Dr. Belinda Karge and the Teachers She Teaches

Belinda Karge, a doctoral professor who holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology, quantitative methods and special education, has dedicated her career to sharing the knowledge that she has learned with other educators.

When interviewed in October 2024, Karge reflected on her career saying,

Surprisingly, her education didn’t originally begin that way though, instead Karge actually started out at UCLA as a student interested in Law.

A group of her friends encouraged her to sign up for a program to assist children with severe disabilities called Developmental Disabilities Immersion Program (DDIP), offered through Lanterman State Hospital, now known as Lanterman Developmental Center. She reflected saying,

This experience launched her interest into special education and also led her to work with pre-school children with hearing impairments.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, she followed two professors she met in DDIP to UC Riverside. The professors were starting a statistics-based child psychology doctoral program that caught her interest. Prior to joining, she received her general education and special education teaching credentials and simultaneously earned her master’s degree in reading.

During this time Karge worked as a student teacher in San Bernardino and Riverside, while also teaching swimming lessons. She actually received her first teaching job through these lessons. Dr Karge recalls one of her student’s mothers, who happened to be a principal, offering her a position by saying, “You’re a good swim coach, you’ll be a good teacher.”

While teaching elementary and high school classrooms, Karge discovered and developed her advanced understanding of child behavior. “When kids are messing around, I just get in their heads to re-engage. I have always been that way… I have good strategies,” she said.

After other teachers began asking her about her methods, they invited Karge to speak at their university classes. This led to earning her Ph.D. in educational psychology, quantitative methods and special education and began teaching university classes of her own.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Karge started at San Diego State University in 1990 as an Associate Professor. In 1996, she moved to California State University, Fullerton, as a professor for educators. Karge later became the Chair of her department and went on to coordinate and write multiple federal grants.

She also became a consultant for the U.S. Office of Overseas Schools, (OS). When a Colleague was too sick to teach a class for international teachers at John Hopkins University, Karge flew to Washington, D.C. to fill in. After finishing the week-long course, “The teachers said, ‘how do we get you at our school?’” Karge recalled. She also said that they asked OS leadership, “Can we have Belinda Karge?”

After the multiple requests from educators, she was offered this new role with OS. Karge now had the opportunity to travel to schools all over the world to share knowledge with other educators. She estimates she has visited, “Over 30 countries.”

In July of 2015, Karge left Cal State Fullerton and was awarded Emeritus status upon leaving. According to the Human Resources, Diversity and Inclusion department at Cal State Fullerton, Emeritus status is only awarded to faculty members who, “Have served honorable and have consistently performed high quality work in the areas of teaching, scholarly and creative activity or service.”

She then began teaching as a Professor of Doctoral Programs at Concordia University, Irvine, where she has been for nearly 10 years. This change of pace has given Karge more time and access to write about her research findings. When reflecting on her time at Cal State Fullerton, she said, “I was more of an administrator, and that took a lot of time, so I didn’t have time to really write.”

Karge was originally drawn to writing after a mentor told her, “If you're out there presenting at conferences, [you’re] only talking to that group of 30, but if you write it, you get it out to the whole world.”

According to the Concordia Publishing House, throughout her career Karge has, “Authored more than 140 articles and ten books.”

Karge’s most recent book release co-written with Matthew Rhoads, titled “Co-Teaching Evolved,” went, “#1 in education on Amazon’s best seller list,” she said.

Karge’s continued commitment to education has impacted people worldwide. Her extensive knowledge and experience speak for themselves. Despite her many accomplishments and accolades, Karge said, her main focus “has always been to make a difference and help people learn.”