Kagendo Mutua

Associate Professor, Special Education
Department of Special Education and Multiple Abilities
210 Graves Hall
(205)-348-2609
kmutua@bamaed.ua.edu
Appointed in 2001

Recent Courses Taught:

SPE 601: College Teaching
SPE 593: Introduction to Severe Disabilities
SPE 500: Introduction to Exceptional Children and Youth
SPE 416: Methods for Severe/Profound Disabilities

Areas of Research:

Critical issues in transition programming for youth with significant disabilities
Cross-cultural research on families and youth with significant disabilities
Postcolonial/decolonializing research

Academic Degrees:

Ph.D., Kent State University, 1999. Special Education-Transition, Severe/Profound & Multiple Disabilities.
M.S., Clarion University of Pennsylvania, 1994. Special Education-K-12 Severe/Profound Disabilities
B.Ed., Kenyatta University, 1989. Secondary Education -Kiswahili and English Language & Literature

Professional Experiences:

Associate Professor, Department of Special Education and Multiple Abilities (formerly named ITE), The University of Alabama, Fall 2004- Present

Assistant Professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Teacher Education (ITE), The University of Alabama, Fall 2001- Spring 2004

Assistant Professor, School of Curriculum and Educational Leadership, Oklahoma State University, Fall 1999- Spring 2001

Program Co-Director, CrossingPoints Transition Program, The University of Alabama, Fall 2002- Present

Classroom Teacher, May 1985-May 1986; May 1989-April 1991

Selected Publications:

Swadener, E. & Mutua, K. (2007). Decolonizing Research with Children and Youth in Cross-Cultural Contexts. Chapter in J. A. Hatch. (Ed.). Early childhood qualitative research. New York: Routledge/Taylor & Francis.

Sunal, C. S. & Mutua, K & (Eds.) (2007) The enterprise of education. Charlotte, NC: Info Age Publishing. (Series: Research on Education in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, Vol. 4)

Mutua, K. & Smith, R. (2006). Disrupting normalcy and the practical concerns of classroom teachers. Chapter in S. Danforth & S. Gabel (Eds.). Vital Questions Facing Disability Studies in Education.(pp. 121-132). New York: Peter Lang.

Elhoweris, H., Mutua, K., Alsheikh, N. & Holloway, P.J. (2005). The effect of the child’s ethnicity on teachers’ referral and recommendations decisions in the gifted and talented programs. Remedial and Special Education 26(1), 25-31.

Erevelles, N. & Mutua, N. K. (2005) “I am a woman now!” Rewriting cartographies of girlhood from the critical standpoint of disability. Chapter in P. Bettis & N. Adams. Geographies of Girlhood: Identity In-Between (pp. 253-270). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Selected Presentations:

Mutua, K. & Rock, M. (2006, August).Setting the Stage for Supported Employment: A Collaboration Between The University Of Alabama and The Tuscaloosa City and County School Systems. Paper presented at the Alabama Association of Persons in Supported Employment Annual Conference, Birmingham, AL.

Mutua, N. (2006, April). Being and becoming: The Construction of Gendered Identities by Adolescents with Intellectual Disabilities. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, CA.

Mutua, K. (2005, June). Positive behavior supports for individuals with autism in vocational settings. Paper Presented at the Kent State University 2005 Annual Topics in Child Development Conference, Kent, OH.

Mutua, K. (2005, February). Constructing Gendered Identities: Youth with Intellectual Disabilities Talk about Desired Postschool Outcomes. Paper Presented 24th Annual Alabama Federation Council for Exceptional Children Super Conference, Tuscaloosa, AL,

Mutua, K. (2004, April). Envisioning the Future: Desired Transition Outcomes of Youth with Disabilities and their Parents Paper Presented 23rd Annual Alabama Federation Council for Exceptional Children Super Conference, Tuscaloosa, AL.

Mutua, K. (2004, March). Social Construction of Gender and Sexuality: The Missing Discourses in Transition of Adolescents with Intellectual Disabilities. Paper presented at the Annual Inclusion Conference, Syracuse, NY.