Kathleen Artman Meeker
Associate Professor of Education
Professor Meeker began her career as a special education teacher for children with severe and multiple disabilities. Her experience — and often struggle — with transferring the knowledge gained from her teacher preparation and coaching shaped her current work. As a researcher, she is committed to investigating the professional development experiences that make a difference in the lives of teachers and children.
Professor Meeker’s work centers on developing effective and scalable professional development systems for early childhood professionals. She is particularly interested in the ways early learning programs can structure coaching in creative and equitable ways to support educators. This includes whether and how characteristics of coaching (frequency, delivery format, content) influences teachers’ on-the-job experiences and their use of evidence-based practices. Central to her coaching work is teachers’ use of social-emotional teaching strategies and positive behavior support.
She serves as director of research for the UW’s Haring Center for Inclusive Education, a national leader in advancing inclusive early childhood education, and previously supported efforts to expand coaching in Head Start programs through the UW’s National Center for Quality Teaching and Learning. Professor Meeker recently co-authored a Council for Exceptional Children position statement on preventing and addressing challenging behavior in young children, and she currently leads EarlyEdU for Inclusion, which builds partnerships with community colleges to increase representation of young children with disabilities and their families in early childhood education coursework across Washington state.
Research Areas
- Early Childhood Education
- Inclusive Education
- Developmental Disabilities
In Depth
Learn more about Professor Meeker’s research to expand access to high-quality coaching for the special education workforce.
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