Today we’d like to introduce you to Dawn Rowe.
Hi Dawn, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My passion for advocacy and general career interest started in high school. I was required to complete a 2-week internship as part of my graduation requirements. I selected Holy Angels, an institution that provided a home, health care services, and education for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who also experienced significant medical challenges. In the internship, I worked alongside teachers and related service professionals, supporting individuals in reaching their educational goals. I loved it so much that I applied for a job. So at the age of 15, my career journey began. I worked all 3 shifts at Holy Angels, which provided me insight into what it took to care for, educate, and support individuals in having a good quality of life. It was an amazing experience influenced by the decision to pursue a college degree. I would be the first in my family to go to college. It was exciting. My undergraduate major was communication disorders. Again, this was inspired by my work at Holy Angels with the Speech Language Pathologist. Early in my position at Holy Angels, I recognized the need for individuals to have functional communication systems. This was a key to accessing many opportunities and achieving the quality of life many desired. While I completed the degree in communication disorders, I was not certain that the profession would allow me the opportunities I desired, so I continued my education and received a master’s degree in Special Education. My undergraduate and graduate degrees were from Appalachian State University. While in the first year of my undergraduate program, I was able to continue employment at Holy Angels, working weekends, and through the summer, I found it challenging to travel back and forth. I transitioned to a new position managing a group home in Boone, NC, operated by Watagua Opportunities. I worked full-time as the weekend manager.
During the week, I attended school full-time, and then Fridays around 2 pm, I would pick up 7 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities who ranged in age from 22 to 72, driving them home to support them in living, learning, and working. Again, this was an amazing experience that shaped my career. We cooked together, cleaned, planned weekend outings, danced the night away at the Friday Community dance, and even went on vacation together on a cruise to the Bahamas.
In addition to being the group home manager, I took a position with the local community college, teaching compensatory education to adults with intellectual disabilities. In this position, I applied many of the skills I learned from my undergraduate and graduate degrees which proved beneficial for me in building fluency and maintaining those skills over time. Again, another opportunity to apply what I was learning in my program. I supported individuals in learning skills like money management, medication management, health, dating, and this list goes on in a community setting. Wow, the stories I could tell from those days.
When I graduated with my master’s degree, I took a position in the public school system. I moved out of the mountains to Charleston, SC, where I had the pleasure of serving students and families on John’s Island and West of the Ashley River. I worked hard to advocate for students and their families in this region. I volunteered on many county and state-wide committees to ensure students with disabilities had access to the services and support they needed to transition to adulthood successfully. I developed new programs and refined old ones. Many of the research questions I am trying to answer today in my current position were derived from these experiences in adult services and the k-12 school system.
In 2008, I realized I could not reach my goal of making the change on a wider scale in my current position as a teacher/transition specialist in the public school system. I decided to go back to school and train to conduct research and further develop my skills to train pre-service and in-service professionals. I pursued my Ph.D. in special education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. What an amazing opportunity. I learned so much just in the first semester. It was invigorating. I even returned to the school I worked at in Charleston to conduct research to answer some of the questions my school team was generating about how to better engage families. I completed my doctoral program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte under the advisement of Dr. David Test. Since then, I have secured funding and publications and laid the groundwork for future work in secondary special education and transition in the United States and abroad (e.g., the Republic of the Marshall Islands). My accomplishments in research and university teaching, paired with my 12 years of experience as a special education teacher and transition specialist in the K-12 school system, allowed me to advance my career and make significant contributions to the field of special education. My research and scholarship focuses on three main areas: evidence-based practices and predictors of post-school success for students with disabilities, life skills interventions (e.g., goal setting, self-management, communication skills), and professional development (e.g., families, in-service and pre-service educators). I now conduct high-quality research using rigorous designs (e.g., single case, correlational), effectively teach undergraduate and graduate level courses, and engage in service for the department, college, university, community, and the field of secondary special education and transition.
