Dr. Sean Durham

Clinical Assistant Professor

Sean Durham joined the CFS Faculty in August of 2007 as the Director of the Early Learning Center for Research and Practice. He completed his Ph.D. at Louisiana State University after serving 13 years as a teacher, principal, and director of a non-profit infant – kindergarten program in Baton Rouge.

During his experience at LSU, Sean was involved in the Baton Rouge Families and Teens Project, research in developmentally appropriate practice in preschool and kindergarten classrooms, and taught courses in adult-child relations and assessment in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.

As a result of his classroom and research experiences, Sean became interested in discussions of “classroom climate” or the “hidden” curriculum in education. Informed by the work of Rheta DeVries, Betty Zan, and his mentor, Diane Burts, he began to examine the qualities of the classroom “sociomoral atmosphere” that appear to be influential in children’s development and experiences of school. In an effort to further examine this construct, Sean developed the Sociomoral Atmosphere Rating Template (SMART) – an observational measure designed to rate dimensions of teacher-child relationships, peer relations, and classroom governance in early childhood classrooms. He is currently preparing a manuscript that will describe an initial study investigating the reliability and validity of this instrument.

Sean is an accomplished musician and has recently enjoyed canoeing and hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains with his wife, Sabrina, and their four children.

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Schmidt, H., Burts, D. C., Durham, R. S., Charlesworth, R., & Hart, C. H. (2007). Impact of the developmental appropriateness of teacher guidance strategies on kindergarten children’s interpersonal relations. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 21(3), 290 – 301.

Durham, R. S. (2007). Children’s reactions to Katrina and Rita: A Ph.D. student’s reflection after observing his own children. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 28(1), 89-91.

Durham, R. S., & Burts, D. C. (2006, October). Considering your classroom’s sociomoral atmosphere in today’s standards-based educational climate. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Louisiana Early Childhood Association, Alexandria, LA.

Durham, R. S., & Burts, D. C. (2006, June). The sociomoral atmosphere in the early childhood classroom: Raising awareness in a standards-based educational climate. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators, San Antonio, TX.

Benedict, J., & Durham, R. S. (2005, June). Tell me my story: Using teacher-made books to connect children’s home, culture, and classroom. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Miami, FL.

Contact Information

White Avenue ELC #6
Knoxville, TN 37996-1912

Phone: 865-974-5720
Email: rsdurham@utk.edu

Contact CEHHS

335 Claxton Complex 1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996

Phone: 865-974-2201
Fax: 865-974-8718