Kayla Larkin, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Teaching and member of the Special Education faculty in the Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership at the University of Memphis. As a teacher-educator and community-engaged scholar, her teaching, research, and service seek to develop more critically conscious and critically inclusive special education teachers and more just educational spaces for students with dis/abilities. She is interested in exploring teacher and teacher-educators’ perspectives of dis/ability, as well as how youth-led participatory action research can be used as a tool to enhance the educational experiences of students with dis/abilities.

 

As a scholar-practitioner and lifelong educator, her work in teacher education is informed by her nine years of experience as a PreK-12 teacher and teacher-leader in Washington, D.C. and New York City, as well as her ongoing work as a part-time substitute teacher. Kayla currently serves as the Department of Instruction and Curriculum Leadership's online special education lead, as well as the lead for the Special Education Community Unified Partnership (SECUP) online professional development series for special educators and school leaders.