Curry School of Education

Education

• Ph.D., University of Virginia, 2001
• M.Ed., University of Virginia, 1992
• B.A., The Catholic University of America, 1990

Personal Statement

Catherine Brighton is an Associate Professor at the University of Virginia, a Principal Investigator with the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT), and the Director of the University of Virginia Institutes on Academic Diversity. She is the Past-President of the Virginia Association for the Gifted (VAG), and is the outgoing Treasurer for the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Special Interest Group on Research in Giftedness and Talent. She earned her doctorate in Educational Psychology - Gifted Education at the University of Virginia in 2001. Prior, she was a curriculum coordinator/assistant principal, teacher of the gifted, and classroom teacher in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, (Charlotte, NC). She was recognized by the National Association for Gifted Children in 2005 as the Early Leader for the Association. This award is given annually to an individual who has exhibited the highest and most consistent degree of leadership in the field of gifted education since receiving the doctorate.

Research Interests

Catherine’s research interests include factors that support and inhibit teacher change and school reform initiatives, differentiating curriculum, instruction, and assessment, and qualitative methodologies.