Hi! I’m Bridget Paddock, an educator and lifelong learner currently pursuing my Master’s degree in Special Education from SUNY Binghamton University. I hold a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood and Childhood Education from Hofstra University, and I am deeply committed to understanding how systems of education can better serve diverse learners.

My academic and professional journey is guided by a passion for inclusive education and a growing interest in how global education policies shape the lives of children with special needs. As part of my master's program, I am completing a thesis titled "A Place or a Fit? A Comparative Study of Primary Special Education Models in the United States and the Netherlands." This project explores how each system approaches placement, inclusion, and individualized support—and how those choices impact families, educators, and students.

Following this work, I plan to pursue an EdD with a dissertation titled "Fitting In: Policy, Practice, and Perception in Dutch Primary Special Education." This study will take a deeper, ethnographic look into how inclusive education is implemented on the ground in the Netherlands, examining how national policy translates into school-level decision-making and lived experience.

Through both my teaching and research, I aim to contribute to a more equitable, thoughtful, and responsive global conversation about what it means to truly include every child.