Sarah Irvine Belson

Through her research, Sarah Irvine Belson explores educational opportunity for children with disabilities and teacher education policy. Her focus on applied interventions for children at risk attends to two major areas of research, namely special education technology and teacher education policy and practice. She is the author of two books and over 50 research papers on practice and policy in special education and education reform. Irvine Belson’s experience as a K-12 special educator and her focus on interventions that can increase educational outcomes for children with disabilities is a cornerstone of her research and teaching. In addition to her work in policy and practice, she also collaborates with colleagues across departments at American University, including Kiho Kim (environmental science), John Nolan (mathematics and statistics), and Anastasia Snelling (health promotion), to inform policy and improve outcomes for children. Irvine Belson served as Dean of the School of Education, Teaching & Health from 2002-2015. She holds a PhD from Arizona State University in curriculum and instruction with a cognate in special education.