Virginia Walker

Virginia Walker

Associate Professor, Special Education
704-687-0764
COED 345

Virginia L. Walker, PhD, BCBA-D, is an associate professor in the Department of Special Education and Child Development at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Dr. Walker began her career as a special education teacher of students with extensive support needs in Atlanta, Georgia before attending the University of Virginia where she worked on several federally funded grants involving research in the area of multi-tiered models of positive behavioral interventions and support and teacher preparation in the area of students with extensive support needs. Building upon this work, Dr. Walker’s line of research has focused on three general themes: positive behavioral interventions and supports for students with extensive support needs, supports planning to enhance the inclusion of students with extensive support needs, and effective training practices for school staff supporting students with extensive support needs. Dr. Walker currently serves on the editorial boards of Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Inclusive Practices, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities. She also serves as Vice President of the TASH Board of Directors and Co-chair of the TASH Research and Publications Committee. 

Education

  • Ph.D. – University of Virginia, 2013, Special Education
  • M.S. – Florida State University, 2006, Special Education
  • B.S. – Florida State University, 2006, Special Education

Teaching

  • Classroom Management 
  • Instruction and Support for Learners with Extensive Support Needs 
  • Multiple Disabilities 
  • Person-centered Planning within Inclusive Classrooms for Students with Extensive Support Needs
  • Professional Writing in Special Education 
  • Single-case Research
  • Systematic Instruction in the Adapted Curriculum 

Research Interests/Areas of Expertise

  • Positive behavioral intervention and supports (PBIS)
  • Inclusive education
  • Personnel preparation and training 

Awards & Honors

  • Early Career Researcher Award, TASH, 2021
  • Unique Area Research Distinction Recognition, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2021
  • E.G. “Ted” Carr Initial Researcher Award, Association for Positive Behavior Support (APBS), 2018
  • Poster Presentation Award, TASH, 2017
  • Positive Behavior Support Award, TASH, 2017

Selected Publications

  • Kurth, J. A., Zagona, A. L., Walker, V. L., & Loman, S. L. (2024). Teachers’ perspectives and knowledge of students with complex support needs and practices associated with SWPBIS. The Journal of Special Education, 57(4), 205–218. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224669231164396
  • Walker, V. L., Conradi, L. A., Strickland-Cohen, M. K., & Johnson, H. N. (2023). School-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports and students with extensive support needs: A scoping review. International Journal of Developmental Disabilities, 69(1), 13–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/20473869.2022.2116232 
  • Walker, V. L., Loman, S. L., Mickelson, A. M., & Lyon, K. J. (2022). Participation of students with extensive support needs in SWPBIS: Administrator and educator perspectives. Psychology in the Schools, 59(8), 1623–1642. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22711
  • Walker, V. L., Pennington, R. C., Andzik, N., Tapp, M., & Masud-Werner, A. (2022). Pre-service teachers’ preparation in communication instruction for students with extensive support needs. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 47(1), 57–64. https://doi.org/10.1177/15407969221074720  
  • Walker, V. L., Carpenter, M. E., Clausen, A., Ealer, K., & Lyon, K. J. (2021). Special educators as coaches to support paraprofessional implementation of functional communication training. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 23(3), 174–184. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098300720957995
  • Walker, V. L., Carpenter, M. E., Lyon, K. J., & Button, L. (2021). A meta-analytic review of paraprofessional-implemented interventions to address challenging behavior among students with disabilities. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 23(2), 68–80. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098300720911147
  • Walker, V. L., Kurth, J. A., Carpenter, M. E., Clausen, A., Tapp, M., & Lockman Turner, E. (2021). Paraeducator-delivered interventions for students with extensive support needs in inclusive settings: A systematic review. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 46(4), 278–295. https://doi.org/10.1177/15407969211055127
  • Zagona, A. L., Walker, V. L., Kurth, J. A., & Lansey, K. R. (2021). Expert perspectives on the inclusion of students with significant disabilities in schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports. Inclusion, 9(4), 276–289. https://doi.org/10.1352/2326-6988-9.4.276
  • Walker, V. L., Chung, Y., & Bonnet, L. K. (2018). Function-based intervention in inclusive school settings: A meta-analysis. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 20(6), 203–216. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098300717718350
  • Walker, V. L., Loman, S. L., Hara, M., Park, K. L., & Strickland-Cohen, M. K. (2018). Examining the inclusion of students with severe disabilities in school-wide positive behavioral interventions and supports. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 43(4), 223–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/1540796918779370
  • Walker, V. L., & Snell, M. E. (2017). Teaching paraprofessionals to implement function-based behavior supports to address challenging behavior. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 32(2), 114–123. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357616673561