SelectedWorks - Samuel James Smith

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Selected Works of Samuel James Smith

Professor / Director of Advanced Licensure Programs

Dr. Samuel James Smith serves as professor of education at Liberty University and is director of advanced licensure programs. Beginning his career as an English and history teacher, he later became a school principal and specialized in curriculum and instruction with a focus on historical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of education. He has worked as a teacher and administrator in Houston, Texas, and Daytona Beach, Florida, and began teaching in higher education at Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City while completing his doctorate at Oklahoma State University.  He enjoys mentoring future educators and teaching doctoral candidates. 
 Research Interests
• Learning Theory
• Character Education
• Educational Leadership
• History Education
• English Education
• Second-Career Teachers (Career Switchers)

Works
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About Samuel James Smith

Dr. Samuel James Smith serves as professor of education at Liberty University and is director of advanced licensure programs. Beginning his career as an English and history teacher, he later became a school principal and specialized in curriculum and instruction with a focus on historical, philosophical, and theoretical foundations of education. He has worked as a teacher and administrator in Houston, Texas, and Daytona Beach, Florida, and began teaching in higher education at Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City while completing his doctorate at Oklahoma State University.  He enjoys mentoring future educators and teaching doctoral candidates. 
 Research Interests
• Learning Theory
• Character Education
• Educational Leadership
• History Education
• English Education
• Second-Career Teachers (Career Switchers)

Windows into the History and Philosophy of Education

Samuel J. Smith

The theme of windows, lenses, and mirrors provides a framework for this exploration into the history and philosophy of education. ...

Public and Private School Administration: An Overview in Christian Perspective

Samuel J. Smith (Editor) and James A. Swezey (Editor)

Whether preparing for a future position as a principal or presently beginning to navigate the complexities of school administration, readers ...

Contribution to Book

School Improvement: Data-driven and Vision-centered

Public & Private School Administration: An Overview in Christian Perspective (2019)

Samuel J. Smith

Building upon the previous chapter’s discussion of the importance of a shared vision, this chapter will address the fleshing out ...

Contribution to Book

McGuffey Readers: Elementary School Reading Books

Encyclopedia Britannica (2018)

Samuel J. Smith

With over 122 million copies sold from 1838 to 1920, the McGuffey Eclectic Readers taught more Americans to read than ...

Contribution to Book

Horace Bushnell: Advocate of Progressive Orthodoxy and Christian Nurture

A Legacy of Religious Educators: Historical and Theological Introductions (2016)

Samuel J. Smith and Elmer L. Towns

Disparaged by his critics as a liberal, Calvinist, mystic, and heretic, Horace Bushnell’s theology—particularly his notion of Christian nurture—has prevailed ...

Contribution to Book

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi

Encyclopedia of Educational Theory and Philosophy (2014)

Samuel J. Smith

Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827) was a Swiss educator whose philosophy of education was based on the premise that learning occurs ...

Contribution to Book

Case Studies: Developing Decision-making Skills in Diverse Simulated Environments

Handbook of Virtual Online Instruction and Programs in Education Leadership (2012)

Samuel J. Smith

Traditional print case studies have been a long-standing instructional strategy for educational leadership preparation programs. With the advent of interactive ...

Contribution to Book

Death of a Child

Popular Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling (2011)

Samuel J. Smith

Of the possible losses one might experience, the death of a child is among the most intense. For a parent ...

Contribution to Book

Pestalozzianism

Encyclopedia of Educational Reform and Dissent (2010)

Samuel J. Smith

The Pestalozzian movement of the 19th century represented the ideas of Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827) and was based ...

Published Journal Articles (14)

A Phenomenological Study of Teachers’ First-Year Experiences of Curriculum Development ...

Journal of Research in International Education (2022)

Samuel J. Smith and Rachel Morgan Pedigo

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe the experiences of teachers in Christian international schools during the process ...

