Biography
Amanda Quesenberry, Ph.D. is a Professor at Illinois State University. She has over 25 years of experience in the field of early childhood special education. Dr. Quesenberry received her Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2007. Her research interests include children’s social and emotional development, educators’ professional development, and early childhood policy.
Current Courses
TCH 314.094 Curriculum, Planning And Assessment In Early Childhood Classrooms
TCH 314.095 Curriculum, Planning And Assessment In Early Childhood Classrooms
TCH 482.091 Professional Research II
Teaching Interests & Areas
Issues and Practices in Early Childhood Education
Planning and Assessment
Social Studies
Research Interests & Areas
Early Childhood Special Education
Social and Emotional Learning
Preventing and Addressing Challenging Behavior
Early Childhood Program Policy
School-University Partnerships
Book, Chapter
Sanden, S., Hamann, K., Quesenberry, A., Latham, N., Christianson, D., & Smyrniotis, A. Supporting early childhood workforce development and pathways: Developing a competency-based assessment system in Illinois. Voices From the Field: Collaborative innovations in early childhood educator preparation. Illinois Board of Higher Education (2016)
Journal Article
Quesenberry, A., Hamann, K., Sanden, S., Bates, A., & Hartle, L. Examining the Impact of a Year-Long University-School Partnership. Action in Teacher Education (2018)
Presentations
Ruhe Marsh, L., White, E. S., Offutt, N. & Quesenberry, A., (2025, April). Flexible student teaching options: Supporting and advancing the early childhood workforce through an alternative bachelors' degree completion program. Presentation at the 2025 Gateways Higher Education Faculty Forum in Bloomington, IL.
White, E. S. & Quesenberry, A. (2024, February). Student experiences in an alternative teacher preparation program for early childhood educators. Paper presented at the annual SoTL Commons Conference in Savannah, GA.
Quesenberry, A., White, E. S., & Ruhe Marsh, L. (2023, October). Elevating the ECE workforce: Alternative pathways to degree completion. Presentation at the Sharing a Vision Conference in Peoria, IL.
Grants & Contracts
Illinois Gateways to Opportunity® ECE credential competency project. Governor’s Office of Early Childhood Development, Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. State. (2020)
Examining and implementing ECE partnerships. Illinois State University, College of Education Partnership Grant. Illinois State University. (2015)
Examining the impact of multi-year school-university partnerships. Illinois State University - College of Education Research Grant. State. (2015)
