Biography
Dr. Samuel James Smith serves as Professor of Education at Liberty University and is Director of Advanced Licensure Programs. 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 (2nd, 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.