Dr. Curcic is an instructor in Elementary education program and supervises doctoral students.
Research Interests
Dr. Curcic's research interests include literacy and technology integration to support students with a learning disability in reading and writing.
Biography
Svjetlana Curcic is an associate professor at the University of Mississippi. Dr. Curcic holds a Ph.D. in Special Education from Michigan State University and an Ed.D. in International and Multicultural Education from the University of San Francisco. She taught students with a specific learning disability in reading, students with autism, cognitive and emotional disabilities, and English language learners for nine years in the range of contexts in California and Texas. Her research on literacy focuses primarily on students with a learning disability in reading and second language learners, including integrating technology into literacy instruction. Her works have been published in the Computers in the Schools, Creative Education, Disability and Society journal, European Educational Research Journal, International Journal of Inclusive Education, International Journal of Multicultural Education, Multicultural Education and Technology Journal, TESOL Quarterly journal, Written Communication journal, Teachers College Record, Educational Practice and Theory, including several book chapters.
Publications
This study examines the impact of course-based collaboration between an elementary teacher education program and a writing center. Written texts of preservice teachers (n=141) were analyzed to establish the most frequent errors/problems in their writing. Based on the first analysis, the researchers designed and implemented an intervention focused on language usage, content, and coherence. The intervention group (n=41) significantly outperformed the control group (n=41) after a single intervention session, with large effect sizes for language usage and content, and a medium to large effect size for coherence.
Courses Taught
- EDSP 407 Special Education Law & Procedures
- EDSP 410 Strategies for the Inclusive Classroom
- EDSP 308 Introduction to Special Education
- EDSP 327 Classroom Management & Behavioral Interventions
Education
B.A. English Literature, University of Zagreb (1980)
B.A. Journalism, University of Zagreb (1980)
M.A. Communicating Arts, University of Wisconsin-Superior (1981)
Ed.D. International and Multicultural Ed., University of San Francisco (1999)
Ph.D. Special Education, Michigan State University (2009)