Education
Doctorate Degree
PhD in Curriculum and Instruction
University of Texas at Austin, 2008
Master's Degree
MA in Interdisciplinary Studies
University of North Texas, 1997
Bachelor's Degree
BA in Classics and Languages
Univ of Oklahoma Norman Campus, 1988
Featured grants
- Saunders, Jane M. Telling Stories: Teachers Talk About Teaching, Additional Research Support for Research Active Professors (ASAP-2) Pilot Initiative, Texas State University. (Funded: December 2022). Grant.
- Lopez, Minda M, Saunders, Jane M. To be or not be a Credentialed Reading Specialist: How valuable is it to students and teachers?; You do not have access to modify this field.To be or not be a Credentialed Reading Specialist: How valuable is it to students and teachers?, Texas State University. (Submitted: October 2017, Funded: January 2018 - August 2019). Grant.
- Lopez, Minda M, Percent Contribution: %50, Saunders, Jane M, Percent Contribution: %50. To be or not be a Credentialed Reading Specialist: How valuable is it to students and teachers?, Texas Research Incentive Program (TRIP), $12800. (Submitted: October 2017). Grant.
- Saunders, Jane M. Understanding and teaching about the struggle for social justice in the United States., Study in America Program, Texas State University, $3000. (Funded: August 2017 - September 2017). Grant.
- Brooks, M. D (Co-Principal), Saunders, Jane M (Co-Principal). Creating a pedagogy of teacher education, College of Education Scholar-Mentor Program, Texas State University, Institutional (Higher Ed), $1000. (Submitted: 2014). Grant.

Featured scholarly/creative works
- Saunders, J. M. (2026). Archetypes of teaching: Looking for light in the figured world of schools. English in Texas, 56(1), 10–16.
- Ash, G. E., & Saunders, J. M. (2018). From “I don’t like Mondays” to “Pumped Up Kicks”: Rampage school shootings in young adult fiction and young adults’ lives. Children’s Literature in Education, 49, 34–46.
- Saunders, J. M., Ash, G. E., Salazar, I., Pruitt, R., Wallach, D., Breed, E., … Szachacz, A. (2017). “We’re already somebody”: High School Students Practicing Critical Media Literacy IRL [in real life]. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 60, 515–526.
- Lopez, M. M., & Saunders, J. M. (2022). Where Our Paths Crossed: Latina Teachers, Professional Development, and Funds of Identity. In Research Anthology on Racial Equity, Identity, and Privilege (pp. 623–643). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-4507-5.ch033
- Saunders, J. M. (2021). Learning to fly: The importance of developing student voice. In J. Warner (Ed.), Failure before success: Teachers describe what they learned from mistakes. Rowman & Littlefield.
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Nominee: Minnie Stevens Piper Professor Award, Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation/State of Texas Comptroller. September 2024 - 2024
- Award / Honor Nominee: Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Teaching, Professor, Texas State University, College of Education. 2025
- Award / Honor Nominee: Alumni Association Teaching Award of Honor, Texas State University Alumni Association. 2023
- Award / Honor Nominee: Alumni Association Teaching Award of Honor, Texas State University Alumni Association. 2021
- Award / Honor Recipient: Favorite Professor, Alfred H. Nolle Chapter of Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. 2017 - 2019

Featured service activities
- Reviewer / Referee
Association for Middle Level Education; Middle School Journal
- Reviewer / Referee
Middle School Journal
- Reviewer / Referee
Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education
- Reviewer / Referee
Journal of Literacy Research
- Reviewer / Referee
National Council of Teachers of English, English Education
- Reviewer / Referee
American Educational Research Association AERA Division K
