilities. In E. Grigorenko (Ed.), Educating individuals with disabilities: IDEIA 2004 and beyond (pp. 197-225). New York: Springer Publishing.

News and Media Mentions

May 2024 - A paper co-authored by Dr. Beth Tuckwiller and a colleague at Western Galilee College was awarded the "United Kingdom Literacy Association (UKLA)/Wiley Research in Literacy Education Award 2024." The award is given annually and recognizes exemplary papers from UKLA journals published by Wiley. The paper, published in the Journal of Research in Reading, is titled, "Reading motivation, well-being and reading achievement in second grade students."