Patricia A. Edwards is a member of the Reading Hall of Fame and a Professor of Language and Literacy in the Teacher Education Department at Michigan State University. Edwards is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in family engagement and has written several articles and books on the topic. She served as a member of the Board of Directors from 1998 to 2001 of the International Literacy Association from 2006 to 2007 as the first African American President of the Literacy Research Association, and as the 2010-11 President of the International Literacy Association. She is a Past Chair of the American Educational Research Association’s Family, School, Community Partnerships Special Interest Group. Notable recent interviews include a feature in The HistoryMakers, a non-profit and educational institution that documents and preserves “untold personal stories of both well-known and unsung African Americans.” The collection of interviews is housed at the Library of Congress and features interviews and memoirs of influential leaders, business executives, civil rights icons, authors and poets and more. Edwards was interviewed in March 2022. Also in March 2022, Edwards was interviewed for “Legacy Voices” with the Illinois Reading Council Journal. The column features interviews with respected partitioners and scholars in the field of literacy.
Edwards is a member of the Michigan Department of Education’s Family Engagement Stakeholders’ Taskforce. She is the recipient of the Literacy Research Association’s 2012 Albert J. Kingston Service Award, the 2014 International Literacy Association Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award, and the 2015 Michigan Reading Association’s Outstanding Teacher Educator Award. Edwards was named as the 2017-2018 Jeanne S. Chall Visiting Researcher at Harvard Graduate School of Education. In 2019, she received the AERA Scholars of Color Distinguished Career Contribution Award (senior level). She was recently awarded the 2020 Oscar S. Causey Award from the Literacy Research Association (LRA) for her outstanding contributions to reading research. She is the first African American in the history of the organization to receive this award. She was also the first African American President of LRA some years back.
Session Description
“So, You Want to Involve Parents? Some New Ways to Engage Them”
Just as populations change, ideas about how to encourage and work with parents also need to evolve. Patricia Edwards provides school leaders and classroom teachers with new and creative ways in which to welcome, encourage, and involve parents. Enacting these types of practices requires a special kind of commitment from teachers and school leaders, which often coincides with a particular kind of mindset about families and one’s responsibility to engage them. Educators often develop this mindset as they deepen their understanding of families, literacy/language, culture/race/class, and themselves. Edwards pulls these understandings together and presents them in a straightforward and concise way.”