As each opportunity presents itself, I have accomplished new tasks, developed new skills, and worked hard to accomplish my goals. I contribute some of my success in research and higher education to my efforts to stay grounded in practice and continue to be a direct service provider. Today, I live the best of both worlds. I continue to directly support individuals with intellectual disabilities via ETSU’s inclusive higher education program, Access ETSU, while also building the capacity of faculty, staff, and students in research and scholarship via my role as Quillen Chair of Excellence in Teaching and Learning.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been smooth?
Much of my current research is guided by the social-ecological approach a model built upon the understanding that behaviors are interactional, including student characteristics and characteristics in the environment (e.g., school, community, employment) that affect student behavior and outcomes. I believe understanding both the characteristics of the student and the demands of the environment in which they are functioning is critical to providing effective instruction and support to students and ensuring the sustainability of any school or community-wide program to support individuals with disabilities in the development of academic, functional, and social-emotional skills necessary to persist through school into adulthood and improve the overall quality of life.
I often see opportunities for professional growth. I approach issues from multiple perspectives. Sometimes, I recognized it was me (my values, beliefs, knowledge, or abilities) impacting my path forward. Other times, I realize it was the environment, so like my approach to instruction for individuals with disabilities, I examine both to determine the opportunities for me to grow and move forward. If I had to identify a struggle, it would be finding the balance between work and family/home life. My work is a big part of my identity. I sometimes cannot turn it off to dedicate sufficient time to my family. I am fortunate that my family understands this struggle and supports me. They recognize the importance of the research and advocacy work and give me space to do it. They also give me gentle reminders I need to advocate for myself occasionally and take a break from life to relax, reflect, and appreciate those around me.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I thrive being in a position where I can support and mentor students and faculty in valuing research and teaching excellence and understanding the importance of knowledge translation. My long-term research plan includes developing strategies to support bridging the research-to-practice gap in education, health and well-being, and community development. As a researcher, I am primarily interested in identifying evidence-based practices (e.g., family engagement, self-management, and social skills). And understanding how variables such as setting (e.g., rural communities), school climate, professional development, and contextual factors (e.g., inclusion, class size, class culture, family engagement) will improve in-school and post-secondary outcomes and quality of life among individuals with disabilities, particularly those with more intense support needs in rural communities. I am proud of many things that have occurred throughout my career, but two that stand out include my work with the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Access ETSU. First is my work with the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The RMI is a sovereign nation consisting of approximately 70 square miles of land situated west of the international dateline, just north of the equator, and spread across approximately 750,000 square miles of ocean. They face considerable challenged in educating their teacher workforce. I have worked with the RMI Public School System (PSS) for the past several years to build the capacity to serve individuals with disabilities better. We use Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) cycles to plan to test the change (plan), carry out the test (Do), observe and learn from the outcomes of the test (Study), and determine what refinements or modifications should be made (Act). As a result of this work, I have seen change at the policy level, program level, and down to student outcomes (e.g., graduation rates). This has been exciting work.
The other accomplishment is Access ETSU. While I did not do this alone, I am proud of ETSU’s work around creating a space for individuals with intellectual disabilities to access all ETSU has to offer. Access started as a grassroots effort with one student in 2019, and now we serve 22 students. Here is the link to the website to learn more: https://www.etsu.edu/coe/access/.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
I have learned it is important to understand the context. Whether working with individuals, state, or local agencies, I strive to understand the contexts to serve their needs better before providing professional development/technical assistance or consulting with individuals from different states or entities to conduct research. I research the culture and prepare questions for the team or individuals to help me better understand how language, culture, and family background influence the policies and procedures of the schools/agencies in which they work. Active listening is important. As teachers, we are trained to talk, but I have learned it is more important to listen if I want to advocate and provide the services appropriately and support individuals’ needs. This goes for individuals with disabilities and the faculty, staff, and students I serve. I have noticed many conflicts revolve around communication. Effective communication skills are some of the most important skills for me to be an effective leader, advocate, friend, and family member.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://works.bepress.com/dawn-rowe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dawn.rowe.1466
