About our Research Team
Stephen W. Smith, Ph.D.
Stephen W. Smith is a Professor in the Special Education Department at the University of Florida (UF). Prior to receiving his Ph.D. in Special Education from the University of Kansas, he was a teacher of special education students for eight years. Dr. Smith is responsible for the teacher education program in emotional and behavioral disorders at UF and has conducted multiple federally-funded investigations of effective behavior management techniques including the study of social conflict and the effects of school-wide peer mediation programs. He is currently serving as the Principal Investigator of a four-year research grant to study the effects of a cognitive-behavioral intervention to reduce student aggression and chronic classroom disruption. He has presented his findings and recommendations at numerous state, regional, national, and international professional conferences. While at UF, Dr. Smith has received three teaching awards and a University Research Award. He recently served a 3-year term as a UF Distinguished Research Professor. He is a Research Fellow for the Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice at the American Institutes for Research in Washington DC and is a trained mediator for the UF Center for Dispute Resolution.
Ann P. Daunic, Ph.D.
Ann Daunic is an Assistant Scholar in the Department of Special Education at the University of Florida and Co-PI and Project Director of a four-year federally funded investigation of a cognitive behavioral intervention to reduce disruptive and aggressive behavior among fourth and fifth graders. She came to the Department of Special Education in 1997, after serving as a visiting instructor at the University of Central Florida, and has directed three previous federal grants to study conflict resolution and problem-solving approaches to the management of student behavior. Dr. Daunic has a master’s degree in experimental psychology (1970) from Tufts University, a master’s degree in special education from the University of Central Florida (1993) and a Ph.D. in special education from the University of Florida (1996). She began her work in education at Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York where she was a counselor for economically and educationally disadvantaged students; she also worked as a private school administrator and guidance counselor for nine years before completing her doctoral work in special education. She received a student initiated federal grant to support her doctoral research in beginning teacher preparation for culturally diverse classrooms, and her current research interests continue to focus on at risk students and on the prevention of aggressive behavior through teaching appropriate ways to handle anger and conflict.
