起点传媒

起点传媒Promising Researcher Award

2026 Recipient: Amber Lawson

Bowling Green State University – Bowling Green, Ohio

“Di鈥�VERSE Literacy: Culturally Responsive Rap and Hip Hop Phonemic Awareness Instruction Centering Children Who Self-Identify as Black, Brown, and People of Color”

Amber Lawson聽is an Assistant Professor of Reading and Literacy Education at Bowling Green State University. She holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education specializing in Language and Literacy and Urban Education from Michigan State University. Her research interests focus on culturally responsive foundational literacy instruction centering children who self-identify as Black, Brown, and People of Color in kindergarten through second grade and creating space for them to use their identities, home languages, and lived experiences that are racially and culturally influenced as strengths and assets to support their learning. Additionally, she supports pre-service and in-service early childhood educators in incorporating culturally responsive strategies into various components of literacy instruction. With two years of teaching kindergarten and four years of teaching first grade in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, Lawson鈥檚 experiences as an early elementary teacher play a vital role in her research and teaching. Her scholarship has been presented at numerous conferences, including the National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Teachers of English Assembly for Research, American Educational Research Association, Literacy Research Association, and the Michigan Reading Association. You can find snapshots of her scholarship in Reading Research Quarterly, The Reading Teacher, Literacy Today, and the Michigan Reading Journal. She has been an active member in the 起点传媒community since 2021.

Honorable Mention: Sandra Saco

Colorado State University – Fort Collins, CO

“It鈥檚 Not Just a Book: Cultivating Space of Acompa帽amiento within Latinx Book Clubs”

2026 Award Committee
Jennifer Higgs, University of California – Davis, Davis, CA
Kelly Wissman, University at Albany, State University of New York, Albany, NY
Patriann Smith, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

Award Details

Eligibility:
Established in 1970; given by the , the Promising Researcher Award Competition is open to individuals who have completed dissertations within the approximately two years immediately preceding the award year (for the 2027 award year, between December 1, 2024, and January 31, 2027).

Studies entered into competition should be related to the teaching of English or the language arts, e.g., language development, literature, composition, teacher education/professional development, linguistics, etc., and should have employed a recognized research approach, e.g., historical, ethnographic, interpretive, experimental, etc. In recognition of the fact that the field has changed in recent years, the Committee on Research invites entries from a variety of scholarly perspectives.

Candidates must submit a manuscript based on their original research. Manuscripts should be written in a format, style, and length appropriate for submission to a research journal such as Research in the Teaching of English, , Curriculum Inquiry, Teaching and Teacher Education, or Anthropology and Education. Manuscripts range normally between 25-50 double-spaced, typewritten pages (table, figures, references, and appendices are considered part of the 鈥渕anuscript鈥�).

Although manuscripts should conform to the publication standard of the above-mentioned journals, selection for the Promising Researcher Award does not guarantee eventual publication in those journals.

Manuscripts submitted for the competition may be unpublished, under consideration or accepted for publication at, or already published in a research journal, so long as they are formatted for blind submission, without reference to publication status, and follow the other manuscript preparation requirements below.

Manuscript Preparation:
Manuscripts must take the form of self-contained research articles prepared for blind, peer-reviewed submission. Research in any other form (abstract, dissertation report) or format (reprint, published article) cannot be considered in this competition.

All manuscripts must have at least 1″ margins at the top, bottom, and both sides and must be double-spaced and in standard (12″) Times New Roman or Arial font. Applicants should prepare a manuscript with all author references removed from the document and file name for a blind, peer-review process. If the article has been published in a research journal, any formatting or other references to the article’s publication status should also be removed.

Applicants should also include a separate cover sheet with title and author information. The name, current address, current email address, position, and telephone number of the entrant should be transmitted along with the manuscript to facilitate communication between the selection committee and the entrant. This information should be on the cover sheet only.

Accompanying all manuscripts must be a written statement verifying that the research was completed within the specified completion dates. This signed, original letter must come from someone other than the candidate (e.g., the major professor or a researcher knowledgeable in the field), who is sponsoring the candidate. It is preferred that the statement be on official letterhead from the institution of the person certifying the dates.

Award Submission:
Manuscripts, including cover sheets and verification letters, should be sent as three separate Word attachments, in one email, to Sarah Miller, smiller@ncte.org.

The deadline is 11:59 P.M. Eastern Time, March 1.

Judging:
Manuscripts received on or before March 1, will be transmitted to members of the selection committee for evaluation. Results of the judging will be available after June 15. Entrants will be notified of the results shortly thereafter. Manuscripts will not be returned to authors.

Award:
The award recipient will receive a complimentary registration, a certificate, an award announcement in NCTE’s journals, a one-year 起点传媒membership, and a one-year subscription to聽Research in the Teaching of English (RTE).