Susan Fowler

Activities & Honors

• Spitze-Mather Faculty Award for Excellence, College of Education, 2009-
• President, Council for Exceptional Children, 2008-
• President Elect, Council for Exceptional Children, 2007-
• Member At large (elected), Council for Exceptional Children, 2003-2006
• National Service Award, Division for Early Childhood (DEC), Council for Exceptional Children, 1998-
• Distinguished Senior Scholar, College award provided annually to individuals more than 10 years post PhD for outstanding research, College of Education, 1998-
• President, Higher Education Consortium for Special Education, 1997-1999
• President, Division of Early Childhood, Council for Exceptional Children, 1993-

Research Statement

My research has focused on the lives of young children and their families between birth and early elementary school. I tend to look at programmatic and policy factors that influence family involvement in the delivery of services to their young children who are at risk for disabilities or identified as disabled as well as the factors that influence professionals in their delivery and coordination of services. My research fits three clusters: research and development of intervention strategies to enhance language, social and cognitive development in young children; development of guidelines and practices to help communities and programs coordinate delivery of services to young children and families, particularly as they leave one service system for another; increasing our understanding of the roles that cultural and linguistic diversity may play in family's participation in services. Recently completed projects focused on the evaluation of early childhood practices and materials for culturally and linguistically diverse populations (see CLAS website link), the development of an emergent literacy curriculum based on weekly stories (see Spark! Website link) and practices and policies for planning the transition from early intervention to preschool (see FACTs/LRE website link). Current research is focusing on policy decisions related to implementing Preschool for All (see Illinois Asset Map website) and intervention strategies to influence child language use in family routines (e.g., story reading, snack time).

Grants

• Co-Principal Investigator, DELL-D Developing Early Language and Literacy in Danville, U.S. Department of Education, 2007-2011
• Principal Investigator, Illinois Early Childhood Asset Map Project, Illinois State Board of Education, 2006-2014
• Principal Investigator, Illinois Early Learning Web Site, Illinois State Board of Education, 2001-2006

Publications

• Fowler, S. A., Yates, T. J., & Ostrosky, M. M. (2011) Professional development  for early childhood intervention:  Current status and future directions.  In C. Gorark, S.M. Eidelman, L. Kaczmarek and S. Maude (Eds) Early childhood intervention: Programs and policies for special needs children. ABC-CLIO Publishers. Santa Barbara, CA.95-122.
• Fowler, S. A. (2010) Early transition of children with special needs.  In P. Peterson, E. Baker, &B. McGraw (Eds), International Encyclopedia of Education, Volume 2, 613-620. Oxford: Elsevier
• Jagatheesen, B., Miller, P. J. & Fowler, S.A. (2010) Autism from a religious perspective:  A study of parental beliefs in South Asian Muslim immigrant families. Focus on Autism and Other  Developmental Disabilities, 25, 98-109.
• Fowler, S. A., Yates, T. F., & Lewman, B. (2007) Using a weekly story to plan creative activities and promote early literacy in preschool. Gifted Children Today, 30, 27-33.
• Fowler, S. A., Ostrosky, M. M., & Yates, T. (2006). Teaching and learning in the early years. In L. Florian (Ed.), Handbook of special education (pp. 349-359). UK: Sage.
• Fowler, S. A., Santos, R. M., & Corso, R. M. (Eds). (2005). Appropriate screening, assessment, and family information gathering, 1. Longmont, CO: Sopris West Educational Services.
• Corso, R. M., Fowler, S. A., & Santos, R. M. (Eds.) (2005). Building healthy relationships with families, 2. Longmont, CO: Sopris West Educational Services.
• Zhang, C, Fowler, S. A. & Bennett, T. (2004) The development of the Individualized Family Service Plans in Early Head Start: The need for collaboration between Early Head Start and Early Intervention. Early Childhood Education Journal, 32, 179-186.
• Lewman, B. S. & Fowler, S. A. (2001). Activities for the Spark Curriculum for Early Childhood: Volumes 1 and 2. Red Leaf Press, St. Paul, MN.
• Fowler, S. A., Donegan, M. M., Luecke, B., Hadden, D. S., & Phillips, B. (2000). Evaluating community collaboration in writing interagency agreements on the age 3 transition. Exceptional Children, 67(1), 35-50.
• McNeill, J. H. & Fowler, S. A. (1999). Let's talk: Encouraging mother-child communication during story reading. Journal of Early Intervention, 22, 51-69.

Links

• Illinois Early Intervention Clearinghouse
• Illinois Early Childhood Asset Map
• Illinois Early Learning Project
• Culturally & Linguistically Appropriate Services
• Skills Promoted Through Arts, Reading, and Knowledge
• Family and Child Transitions into Least Restrictive Environments

In The News