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Dr. Amy Allen, an Assistant Professor of Social Studies in the Elementary Education program in the School of Education at Virginia Tech, is an elementary social studies scholar with an emphasis on religious literacy and teacher professional development in a global context. Her scholarship focuses on filling a gap in current research on religion, teacher professional development, and place-based education, primarily in the field of elementary social studies education.

Throughout her time teaching at the elementary level, Amy focused on engaging young students in complex and thoughtful dialogue and integrating social studies concepts throughout all subject areas. As part of her research at the elementary level, she is particularly interested in researching various ways teachers integrate children’s books about social studies topics into the time and space devoted to language arts, using them as an avenue to enter into discussion and dialogue about issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice that are often neglected in the elementary classroom.

Dr. Allen provides consulting and professional development workshops for schools locally and globally. She also works with doctoral students in the Curriculum and Instruction program at VT and prepares undergraduate and master’s level students for teacher licensure in Virginia.