Elizabeth Swanson

Elizabeth Swanson is a Research Professor with a primary appointment at The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk and a courtesy appointment in the Department of Special Education in the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin. She earned her Ph.D. in Learning Disabilities and Behavior Disorders in 2008, Ed.M. in Special Education in 2003, and B.S. in Applied Learning and Development in 1997, all from The University of Texas at Austin. Beginning her career as a special education teacher, she worked with elementary school students with mild to moderate disabilities, including dyslexia, math disabilities, and behavior disorders. She continues to engage directly with students as a substitute teacher whenever possible. During her doctoral studies, she received prestigious fellowships, including the Office of Special Education Programming Doctoral Training Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education (2004-2008), the Marye Ann Fox Endowed Presidential Fellowship, and the Carolyn J. and John H. Young Endowed Presidential Fellowship (both 2004-2005), both from The University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Swanson's research specializes in developing and testing the efficacy of literacy practices for struggling readers, encompassing interventions, infusing literacy into elementary and middle school content area classes, empowering parents to support their children's reading, translating research into teacher practices and professional development, and creating usable products for parents. She has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on projects exceeding $37 million, all aimed at preventing or remediating reading difficulties at the elementary and middle school levels. With over 90 peer-reviewed articles on literacy instruction in grades K-8, key publications include 'The Efficacy of Two Models of Professional Development Mediated by Fidelity on Fourth Grade Student Reading Outcomes' (2023, Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness), 'Evidence-Based Reading Instruction for Students with Inattention: A Pilot Study' (2023, Remedial and Special Education), 'Sustaining the Use of Evidence-Based Tier 1 Literacy Practices that Benefit Students with Disabilities' (2023, Journal of Learning Disabilities), and 'The Efficacy of Comprehension and Vocabulary Focused Professional Development on English Learners’ Literacy' (2022, Journal of Educational Psychology). She has co-authored books such as 'Now We Get It! Boosting Comprehension with Collaborative Strategic Reading' (2012) and 'Literacy Coaching in Secondary Settings: Improving Intensive Instruction for All Students' (2023). In addition to numerous teacher-focused practice guides bridging research and practice, she presents frequently at nationally recognized conferences for teachers, school leaders, and researchers. Her honors include the 2025 Dean's Distinguished Professional Track Faculty Award and the Faculty Development Award (2024-2026) from the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin, along with multiple 'Must Read Article' recognitions from the Council for Learning Disabilities and nominations for awards from the International Literacy Association.

Professional Email: easwanson@austin.utexas.edu