By Laurel White
A School of Education faculty member was recently recognized as a standout early career scholar by a national literacy research organization.
Emily Machado, an assistant professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, was awarded the Early Career Achievement Award at the Literacy Research Association’s annual conference in Atlanta, Ga., earlier this month. The Literacy Research Association is a non-profit professional organization of scholars engaged in K-12 literacy theory, research, and practice.
The organization’s annual Early Career Achievement Award is given to a scholar who earned their doctoral degree in the past seven years and has already demonstrated excellence in research, service, and teaching.
Machado says she’s moved and inspired by the recognition from her peers.
“I’m deeply humbled and honored to receive this award from an organization that has meant so much to me throughout my career,” she said. “I have learned so much from the scholarship, leadership, and examples of so many LRA members, and will spend the rest of my career trying to pay forward the outstanding mentorship and supportive guidance I’ve received as a part of this organization.”
Machado studies the teaching and learning of literacy in multilingual early childhood classrooms. One strand of her research explores the ways in which young children use the breadth of their communicative resources — including languages, literacies, and cultural practices — in and through their writing. She also explores how early childhood teachers enact justice-driven language and literacy pedagogies, including through the use of critical literacy practices.
“Through my research, I seek to make early literacy classrooms and out-of-school learning spaces more equitable, inclusive, and humanizing for all young children, and particularly those who are multilingual,” she said. “I also seek to honor the voices and experiences of practicing teachers, highlighting their work in justice-driven instruction.”
Earlier this year, Machado published a study in the American Educational Research Journal that found early childhood educators’ engagement in creative and professional writing, particularly in small groups, can promote personal and professional development. The study focused specifically on how writing might support educators in preschool through third grade classrooms as they sought to process and center themes of social justice and progress in their teaching.
Margaret Hawkins, professor emerita in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, supported Machado’s nomination for the award. She called Machado an “outstanding” candidate for the honor and a “rising star in academia.”
“It is clear that Emily’s work is stellar, that her writing is powerful and important, and that she continues to design projects that both leverage her extensive strengths and experiences and are positioned to contribute significantly to educational research, design and practice,” Hawkins wrote in her letter of support. “Her productivity, and the quality of her work, is stunning.”