Summary
Ruby Batz, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Special Education. Her research agenda centers around exploring the roles of race/ethnicity, dis/ability, language, and other social categories in the implementation of family-centered practices in Early Intervention (EI) and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE).
She uses multiple methods to address these questions, including experimental and quasi-experimental methods, observational data analysis, interviews, and case studies. Her focus on exploring the implementation of family-centered practices in EI/ECSE inspires three main lines of research: (1) studies of parenting interventions and parent engagement; (2) studies of how social inequalities impact families, children, and providers; and (3) studies of teacher preparation.
As an immigrant woman of Color, Latina, and first-generation college student, Ruby is committed to being a community-engaged scholar, whose work advances the early schooling/care practices for families of emergent bilingual children with dis/abilities. Through her research, teaching, and community work she aims to continuing and expanding on the legacy of scholars and activists interrupting the longstanding deficit-based discourses surrounding multiply-minoritized children and their families.
Prior to joining the University of Nevada, Reno, Ruby was a research associate at The Center on Teaching and Learning, and an instructor in the Special Education and in the Educational Methodology and Policy Leadership Program, both in the College of Education at the University of Oregon. She worked as a consultant, leading a number of national research projects for the Ministry of Education of Guatemala, and other international nonprofit organizations. Ruby also taught preschool for three years and spent five years working as a special education teacher for students with significant disabilities in Guatemala.
Education
- PhD., Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education Leadership Program, University of Oregon, United States
- M.A., Early Intervention, University of Oregon, United States
- Licenciatura in Educational and Clinical Psychology, Universidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala
- Profesorado in Special Education, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala