ELEANOR J. BLAIR

Biography

Eleanor J. Blair received her Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is a Full Professor at Western Carolina University (WCU) where she teaches foundations of education courses in curriculum, assessment, teacher leadership and history/philosophy of education at WCU and in Jamaica through the WCU-Jamaica program. She is a frequent presenter at regional, national and international conferences and has authored chapters and essays in numerous books and journals. Additionally, she is the editor of four education readers: Thinking about Schools: A Foundations of Education Reader (2011), Teacher Leadership: The “new” Foundation of Education (2011, 2016) and The Social Foundations Reader: Critical Essays on Teaching, Learning and Leading in the 21st Century (co-edited with Yolanda Medina) (2016). She is also the author of By the light of the silvery moon: Teacher moonlighting and dark side of teachers’ work (2018) and thr following three recently published books on the Caribbean: A cross-cultural consideration of teacher leaders’ narratives of power, agency and school culture: England, Jamaica and the United States (2020) (with Roofe and Timmins),<i> </i> Handbook on Caribbean Education (2021) (with K. Williams), Jamaican Teachers, Jamaican Schools: Life and Work in 21st Century Schools (2023). Her work utilizes qualitative methodologies and critical pedagogical frameworks to explore teaching, learning and leading in cross-cultural contexts. References to her research on teachers’ work, popular culture and the significance of place in the preparation of teacher leaders occur in both popular and professional publications.

Education

• Ph D, University of Tennessee Knoxville, EDUCATION
• MS, University of Tennessee Knoxville, EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
• BS, University of Tennessee Knoxville, SPECIAL EDUCATION

Teaching Interests

Dr. Blair teaches graduate level Foundations of Education, Assessment and Teacher Leadership courses. She has taught almost exclusively online since 2005.

Research Interests

Dr. Blair's research utilizes qualitative methodologies and critical pedagogical frameworks to explore teaching, learning and leading in cross-cultural contexts. References to her research on teachers’ work, popular culture and the significance of place in the preparation of teacher leaders occur in both popular and professional publications.