David C. Virtue

Biography

David C. Virtue is the Taft B. Botner Distinguished Professor of Middle Grades Education in the School of Teaching and Learning at Western Carolina University. 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.

Education

• Ph D, University of Georgia, Social Science Education

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