McGuire, a professor of Recreation Administration, won her first Fulbright in 2017. With the funding, she traveled to the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago to study perceptions of disability and models of inclusivity in sports, recreation, and education. In 2022, she will return to the Caribbean to expand on her research with a comparative analysis of the facilitators and barriers of Special Olympics coaches in Jamaica.

Over the course of two academic years, McGuire’s Fulbright “Flex Award” will equally fund teaching and research across three six-week visits. In addition to expanding scholarly research on coaching in disability sports, McGuire will work with the Special Olympics Jamaica Unified Sports Program with the goal of advancing cultural understanding and fostering global partnerships. Her work will have public policy implications in the Caribbean and beyond. “Our hope is to advance education and policy development in the Caribbean and ultimately increase the opportunities available for children and adults with disabilities,” says McGuire.

The teaching component of the Fulbright award will allow McGuire to develop a deeper understanding of Caribbean cultures while partnering with the highly esteemed Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of West Indies, says McGuire. “We share an understanding of the importance of brain-based learning, including student centered design and active-learning pedagogies.”

McGuire will also use her expertise to lead innovation in Universal Design for Learning, the educational guidelines that aim to remove barriers for students with disabilities. “As a scholar, I seek to understand people and systems locally and abroad, with the aim at bridging the divide between the two.