Senior Lecturer - Middle Level Education / Program Coordinator - Curriculum & Instruction M.Ed.

Dr. Brinegar has a broad background in research and teaching related to young adolescents. She publishes and presents on various aspects of adolescent education and has taught and consulted in middle and high schools throughout Vermont and the Bay Area of California. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses related to equity and cultural responsiveness, school culture, middle grades organization and pedagogy, disciplinary literacy, young adolescent ELA methods, and curriculum development and assessment.

Her research includes studies related to young adolescent identity development, curriculum integration in middle schools, and young adolescent motivation and engagement. She is committed to a research agenda that promotes equity and cultural responsiveness by honoring the experiences and identities of young adolescents with marginalized identities. Her research has been published in venues such as; Teaching & Teacher Education, Middle Grades Review, Research in Middle Level Online, Middle Grades Research Journal, and The Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education series.

Dr. Brinegar currently serves as co-editor of Middle School Journal, as program chair of the Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group (MLER SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and as a member of the Research Advisory Board for the Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE).

When not working, you can find her running the dirt roads of Vermont, exploring the outdoors with her family, or curled up with a young adult novel.

Publications

Edited Books

Harrison, L. M., Brinegar, K, & Hurd, E. (Eds.) (2020). Integrative and interdisciplinary curriculum in the middle school: Integrated Approaches in Teacher Preparation and Practice. Routledge.

Brinegar, K., Harrison, L., & Hurd, E. (Eds.). (2019). Equity and Cultural Responsiveness in the Middle Grades. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Selected Articles and Book Chapters

Hurd, E., Harrison, L., Brinegar, K., & Kennedy, B. L. (2018). Cultural Responsiveness in the Middle Grades: A Literature Review. In S. B. Mertens & M. Caskey (Eds.), Handbook of Resources in Middle Level Education: Literature Reviews in Support of the MLER SIG Research Agenda. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Kennedy, B., Brinegar, K., Hurd, E., & Harrison, L. (2016). Synthesizing Middle Grades Research on Cultural Responsiveness: The Importance of a Shared Conceptual Framework. Middle Grades Review. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1061&context=mgreview

Brinegar, K., Kennedy-Lewis, B., Harrison, L., & Hurd, E. (2016). Cultural responsiveness. In S. B. Mertens, M. M. Caskey, P. Bishop, N. Flowers, D. Strahan, D., G. Andrews, & L. Daniel (Eds.), The MLER SIG research agenda (pp. 4-6). Retrieved from http://mlersig.net/mler-sig-research-agenda-project/

Reyes, C. & Brinegar, K. (2016). Lessons learned: Using the literacy histories of education students to equitize literacy instruction for young adolescents. Teaching and Teacher Education, 59, pp. 327-337.

Brinegar, K. (2015). A content analysis of four peer-reviewed middle grades publications: Are we really paying attention to every young adolescent? Middle Grades Review. Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=mgreview

Yoon, B., Schaefer, M.B., Malu, K., Reyes, C, & Brinegar, K. (2015) Comprehensive and critical review of middle grades research and practice: 2000-2013. Middle Grades Research Journal, 10(1), 1-16.

Brinegar, K. & Reyes, C. (2014). “Becoming a literate being:” Pre-Service teachers using digital storytelling to reflect on personal narratives. Volume 8 in K. Malu & M.B. Schaffer (Eds.) The handbook of middle grades research in middle level education. American Educational Research Association’s Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group. Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.

Brinegar, K., & Bishop, P. (2012). Student learning and engagement in the context of curriculum integration. Middle Grades Research Journal, 6(4).

Brinegar, K. (2010) “I feel like I’m safe again:” A discussion of middle grades organizational structures from the perspective of immigrant youth and their teachers. Research in Middle Level Education Online. 33(9). Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19404476.2010.11462072

Selected Editorials

Harrison, L. M., Hurd, E., & Brinegar, K.  (2021). But is it really about critical race theory?: The attack on teaching about systemic racism and why we must care. Middle School Journal, 52(4). 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2021.1953840

Hurd, E., Brinegar, K., & Harrison, L. M. (2021). Equity-based social emotional learning (SEL): A critical lens for moving forward. Middle School Journal, 52(3), 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2021.1893994

Brinegar, K., Harrison, L.M, & Hurd, E. (2021). Refusing to return to normal. Middle School Journal, 52(2). 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2020.1868243

Harrison, L. M., Hurd, E., & Brinegar, K.  (2021). The necessity of intentionality: Foregrounding equity in middle level education . Middle School Journal, 52(1). 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2020.1842646

Brinegar, K., Harrison, L.M, & Hurd, E. (2020). (Anti)racist me: Moving toward personal and social antiracism. Middle School Journal, 51(4). 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2020.1788894

Hurd, E., Brinegar, K., & Harrison, L. M. (2020). In student activism there is hope. Middle School Journal, 51(2), 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2019.1707557

Brinegar, K., Harrison, L.M, & Hurd, E. (2020). Let’s not fall short: Enacting the four essential attributes of middle schools. Middle School Journal, 50(3). 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2019.1696071

Brinegar, K., Harrison, L.M, & Hurd, E. (2019). Co-constructing young adolescent development: A power & privilege of educators. Middle School Journal, 50(3). 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2019.1608753

Brinegar, K., Harrison, L.M, & Hurd, E. (2018). Becoming transformative, equity-based educators. Middle School Journal, 49(2). 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2018.1524253

Harrison, L. M, & Hurd, E., Brinegar, K. (2018). Middle school movement phase II: Moving towards an inclusive and justice-oriented middle level education. Middle School Journal, 49(4). 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2018.1490569

Brinegar, K., Harrison, L.M, & Hurd, E. (2018). Emancipation through empowerment. Middle School Journal, 49(2). 2-3. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00940771.2018.1415084

Awards and Recognition

  • Fellowship, New England Board of Education, Open Education Community of Practice (2021)
  • Certificate in Online Teaching, Online Learning Consortium (2021)
  • Faculty Development Grant Awards, Northern Vermont University (2015)
  • VSC Faculty Academic Technology Collaboration Grant, Vermont State Colleges (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2019)
  • Excellence in Advising Award, Northern Vermont University (2015)
  • Excellence in Advising Award, Northern Vermont University (2014)

Associations and Affiliations

  • American Educational Research Association (AERA)
  • Association of Middle Level Education (AMLE)
  • Middle-Level Education Research Special Interest Group (MLER SIG)
  • National Association of Professors of Middle Level Education (NAPOMLE)
  • New England Association of Teachers of English (NEATE)
  • New England League of Middle Schools (NELMS)
  • Vermont Association for Middle Level Education (VAMLE)
Kathleen Brinegar

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

  • Young adolescent identity development
  • Equitable/culturally responsive curriculum design
  • Disciplinary literacy
  • Middle grades organization and pedagogy
  • Inclusive pedagogies

Education

  • Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of Vermont
  • M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction, University of Vermont
  • B.A. in History and English, University of Vermont

CV

File Brinegar_CV_Summer_21.docx

Contact

Email:

kathleen.brinegar@uvm.edu

Office Location:

407A Waterman Building

Website(s):
  1. #vted Reads about Equity & Cultural Responsiveness in the Middle Grades, with Kathleen Brinegar [audio podcast]
  2. We Got This, with Kathleen Brinegar [audio podcast]

Courses Taught

  • EDML 024 Foundations of Middle Level Education
  • EDML 177 Young Adolescent English Language Arts (ELA) Methods
  • EDML 261 Middle Level Teaching Practicum II