Lara J. Handsfield

Lara J. Handsfield is associate professor in the School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, where she teaches literacy methods courses for undergraduates and graduate courses in theoretical foundations of literacy. Lara’s research critically examines comprehension instruction in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms, how teachers negotiate multiple and conflicting pedagogical demands in their work, and implications for student and teacher identities. Her work has been funded by the Spencer Foundation and published in several academic and professional journals, including Reading Research Quarterly, Language Arts, the Journal of Literacy Research, The Reading Teacher, Harvard Educational Review, and Theory into Practice. She is currently co-editor of the journal Action in Teacher Education.