Program Director, Graduate Special Education, Professor
Dr. Phillip Belfiore, Ph.D., is the department chair of the graduate program in special education and applied disability studies. Dr. Belfiore began teaching at Mercyhurst University in 1995, and is now a tenured full professor. Prior to Mercyhurst University, Dr. Belfiore was an associate professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Purdue University (1991-1995). Dr. Belfiore received his Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education at Duquesne University, a Master of Education degree in Special Education from Kent State University, and his Doctorate degree in Special Education from Lehigh University.
Dr. Belfiore has authored over 70 scholarly research articles, published in peer-reviewed journals in the fields of applied behavior analysis, urban education, and special education. He has also authored numerous book chapters, and presents regularly at national and international conferences. He currently serves as editor for the Journal of Evidence-Based Practices in Schools (2015-present) and Education Research International (2010-present), while he continues to serve on other editorial boards of scholarly journals within the fields of behavioral education and special education. Dr. Belfiore has won numerous awards for teaching and scholarship, including the Teaching Excellence Award from Mercyhurst University, the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award from Purdue University, and the Outstanding Contributions to the Discipline from Lehigh University. Dr. Belfiore remains committed to college teaching and student-faculty research. Additionally Dr. Belfiore is active in the local and regional community by consulting in the fields of special education, Catholic education, urban education, and post-secondary education for students with intellectual disabilities.
- EDSP 500 History and Cultures of Disability
- EDSP 501 Educational Research: Single Subject Experimental Research
- EDSP 536 Professional, Legal, and Ethical Practices
- EDSP 635 Leadership in Urban Education
- EDSP 673 Graduate Internship
- EDSP 676 Thesis: Special Education
- Belfiore, P.J., Kitchen, T, & Lee, D.L. (2016). Functional analysis of maladaptive behaviors: Rule as a transitive conditioned motivating operation. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 49-50, 100-107.
- Norris, B., & Belfiore, P.J., (2016). Effects of direct instruction, flashcards and racetrack, on basic multiplication fact mastery: Classroom application of research-validated intervention. Journal of Evidence-Based Practices for Schools, 15, 84-102.
- Rizzo, K. & Belfiore, P.J. (2013). Pairing student-teacher conferencing and self-regulation to increase mathematics performance in middle school students at-risk for academic failure. Journal of Evidence-Based Practices for Schools, 14, 30-50.
- Auld, R.G., Belfiore, P.J., & Scheeler, M.A. (2010). A study of treatment integrity for differential reinforcement of an alternative behavior (DRA) training on pre-service teachers in general education settings. Journal of Behavioral Education, 19, 169-183.
- Belfiore, P.J., Auld, R., & Lee, D.L. (2005). The disconnection in poor urban education: Equal access and a pedagogy of risk-taking. Psychology in the Schools, 42, 855-863.
- Skinner, C. H., Belfiore, P. B., & Watson, T. S. (1995/2002). Assessing the relative effects of interventions in students with mild disabilities: Assessing instructional time. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 20, 345-356. (Reprinted from Assessment in Rehabilitation and Exceptionality, 2, 207-220, 1995).
- Belfiore, P.J., Lee, D, Vargas, A.U., & Skinner, C.H. (1997). Effects of high preference, single digit mathematics problem completion on multiple digit mathematics problem performance. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 30, 327-330.
- Mace, F.C., & Belfiore, P.J. (1990). Behavioral momentum in the treatment of escape-motivated stereotypy. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 23, 507-514.
- Mace, F.C., Hock, M.L., Lalli, J.S., West, B.J., Belfiore, P.J., Pinter, E. & Brown, D.K. (1988). Behavioral momentum in the treatment of noncompliance. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 21, 123-141.