Amanda Butler
Department Chair of Undergraduate Programs & Associate Professor of Education
Department(s)
College of Education, Bachelor of Science (BS), Child Development, Bachelor of Science (BS), Early Childhood Education, Bachelor of Science (BS), Elementary EducationCredentials
Ed.D. Reading Education
M.Ed. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
B.S Elementary Education (K-8 with endorsements in ELA, Social Studies, and Mathematics)
Certificate in Trauma and Resilience
About Amanda Butler
Dr. Amanda Butler was invited to teach at Charleston Southern University in August 2017 due to her extensive knowledge and experience in literacy and education. She is a former elementary and middle school teacher and literacy interventionist. She also has a certificate in Trauma and Resilience. She is passionate about teaching future teachers how to reach at-risk populations by sharing her research on neurophysiology, children who have experienced adversity, and how these combined factors affect academic achievement.
"I go the extra mile for my students by rolling up my sleeves and showing them how to be effective teachers by forming partnerships with them. They understand that making mistakes is an expected part of the learning process, and my classes are safe places to make those mistakes. I am looking for progress, not perfection."
Signature Experiences
Memberships
International Literacy Association
National Council for Teachers of English
South Carolina International Reading Association
Affiliations
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library/Begin with Books
Parents as Teachers
I will accompany 10+ students on a mission trip to the Santiago, DR, where I will provide professional development to the volunteer teachers who work with refugee children.
Trident United Way Kindergarten Readiness Network
Recent Scholarly Work & Publications
Butler, A., & Zakrzewski, J. (2026). Building resilience in pre-service teachers: What do faculty need to know? Southeastern Regional Association of Teacher Educators, 34(2), 1-7.
Sobolewski, K., Butler, A., & Zakrzewski, J. (2025). Teacher retention: Supporting new teachers. Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina, 18(2), 38-45.
Butler, A. (2023). ACEs are wild: How educators can positively influence the “hand”
students are dealt. In M. Shelley, V. Akerson, & M. Unal (Eds.), Proceedings of IConSES 2023-- International Conference on Social and Education Sciences (pp. 202-214), Las Vegas, NV, USA. ISTES Organization.
Butler A. (2021). The unlikely outcome of a struggling kindergartner: A cognitive rags-to-riches tale. Teacher Education Journal of South Carolina, 14(1), 1-13.
Butler, A. (2020). Hijack your literacy block: A golden opportunity to mold students into informed, compassionate citizens. Literacy Today, 38(3), 38-39.
Butler, A. (2017). A tale of two interventions: A case study of teacher perceptions of oral language strategies. The Florida Reading Journal, 52(1), 8-18.
Butler A. M. (2017). [Review of the book Minds Online: Teaching Effectively with Technology, by M. D. Miller]. Internet Learning Journal, 5, 67-70.
Butler, A. M. (2016). Meeting students’ emotional needs is not in the standards, so why bother? The Reading Teacher, 70(3), 371.