Samuel Smith, Ed.D.

Biography

Dr. Samuel James Smith serves as Professor of Education at Liberty University. He began his career as an English and history teacher and later became a school principal. He has 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. Dr. Smith began teaching in higher education at Mid-America Christian University in Oklahoma City while completing his doctorate at Oklahoma State University. He enjoys teaching and mentoring future teachers and school administrators.

Professional Memberships

• International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership
• Virginia Association of Colleges of Teacher Education
• Virginia Professors of Educational Leadership

Research Interests

• History of education
• Philosophy of education
• Learning theory
• Educational leadership

Publications

• Pedigo, R., & Smith, S. J. (2022). Novice teachers’ first-year experiences in curriculum development in international schools. Journal of Research in International Education.
• Smith, S. J. (2020). Windows into the history and philosophy of education. Kendall Hunt.
• Smith, S. J. (2019). School improvement: Data-driven and vision-centered. In R. L. Claxton (Ed.), Public & private school administration: An overview in Christian perspective (2^nd, pp. 19-38). Kendall Hunt.
• Smith, S. J. (2018). Margaret Douglass: Literacy education to freed blacks in antebellum Virginia. Bound Away: The Liberty Journal of History, 2(2), article 4.
• Smith, S. J. (2018). McGuffey Readers: Elementary school reading books. In Encyclopedia Britannica.
• Smith, S. J. (2018). New England Primer. The Times of Science: Journal of Tolstoy Pedagogical University, Russia (3-4), 26-30.
• Bose, S. L., Klamm, H. L., & Smith, S. J. (2017). ProEthica: Advancing teacher candidate ethics assessment from theory to practice in Christian contexts. Colorado Springs, CO: 2017 ACSI Higher Education Symposium [Monograph].
• Smith, S. J., & Towns, E. L. (2017). Horace Bushnell: Advocate of progressive orthodoxy and Christian nurture. In E. L. Towns & B. K. Forrest (Eds.), A legacy of religious educators: Historical and theological introductions (pp. 359-380). Liberty University Press.
• Beam, A. P., Claxton, R. L., & Smith, S. J. (2016). Challenges for novice school leaders: Facing today’s issues in school administration. Journal of Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development, 27.
• Klamm, H. L., & Smith, S. J. (2015). Nurturing dispositions in teacher education candidates: Challenges of identifying and assessing dispositions .Colorado Springs, CO: 2017 ACSI Higher Education Symposium [Monograph].
• Smith, S. J. (2014). Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. In D. C. Phillips (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational theory and philosophy. SAGE Publications.
• Smith, S. J., & Swezey, J. A. (Eds.). (2013). Public & private school administration: An overview in Christian perspective. Kendall Hunt.
• Smith, S. J. (2013). School improvement: Data-driven and vision-centered. In S. J. Smith & J. A. Swezey (Eds.), Public & private school administration: An overview in Christian perspective (pp. 19-38). Kendall Hunt.
• Tilley, T. B., Smith, S. J., & Claxton, R. L. (2013). Success despite socioeconomics: A case study of a high-achieving, high-poverty school. Journal of School Public Relations, 33(4), 292-317.
• Smith, S. J. (2012). Case studies: Developing decision-making skills in diverse simulated environments. In J. Tareilo & B. Bizzell (Eds.), Handbook of online instruction and programs in education leadership (pp. 116-123). NCPEA Press.
• Cookson, G., & Smith, S. J. (2012). Establishing special education programs: Experiences of Christian school principals. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 20(3), 239-253.
• Smith, S. J. (2011). Death of a child. In T. Clinton & R. Hawkins (Eds.), Popular encyclopedia of Christian counseling (pp. 398-399). Harvest House.
• Smith, S. J. (2011). The role of controversial issues in moral education: Approaches and attitudes of Christian school educators. The ICCTE Journal, 6(1).
• Smith, S. J., & Pantana, J. J. (2010). Preservice second-career teachers in a blended online-residential preparation program: Profiling characteristics and motivations. The Teacher Educators’ Journal, 17, 41-56.
• Smith, S. J. (2010). Pestalozzianism. In T. C. Hunt, J. C. Carper, T. J. Lasley, & C. D. Raisch (Eds.), Encyclopedia of educational reform and dissent (pp. 697-699). SAGE Publications.
• Smith, S. J. (2008). Developing decision making using online contextualized case studies. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 3(3).
• Bigham, J. T., & Smith, S. J. (2008). Called to teach: Interpreting the phenomenon of calling as a motivating factor. Life@School, 7(1), 9-12.
• Smith, S. J. (2007). Navigating religious rights of teachers and students. Christian Perspectives in Education, 1(1).
• Coleman, J. C., Christie, E., Culver, M. K., Erickson, D. E., Hunt, J. W., Williams, F. K., Kinsey, G. W., Smith, S. J., & Tareilo, J. (2006). The transition from practitioner to professor: The struggle of new faculty to find their place in the world of academia. Education Leadership Review, 8(2), 65-76.