Patricia A. Edwards

Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University

Patricia A. Edwards, member of the Reading Hall Fame, is a professor of language and literacy in the Department of Teacher Education at Michigan State University. She is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in parent involvement, home–school–community partnerships, multicultural literacy, early literacy, and family/intergenerational literacy, especially among poor and minority children. She has served as a member of the IRA board of directors (1998–2001), as the first African American president of the Literacy Research Association (2006–2007), and as president of the International Reading Association (2010–2011). She is the coauthor of A Path to Follow: Learning to Listen to Parents (1999, with Heather M. Pleasants and Sarah H. Franklin), Bridging Literacy and Equity: The Essential Guide to Social Equity Teaching (2012, with Althier M. Lazar and Gwendolyn T. McMillon), and Change is Gonna Come: Transforming Literacy for African American Students (2010, with Gwendolyn T. McMillon and Jennifer D. Turner). Dr. Edwards is also the author of Tapping the Potential of Parents: A Strategic Guide to Boosting Student Achievement Through Family Involvement (2009) and Children Literacy Development: Making It Happen Through School, Family, and Community Involvement (2004) and coeditor of Best Practices in ELL Instruction (2010, with Guofang Li). Dr. Edwards is the recipient of the Literacy Research Association’s 2012 Albert J. Kingston Service Award, the International Reading Association’s 2014 IRA Jerry Johns Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award, and the 2015 Michigan Reading Association’s Outstanding Teacher Educator Award.