Catherine Compton-Lilly
Dr. Catherine Compton-Lilly’s research has focused on family literacy practices, particularly the literacy practices of children from communities that have been underserved by schools. She has a passion for helping teachers to support children in learning to read and write. Her interests include early reading and writing, student diversity, and working with families. Throughout her career, Dr. Compton-Lilly is a strong advocate for developing knowledgeable teachers that are committed to continual learning and improved practice. In her initial work, Dr. Compton-Lilly documented the home and school literacy practices of eight of her former first grade students as they moved from elementary school through high school. In a current study, now in its tenth year, she is exploring the family literacy practices of children from immigrant families. Among the books she has edited or authored are: Reading Families: The Literate Lives of Urban Children (2003), Rereading Families (2007), Reading Time: The literate lives of urban secondary students and their families (2012), Bedtime stories and book reports: Connecting parent involvement and family literacy (2011, edited with Dr. Stuart Greene and Reading students’ lives: Literacy learning across time (2017). Dr. Compton-Lilly also has authored multiple articles related to family literacy in major literacy journals including the Reading Research Quarterly, Research in the Teaching of English, The Reading Teacher, Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, Written Communication, Journal of Literacy Research and Language Arts. A recent review of family literacy scholarship, co-authored with Rebecca Rogers and Tisha Lewis Ellison and published in the Reading Research Quarterly, is among the most definitive reviews of the field of family literacy. Her current interests include examining how time operates as a contextual factor in children’s lives as they progress through school and construct their identities as students and readers. In an ongoing study, now in its thirteenth year, Dr. Compton-Lilly has worked with a team of graduate students to follow children from immigrant families from primary school through high school. Dr. Compton-Lilly has a strong interest in teacher education and is currently documenting the exceptional teacher education practices at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Compton-Lilly holds emerita status at the University of Wisconsin Madison. She twice served as an Honorary Visiting Professor at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan and recently completed a Fulbright Research and Teaching Fellowship in Taiwan. Dr. Catherine Compton-Lilly is the John C. Hungerpiller Professor at the University of South Carolina.
To cite this episode: Persohn, L. (Host). (2023, Sep 12). A conversation with Catherine Compton-Lilly (Season 4, No. 3) [Audio podcast episode]. In Classroom Caffeine Podcast series. https://www.classroomcaffeine.com/guests. DOI: 10.5240/7733-70C8-75AC-88C1-BC42-K