Biography
David C. Virtue is the Taft B. Botner Distinguished Professor of Middle Grades Education
in the School of Teaching and Learning at Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵapp. David teaches
courses in the middle grades education program and pursue his research that focuses
(a) on middle grades teacher preparation and credentialing and (b) on the creation
and implementation of person-centered curricula. He also serves on the board of the
Catamount School, WCU’s middle grades lab school. David came to WCU from Auburn University
in Alabama, where he was professor and head of the Department of Curriculum and Teaching
for four years. David also was a faculty member and department chair at the University
of South Carolina, where he began his academic career in 2003. David helped launch
an undergraduate program in middle level education at USC, led several funded projects,
and was a Fulbright scholar in Norway. David has been an active member of the Association
for Middle Level Education (formerly National Middle School Association). He served
as editor of the organization’s flagship journal, <i>Middle School Journal</i>, from
2009 to 2013, and he has served as editor of <i>Research in Middle Level Education
Online</i> and as a member of AMLE’s Research Advisory Committee since 2014. David's
publications have appeared in <i>Middle School Journal</i>, <i>Middle Grades Review</i>,
<i>Research in Middle Level Education Online</i>, <i>Current Issues in Middle Level
Education </i>and the Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education and the Handbook
of Resources in Middle Level Education series. David edited <i>The International Handbook
of Middle Level Education Theory, Research, and Policy</i> (Routledge) and is coediting<i>
Middle Level Teacher Preparation across International Contexts: Understanding Local
and Global Factors Influencing Teacher Education </i>(Routledge). He is founding editor
of the AMLE Innovations in Middle Level Education Research book series.
Teaching Interests
middle level social studies; middle level curriculum and school organization; differentiated
instruction; curriculum integration; comparative and international education
Research Interests
middle level teacher preparation; curriculum design and implementation processes in
the middle grades; anthropology of curriculum policy (appropriation/adaptation); international/comparative
analysis of middle grades education
