Sharon Field, Ed.D – Learning Center

Sharon Field, Ed.D was the November 2013 Burnett Seminar Keynote Speaker, and presented her work on The Science and Art of Self-Determination—the ability to explore dreams, define goals and action plans, and be in charge of one’s life.

About Sharon Field:

Sharon Field, Ed.D. is Co-Director of the Initiative for Self-Determination in the College of Education at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She has been conducting research and development related to self-determination for students, with and without disabilities, for the past 25 years.

Field served as Professor (Clinical) of Educational Leadership at Wayne State from 2006-2010 and as Associate Dean for Research from 2010-2012. She earned her Ed.D. in Education Policy, Governance and Administration from the University of Washington and her M.S.Ed. in Special Education (emphasis in Learning Disabilities) from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Her areas of specialization include self-determination, transition, and applied positive psychology practices.

Field has directed several federally funded self-determination projects. Through these efforts she developed, with Dr. Alan Hoffman, a model of self-determination and the Steps to Self-Determination curriculum, now in its second edition. With Drs. Alan Hoffman and Shlomo Sawilowsky, she created a web-based self-determination assessment battery. Field is author or co-author of numerous books, chapters and journal articles related to self-determination, including with Michael Wehmeyer, Instructional and Assessment Strategies to Promote the Self-Determination of Students with Disabilities and, with David Parker and Alan Hoffman, Self-Determination Strategies for Adolescents in Transition: Learning from Case Studies. She served as lead author of A Practical Guide to Teaching Self-determination and co-author of Transition from School to Life, both published by the Council for Exceptional Children. Field was a consultant to the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities in the development of their “Bridges” transition program for high school aged youth. She also served as president of the Division on Career Development and Transition, Council for Exceptional Children. She has direct service experience as a special education teacher, job placement specialist and administrator.

Field’s most recent work has focused on studying the effects of academic coaching on college success factors for students with ADHD in college and university settings, the application of positive psychology practices in education and development of strategies for supporting the self-determination of parents and teachers.

View past seminars here.