Speaker Information

2012 Annual Conference
 Theme: "Cradle to Career"

Patricia Edwards

         Patricia A. Edwards is a Distinguished Professor of Language and Literacy in the Department of Teacher Education, a Principal Investigator, Literacy Achievement Research Center, and a Senior University Outreach Fellow at Michigan State University. A nationally recognized expert in parent involvement, home, school, community partnerships, multicultural literacy, early literacy, and family/intergenerational literacy, especially among poor and minority children.

          She received her B.S. in Elementary Education from Albany State University (Albany, Georgia); the M.S. in Elementary Education from North Carolina A&T University, her Ed. Specialist in Reading Education from Duke University; and her Ph.D. in Reading Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

          She served as a member of the IRA Board of Directors from 1998–2001, and in 2006-2007 as the first African American President of the Literacy Research Association (formerly the National Reading Conference), and as President of the International Reading Association (2010-2011). She is a member of the Heinemann and Scholastic Speaker’s Bureau and has held workshops, in-service training sessions with school districts nationwide and abroad. In addition, she has served as a People to People Language and Literacy Delegation Leader to China, South Africa, and Russia.

          Her publications are rich with evidence and insights into issues of culture, identity, equity, and power that affects families and schools.  As an African American researcher and educator herself has done much to build bridges and cross boundaries that have traditionally constrained African American children and youth.  In the second decade of the new millennium, we now face tremendous problems of educating the diverse society in our country, and we have great need for educational reform and leadership that will address these problems.  Through her leadership, research and service, Dr. Patricia A. Edwards has contributed significantly to moving us forward in addressing the problems that face our diverse society.

          It is not the quantity of scholarly output that gives Dr. Edwards’ work a peerless sense, but also its theoretical and applied significance.  Few scholars can claim that their research has had the force of shaping an entire field of study as only theoretically significant work can do.  Perhaps this is so because giant strides in science are partly the product of timing and the state of knowledge in a discipline.  Even so, it takes a keen mind and creative insight to seize the moment to break new ground, as Dr. Edwards was able to do.

          Professor Edwards embodies Gandhi’s counsel that “science without humanity” is one of the seven sins of the world.  As a pioneer in her field of study, she bridged the worlds of families and schools, applying her knowledge of the lives and cultures of these people so that they could have the potential to discover, restructure and transform education for low-income children.

          Dr. Edwards created two nationally acclaimed family literacy programs—Parents as Partners in Reading: A Family Literacy Training Program and Talking Your Way to Literacy: A Program to Help Nonreading Parents Prepare Their Children for Reading. She is the co-author of A Path to Follow: Learning to Listen to Parent with Heather M. Pleasants and Sarah H. Franklin and Change is Gonna Come: Transforming Literacy for African American Students with Gwendolyn T. McMillon and Jennifer D. Turner. At the 20ll annual meeting of the Literacy Research Association, Edwards and her co-authors were recognized for their book with the prestigious Edward B. Fry Book Award. This national award honors authors of an exceptional literacy research and practice book.  In addition, Edwards is the author of Tapping the Potential of Parents: A Strategic Guide to Boosting Student Achievement Through Family Involvement, and co-editor of Best Practices in ELL Instruction with Guofang Li.