Margaret Douglass: Literacy Education to Freed Blacks in Antebellum Virginia

Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History (2018)

Samuel J. Smith

In the 19th century, voices for social reform reached a high pitch—both figuratively and literally. Recognizable women’s voices were heard ...

New England Primer

The Times of Science: Journal of Tolstoy Pedagogical University, Russia (2018)

Samuel J. Smith

Click this link for the ENGLISH TRANSLATION. For more than 150 years the New England Primer, often called “The Little ...

ProEthica: Advancing Teacher Candidate Ethics Assessment from Theory to Practice ...

Higher Christian Education (2017)

Samuel J. Smith, Harvey Klamm and Stacey L. Bose

In recent decades, accreditation standards have required teacher education programs to establish and implement dispositions that define and assess the ...

Challenges for Novice School Leaders: Facing Today’s Issues in ...

Journal of Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development (2016)

Andrea P. Beam, Russell L. Claxton and Samuel J. Smith

Challenges for novice school leaders evolve as information is managed differently and as societal and regulatory expectations change. This study ...

Nurturing Dispositions in Teacher Education Candidates: Challenges of Identifying and ...

Christian Higher Education (2015)

Samuel J. Smith and Harvey L. Klamm

Teacher preparation programs identify knowledge, skills, and dispositions as desired outcomes in preparing candidates to impact student learning. Of the ...

Success Despite Socioeconomics: A Case Study of a High-Achieving, High-Poverty ...

Journal of School Public Relations (2013)

Thomas Brent Tilley, Samuel J. Smith and Russell L. Claxton

This case study of a high-achieving, high-poverty school describes the school’s leadership, culture, and programs that contributed to its success. ...

Establishing Special Education Programs: Experiences of Christian School Principals

Journal of Research on Christian Education (2012)

Gary Cookson and Samuel J. Smith

This phenomenological study investigated the experiences of principals who initiated special education programs in Christian schools. Principals described efforts involved ...

The Role of Controversial Issues in Moral Education: Approaches and ...

Journal of the International Christian Community for Teacher Education (2011)

Samuel J. Smith

This study investigated the approaches and attitudes of Christian school teachers as they addressed controversial issues in moral education. Thirteen ...

Preservice Second-Career Teachers in a Blended Online-Residential Preparation Program: Profiling ...

The Teacher Educators’ Journal (2010)

Samuel J. Smith and John J. Pantana

This study examines preservice second-career teachers (SCTs), their motivations for switching careers, and their perceptions of the profession. Participants were ...

Called to Teach: Interpreting the Phenomenon of Calling as a ...

Life@School (2008)

Samuel J. Smith and Jared T. Bigham

This hermeneutic phenomenological study examines the phenomenon of the calling to teach. Nine participants were interviewed, and the dialogue was ...

Developing Decision Making Using Online Contextualized Case Studies

International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation (2008)

Samuel J. Smith

Educational Theory into Practice Software (ETIPS) is an online case study program in the testbed stage of development intended for ...

Navigating Religious Rights of Teachers and Students: Establishment, Accommodation, Neutrality ...

Christian Perspectives in Education (2007)

Samuel J. Smith

Despite the notion that First Amendment rights are established, valued, and respected in the United States, there continues to be ...

The Transition from Practitioner to Professor: The Struggle of New ...

Education Leadership Review (2006)

Gary Kinsey, J. Craig Coleman, Effie Christie, Mary Culver, et al.

Becoming a college professor brings both the feeling of self-accomplishment and discernment regarding this prestigious achievement. Most doctoral candidates are ...

Onward and Upward: A Phenomenological Study of School Leaders as ...

International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership (2021)

Samuel J. Smith and Amy Elisabeth Love

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of school leaders as they develop their capacity ...

New Culture, New School, New Country: First-Year Teachers in International ...

International Christian Educators Conference (2020)

Samuel J. Smith and Rachel Morgan Pedigo

The purpose of this phenomenological study is to describe the experiences of teachers in Christian international schools during the process ...