Samantha Daley

Biography

Samantha Daley holds appointments across three program areas at Warner: teaching & curriculum, counseling & human development, and education policy. This reflects both her and the School’s attention to her areas of study—inclusion and disability—from a range of perspectives and in all aspects of human learning and flourishing. Daley also coordinates the Warner School’s Quantitative Consulting Services through which advanced doctoral students support peers in quantitative methods and analysis.

Trained in human development and psychology and in working with students identified with learning disabilities, Daley’s work focuses on the driving question of how to design inclusive learning environments in which students thrive both academically and emotionally. Projects address multiple perspectives: 1) motivational and emotional experiences of students with learning disabilities; 2) inclusive instructional design; and 3) motivation and emotion in learning more broadly. Research settings include middle and high school science, math, and reading classes, informal learning environments, and postsecondary contexts.

Using a range of research approaches, Daley’s work has been published in several outlets, including the Journal of Educational Psychology, Learning Disability Quarterly, Reading & Writing Quarterly, and Learning and Individual Differences. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Educational Psychology. Daley has received financial support from multiple sources, including the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Spencer Foundation, and the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.

A former special education teacher and learning disabilities specialist, Daley previously served as the director of research at CAST, a nonprofit education research and development organization that uses the framework of Universal Design for Learning to improve education for all learners.