Hannah Kennedy, assistant professor of teacher education, teaches courses in special education, child development and methods.

Prior to joining Samford University, Kennedy has spent her career serving young children and their families as an early childhood special education teacher. Kennedy began her career as a special education teacher in Demopolis City Schools where she worked with students with disabilities in a variety of classroom settings. More recently, she has served as a special education teacher in the preschool inclusion classroom at Cherokee Bend Elementary in Mountain Brook City Schools. In addition to working with students and families in the school setting, Kennedy has five years of experience teaching adjunct courses in special education for the University of West Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Her research interests include understanding teacher candidate perspectives and experiences of the edTPA assessment, teacher preparation programs, field placement experiences and teacher effectiveness in the first years of practice.

Kennedy and her husband, Michael, live in Vestavia with their 1-year-old son, Frank. She is honored to be joining Samford University and can’t wait to share her passion for learning with future educators.